Section 1050.20  Definitions

 

"Ability to benefit" means a standard for admission by which a student who does not possess a high school diploma or GED has demonstrated that he or she can profit materially or personally from a certain course of study through passage of an ability to benefit test or alternative pathways that have been approved by the U.S. Department of Education and administered in compliance with U.S. Department of Education guidelines related to ability to benefit policies and procedures outlined in federal financial aid regulations. 

 

"Annual listing of changes" means the annual notification to the Board of one or more of the following:

 

Addition of an externally funded research or public service activity labeled as a center or institute because of grant requirements. The activity is temporary, not formally organized, and has no continuous mission.

 

Change in a degree title (e.g., the name of a discipline or major without changes in objectives or content, such as the change from "medical technology" to "clinical laboratory sciences").

 

Change in the name of an administrative (including departments), research or public service unit.

 

Elimination, temporary suspension or phase-down of an existing board-approved program.

 

Reorganization, restructuring, consolidation, elimination and other changes of existing administrative (including departments), research or public service units that do not result in an increase in subunits.

 

Creation of a certificate program in a field in which there is a previously approved degree program (e.g., undergraduate certificates at Levels 1 and 2 from a prior approved bachelor's program; post-baccalaureate certificates at Level 5 from a prior approved master's program).

 

Creation of a joint degree program from two previously approved programs.

 

"Board" refers to the Board of Higher Education.

 

"Board of Control" means one of the following:

 

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago State University, the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Governors State University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University, the Illinois Community College Board, or the campuses under their governance or supervision.

 

"Certificate or degree program" means a formal award that is included in an institution's catalog and completion of which is noted on students' official transcripts certifying the satisfactory completion of undergraduate, post-baccalaureate or graduate organized program of study at an institution.

 

"Credit hour" means an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:

 

One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or 10 to 12 weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different period of time; or

 

Documented student learning outcomes and evidence of student achievement resulting from a program provided through an alternative delivery method that demonstrates equivalency to those competencies achieved through traditional classroom delivery; or

 

At least an equivalent amount of student work as required to achieve intended learning outcomes or competencies as verified by evidence of student achievement for other academic activities established by the institution, including prior learning assessment, laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work and other academic work leading to the award of each credit hour.

 

"Degree" means any designation, appellation, series of letters or words, or other symbol that signifies or purports to signify that the recipient has satisfactorily completed an organized program of study of at least one year beyond the secondary school level.  It shall include, but not be limited to, the following:  certificate, associate, bachelor, post-baccalaureate certificate, master, post-master certificate, doctor's degree − professional practice (degree required for entry into specific profession such as law or medicine), and doctor's degree − research and scholarship.

 

"Dual credit" means an instructional arrangement in which an academically qualified student currently enrolled in high school enrolls in a college-level course and, upon successful course completion, concurrently earns both college credit and high school credit. 

 

"Faculty" means any individual or group of individuals who are qualified by education and experience to give expert instruction and evaluation in their specialties, to supervise curricular experiences, and to evaluate learning for credit.

 

"General education" provides students with a broad foundation of study upon which to build an undergraduate education.

 

"Home campus" is also known as "in-region". Both "home campus" and "in-region" are defined as the Board approved region within which the institution's original campus would have been located had the regions existed at that time.

 

"Mediated instruction" means, for the purposes of this Part, the delivery of instruction at a distance facilitated by technology, such as via teleconferencing, video-conferencing, or internet.

 

"New branch" or "new campus" means a new site that houses a full range of instruction, as well as administrative and support services. 

 

A "branch" is an administrative unit of an institution that has a continuing educational mission and serves as a secondary instructional site for the institution. 

 

A "campus" is an organized administrative unit of an institution that has a continuing educational mission and serves as a primary instructional site for the institution. 

 

A "new branch" or "new campus" is characterized by the following criteria: the site offers courses in educational programs leading to a degree, certificate or other recognized educational credential; it is permanent in nature; it has its own faculty and administrative or supervisory organization; and has its own budgetary and hiring authority.

 

"New instructional location" means an additional out-of-region instructional site separate from a branch or campus at which 50 percent or more of a program is offered, but that otherwise does not meet the definition of a new branch or campus.  A new location does not constitute a new branch or campus unless the site meets the other criteria in the definition of a branch or campus.  For programs that are currently authorized by the Board, institutions may request a reasonable and moderate extension request to add the program to an out-of-region new instructional location.

 

"New geographical location" is also known as "out-of-region".  Both "new geographical location" and "out-of-region" sites are those sites located outside of the region within which the institution's original campus would have been located had the regions existed at that time. 

 

"New unit of instruction" means one or more of the following:

 

Any new organized program of study beyond the secondary school level that results in the formal award of a degree to a student.

