Section 1070.601  Review Process

a)         In the review of new program requests by public universities at the baccalaureate and master's degree level, the review criteria used by the Board of Higher Education will include:

1)         A determination that the program relates to the institution's program responsibilities;

2)         A demonstrated need for the program including, but not limited to, student demand, manpower need, and possible contributions to the solution of societal problems;

3)         An assessment of the total operating and capital costs of the proposed program and the feasibility and availability of financial support;

4)         An assessment of whether the program unnecessarily duplicates existing programs, and whether all avenues of cooperative approaches have been explored with other public and private institutions;

5)         An assessment of the impact of the proposed program upon existing programs within the institution;

6)         A determination that the program, if approved, will be regularly evaluated.

b)         The criteria used in the review of new program requests by public community colleges will parallel those established for public universities, with the following additional considerations:

1)         The local or regional manpower demands for proposed programs, especially occupational programs, should be given added emphasis;

2)         Program proposals should be in conformity with locally approved campus mission and scope statements, although the Board of Higher Education must consider statewide priorities and needs in its review process.

c)         Through a joint staff effort of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board, working with representatives of the community college system, a process will be established to develop guidelines concerning adequate numbers and appropriate placement of community college programs within the State to enhance program accessibility and efficiency.  Consideration will be given to the establishment of program categories that will include programs located in each district, regional programs, area programs, and ones that focus on a statewide plan.

d)         The Illinois Community  College Act, in its description of a comprehensive community college program, has defined in part the mission of community colleges.  The scope of programmatic offerings is a determination to be made ultimately by the Board of Higher Education, utilizing criteria for the review of new program proposals.

e)         Public colleges and universities should more closely correlate their programmatic expansion efforts with their academic and technical plans as indicated in their annual Resource Allocation and Management Program submissions to the Board of Higher Education.

f)         In the approval of new programs at public colleges and universities, the Board of Higher Education will give special consideration to those programs which can be supported through internal reallocation of funds.

g)         The Board of Higher Education, with the cooperation of the public colleges and universities, will periodically update existing inventories of all programs offered for degree credit, or which receive State funding. This inventory will be extended to private postsecondary education institutions as soon as possible, and eventually become an integral part of the Board's computerized management information system.

h)         Public community colleges and universities should continue their review and evaluation of existing units of instruction, research, and public service.  The Board of Higher Education, whenever possible, should utilize information provided by systems and institutions and will complement, rather than duplicate, existing evaluation efforts by institutions.  Indicators that a program should be reviewed would include, but not be limited to, enrollment decreases and increasing costs as indicated through the Board's annual Unit Cost Study and other special studies.  For public universities, this should be a three-tiered review process involving selected representatives from institutions, governing boards, and the Board of Higher Education.  For public community colleges, the review will be conducted by the representatives of the local districts, the Illinois Community College Board, and the Board of Higher Education. Outside consultants may be employed.  The review should result in recommendations from the Board of Higher Education to the appropriate governing board that a program be continued, modified, eliminated, or expanded.

i)          All university programs are approved by the Board of Higher Education to be offered at a specific location.  All community college programs are approved by the Board of Higher Education to be offered at a particular campus within a district.  If such programs are transferred or duplicated at another location, or out-of-district in the case of community colleges, they are to be considered new units of instruction requiring approval by the Board of Higher Education.

j)          The Board of Higher Education will establish a process for reviewing all instances in which two or more postsecondary education institutions, public or private, are offering competing degree programs or courses in the same area.  This process should result in recommendations for eliminating unnecessary competition and duplication.