Compliance Certification Report
| 3.4.7 | The institution ensures the quality of educational programs/courses offered through consortia relationships or contractual agreements, ensures ongoing compliance with the comprehensive requirements, and evaluates the consortial relationship and/or agreement against the purpose of the institution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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[Compliance] |
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Narrative: |
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| The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is in compliance with Principle 3.4.7 because the University ensures that the programs and courses offered through collaborative relationships enhance and support the educational experience for both students and faculty, conform to the mission of the University, and meet UAH standards and established policies and procedures. UAH participates in a number of collaborative arrangements with other institutions. They include agreements established within The University of Alabama (UA) System, agreements with individual institutions, and consortia arrangements involving a number of partner institutions. All partner institutions are regionally accredited. UAH faculty and administrators continually evaluate the extent to which consortial arrangements serve the educational purposes of the University. The evaluations occur through a variety of mechanisms ranging from meetings of UA System Chief Academic Officers to participation in oversight boards of consortia. An example of evaluation through consortial oversight is the consortial agreement with the Marine Environmental Science Consortium at Dauphin Island Sea Lab. President Frank Franz is the UAH member of the Board of Directors of the Consortium. Biological Sciences faculty member, Dr. Bruce Stallsmith, is the UAH member of the Consortium Program Committee. The Program Committee meets quarterly to discuss the educational program of the Consortium. Dauphin Island Sea Lab Program Committee minutes reflect ongoing evaluation and modification of the types of classes offered, the contents of classes, and the scheduling of classes to best serve the institutions that make up the Consortium. The University of Alabama System These programs are easily managed because the programs were established and defined by The University of Alabama (UA) System. In 1984, The UA System established the Cooperative Exchange Program to facilitate dual enrollment for students at UAH, the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Alabama (UA). Issues such as full-time status with the home institution, academic requirements, tuition, and approval procedures are addressed through program policies drawn up by The UA System. Each campus has representation on the policy council regarding course approval, delivery, scheduling and other academic issues. The same holds true for the Intercampus Interactive Telecommunications System (IITS) that was devised to share instructional resources among the three campuses. IITS is a distance learning system that currently serves over 30 sites throughout the state. Courses and degree programs are shared between the three institutions. Articulation Agreement The State of Alabama has put in place a statewide articulation agreement for the transfer of credit among public institutions of higher education. The purpose of the agreement is to bring clarity and consistency to the transference of credits between post-secondary Alabama institutions. The articulation process is governed by the Articulation and General Studies Committee made up of representatives from Two-Year institutions, the Regional Universities, Auburn University, The University of Alabama System, the University of South Alabama, Alabama State University, and Alabama A&M University. Consortia Agreements UAH is a member of the Marine Environmental Science Consortium (MESC). Located at Dauphin Island Sea Lab, MESC was established in 1971 by the Alabama State Legislature embracing 22 institutions of higher education in Alabama and governed by a board of directors comprised of presidents of the member institutions. UAH students taking courses through MESC receive academic credit from UAH. Course development and scheduling are initiated with MESC by the UAH Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science, which grants final approval for all institutional policies concerning admission, course approval, course inventory, requirements, faculty appointments, etc. UAH faculty members serve jointly on committees with the MESC and the Department of Biological Sciences. Auburn University and The University of Alabama System In some designated programs, a student enrolled in either Auburn University or any campus of The UA System may register as a transient student at the other institution to complete above the six hours presently transferable towards or beyond a master's degree. The student's major department and the graduate dean must approve this action in advance. The deans of the graduate schools serve as liaison officers in arranging programs for which the additional hours may be transferred. UAH and Alabama A&M University The visiting student policy between Alabama A&M University and UAH allows graduate students at one institution to request permission to enroll in a course at the other institution. The student must meet all governing conditions and secure the approval of the advisor, department chair, and graduate dean. UAH and Oakwood College UAH and Oakwood College have an agreement whereby an undergraduate student attends Oakwood College for approximately three academic years and UAH for approximately two years. After completing the academic requirements of the two cooperating institutions, the student will be concurrently awarded a bachelor's degree from Oakwood College and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree by UAH. Oakwood College is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists Department of Education. UAH and UAB UAH and UAB offer a collaborative program in engineering for the pursuit of doctoral degrees. A student at UAB may earn the doctoral degree at UAH with a major in electrical or mechanical engineering, while at UAH a student may pursue the master's or the doctoral degree with a major in biomedical engineering at UAB. The student must first be admitted at the principal institution but may take courses and satisfy the residency requirements at either campus. All degree requirements must be satisfied at the principal institution. Defense Acquisition University UAH and the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) have a strategic alliance to advance the educational opportunities of the Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) workforce, leading to a Master of Science in Management degree, a Master of Accountancy degree, and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems degree. These graduate degree programs use DAU courses that members of the Defense AT&L workforce have completed to meet Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certification requirements in at least one of the 13 acquisition career fields. These programs are available to any member of the Defense AT&L workforce who has a bachelor's degree from an accredited university, at least Level I Certification in at least one acquisition career field, meets the grade requirements, the GMAT requirement, prerequisites, and is admitted to one of the graduate degree programs. Students are subject to the degree completion requirements of both the School of Graduate Studies and the College of Administrative Science. All requirements for the Master's degree must be completed within six years. Students may transfer up to 12 semester hours of acceptable graduate credit earned in DAU courses that are recommended by the American Council on Education's Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services in the graduate degree category. All transfer credit must be less than six years old at the time of a student's graduation from UAH. The acceptability of specific courses to a degree program is determined by the Director of that degree program. |
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