 

Any organized program of study beyond the secondary school level that is offered at a new geographical location and results in the award to a student of an existing degree (i.e., one that is currently granted by the institution).

 

Any new formally organized administrative entity that would have a continuing instructional mission, including but not limited to a campus, branch, college, school, department or division.

 

"New unit of instruction, research or public service" includes the establishment of a college, school, division, institute, department or other unit in any field of instruction, research or public service not previously included in the program of the institution, and includes the establishment of any new branch or campus.  The term does not include reasonable and moderate extensions of existing curricula, research, or public service programs that have a direct relationship to existing programs; the Board may, under its rulemaking power, define the character of reasonable and moderate extensions. [110 ILCS 205/7]

 

"New unit of public service" means any new formally organized administrative entity that would have a continuing public service mission, including but not limited to a school, department, division, institute or center.

 

"New unit of research" means any new formally organized administrative entity that would have a continuing research mission, including but not limited to a school, department, division, institute or center.

 

"Notice of intent" or "NOI" means the filing of intent for a new program or unit by the institution that is seeking certificate or degree granting authority.  Notices of intent shall be publicly posted on the Board's website for no less than 30 days prior to any Board action on the application and shall remain active for one year after the public posting period has expired.

 

"Reasonable and moderate extension" or "RME" means one or more of the following:

 

An addition of a unit supported primarily through external funding, including the establishment of a grant-funded center.  When approved under this category, the unit would hold approval through the period of external funding and would not require additional approval unless the external funding was no longer available.  The university would not commit to maintain the unit if the external funding was lost and the university would report elimination of the center through the annual listing process provided to the Board. 

 

Creation of a new formally organized research or public service unit that has a temporary mission of up to five years.  (Criteria for continuation and a date for submission and request for permanent approval should accompany the RME.)

 

Creation of a certificate program in a field or at a level in which there is not a previously approved degree program at that level or a higher level.

 

Creation of a new program that results from the reorganization or restructuring of the curricular elements of an existing program that have over time evolved into separate and distinct programs (e.g., split into two or more autonomous programs, or options have evolved into separate programs).

 

Reclassification of a program resulting from incremental changes or consolidation of two or more degree programs into a single program with a change of the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) developed by the National Center for Educational Statistics. 

 

Changes in degree designation at the same level (e.g., B.A. to B.F.A., B.B.A. to B.S., M.A. to M.S., or D.B.A. to Ph.D.).

 

Creation of an out-of-region degree program.  As much as possible the proposed program should be functionally equivalent to the existing program offered on campus, including curriculum, faculty qualifications, instructional technology, and library resources.  The program must have effective student support systems."Region" refers to a geographical area within which an institution may operate a unit of instruction, research and public service and is not limited to the site within the region where the institution initially applied.  A region consists of one or more coterminous community college districts.  The community college districts are also property taxing districts established as provided in 110 ILCS 805/Art. III. The ten regions, described by community college district and community college district numbers, are as follows (see also Illustration A):

 

"North Suburban Region (1)" consists of the Lake County (532), Oakton (535), and William R. Harper (512) community college districts;

 

"Fox Valley Region (2)" consists of the Elgin (509), Kishwaukee (523), McHenry (528), Rock Valley (511), and Waubonsee (516) community college districts;

 

"West Suburban Region (3)" consists of the DuPage (502), Morton (527), and Triton (504) community college districts;

 

"Western Region (4)" consists of the Black Hawk (503), Carl Sandburg (518), Highland (519), John Wood (539), Sauk Valley (506), and Spoon River (534) community college districts;

 

"Central Region (5)" consists of the Heartland (540), Illinois Central District (514), Illinois Valley (513), and Lincoln Land (526) community college districts;

 

"South Metro Region (6)" consists of the Joliet (525), Kankakee (520), Moraine Valley (524), Prairie State (515), and South Suburban (510) community college districts;

 

"Prairie Region (7)" consists of the Danville (507), Lake Land (517), Parkland (505), and Richland (537) community college districts;

 

"Southwestern Region (8)" consists of the Illinois Eastern (529), Kaskaskia (501), Lewis and Clark (536), and Southwestern Illinois (522) community college districts;

 

"Southern Region (9)" consists of the John A. Logan (530), Rend Lake (521), Shawnee (531), and Southeastern (533) community college districts; and

 

"Chicago Region (10)" consists of the City Colleges of Chicago (508) community college district.

 

"State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement" or "SARA" means the voluntary program that implements reciprocity agreements amongst states, institutions and the National Council for SARA for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs, pursuant to the Higher Education Distance Learning Act [110 ILCS 145].

 

"Terminal degree" means the highest level of college degree available in a particular field.

 

"Upper-division instruction" means course content and teaching appropriate for junior- and senior-year students in a baccalaureate program or other students with expertise in the subject.

 

(Source:  Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 120, effective December 19, 2017)