N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8 § 52.2

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 52.2 - Standards for the registration of undergraduate and graduate curricula

(a) Resources. The institution shall:

(1) possess the financial resources necessary to accomplish its mission and the purposes of each registered curriculum;

(2) provide classrooms, faculty offices, auditoria, laboratories, libraries, audiovisual and computer facilities, clinical facilities, studios, practice rooms, and other instructional resources sufficient in number, design, condition, and accessibility to support the curricular objectives dependent on their use;

(3) provide equipment sufficient in quantity and quality to support instruction, research, and student performance; and

(4) provide libraries that possess and maintain collections sufficient in depth and breadth to support the mission of the institution and each registered curriculum. Libraries shall be administered by professionally trained staff supported by sufficient personnel. Library services and resources shall be available for student and faculty use with sufficient regularity and at appropriate hours to support the mission of the institution and the curricula it offers.

(b) Faculty.

(1) All members of the faculty shall have demonstrated by training, earned degrees, scholarship, experience, and by classroom performance or other evidence of teaching potential, their competence to offer the courses and discharge the other academic responsibilities which are assigned to them.

(2) To foster and maintain continuity and stability in academic programs and policies, there shall be in the institution a sufficient number of faculty members who serve full-time at the institution.

(3) For each curriculum the institution shall designate a body of faculty who, with the academic officers of the institution, shall be responsible for setting curricular objectives, for determining the means by which achievement of objectives in measured, for evaluating the achievement of curricular objectives and for providing academic advice to students. The faculty shall be sufficient in number to assure breadth and depth of instruction and the proper discharge of all other faculty responsibilities. The ratio of faculty to students in each course shall be sufficient to assure effective instruction.

(4) At least one faculty member teaching in each curriculum culminating in a bachelor's degree shall hold an earned doctorate in an appropriate field, unless the commissioner determines that the curriculum is in a field of study in which other standards are appropriate.

(5) All faculty members who teach within a curriculum leading to a graduate degree shall possess earned doctorates or other terminal degrees in the field in which they are teaching or shall have demonstrated, in other widely recognized ways, their special competence in the field in which they direct graduate students.

(6) The teaching and research of each faculty member, in accordance with faculty member's responsibilities, shall be evaluated periodically by the institution. The teaching of each inexperienced faculty member shall receive special supervision during the initial period of appointment.

(7) Each member of the faculty shall be allowed adequate time, in accordance with the faculty member's responsibilities, to broaden professional knowledge, prepare course materials, advise students, direct independent study and research, supervise teaching, participate in institutional governance and carry out other academic responsibilities appropriate to his or her position, in addition to performing assigned teaching and administrative duties.

(c) Curricula and awards.

(1) In addition to the requirements of section 53.3 of this Subchapter, the objectives of each curriculum and its courses shall be well defined in writing. Course descriptions shall clearly state the subject matter and requirements of each course.

(2) For each curriculum, the institution shall assure that courses will be offered with sufficient frequency to enable students to complete the program within the minimum time for completion, in accordance with paragraphs (6)-(10) of this subdivision.

(3) Credit toward an undergraduate degree shall be earned only for college level work. Credit toward a graduate degree shall be earned only through work designed expressly for graduate students. Enrollment of secondary school students in undergraduate courses, of undergraduates in graduate courses, and of graduate students in undergraduate courses shall be strictly controlled by the institution.

(4) A semester hour of credit may be granted by an institution for fewer hours of instruction and study than those specified in subdivision (o) of section 50.1 of this Subchapter only:

(i) when approved by the commissioner as part of a registered curriculum;

(ii) when the commissioner has granted prior approval for the institution to maintain a statement of academic standards that defines the considerations which establish equivalency of instruction and study and such statement has been adopted by the institution; or

(iii) in the event of a temporary closure of an institution by the State or local government as a result of a disaster, as defined in section 50.1(w) of this Title, when the commissioner has granted approval for the institution to maintain a statement of academic standards that defines the considerations which establish equivalency of instruction and study and such statement has been adopted by the institution.

(5) The institution shall assure that credit is granted only to students who have achieved the stated objectives of each credit-bearing learning activity.

(6) Associate degree programs shall normally be capable of completion in two academic years of full-time study, or its equivalent in part-time study, with an accumulation of not less than 60 semester hours.

(7) Baccalaureate degree programs shall normally be capable of completion in four academic years of full-time study, or, in the case of five-year programs, five academic years of full-time study, or their equivalent in part-time study, with an accumulation of not less than 120 semester hours.

(8) Master's degree programs shall normally require a minimum of one academic year of full-time graduate level study, or its equivalent in part-time study, with an accumulation of not less than 30 semester hours. Research or a comparable occupational or professional experience shall be a component of each master's degree program. The requirements for a master's degree shall normally include at least one of the following: passing a comprehensive test, writing a thesis based on independent research or completing an appropriate special project.

(9) The master of philosophy degree shall require completion of all requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy except the dissertation, and shall require that the student has been admitted to candidacy in a doctor of philosophy curriculum offered by the institution conferring the master of philosophy degree.

(10) Doctoral programs shall require a minimum of three academic years of full-time graduate level study after the baccalaureate degree, or their equivalent in part-time study. Doctoral studies shall include the production of a substantial report on original research, the independent investigation of a topic of significance to the field of study, the production of an appropriate creative work, or the verified development of advanced professional skills.

(11) In addition to the requirements of this section, a program desired to fulfill in part the requirements for licensure in a profession regulated by title VIII of the Education Law shall also meet such requirements as may be established by statute, by the rules of the Regents, or by any other section of this Part.

(12) All registered programs intended to satisfy the educational requirements for professional licensure as identified in paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 6507 of the EducationLaw or intended to satisfy the educational requirements for certification or licensure as a teacher, pupil personnel services professional, school administrator and supervisor, or school district administrator shall include two hours of approved coursework or training regarding the identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment. Such coursework or training shall include information concerning the physical and behavioral indicators of child abuse and maltreatment and the statutory reporting requirements set out in Social Services Law, sections 413 through 420, including, but not limited to, when and how a report must be made, what other actions the reporter is mandated or authorized to take, the legal protections afforded reporters, and the consequences for failing to report.

(d) Admissions.

(1) The admission of students shall be determined through an orderly process using published criteria which shall be uniformly applied. Among other considerations, the admissions process shall encourage the increased participation in collegiate programs at all levels of persons from groups historically under-represented in such programs.

(2) Admissions shall take into account the capacity of the student to undertake a course of study and the capacity of the institution to provide the instructional and other support the student needs to complete the program.

(e) Administration.

(1) Responsibility for the administration of institutional policies and programs shall be clearly established.

(2) Within the authority of its governing board, the institution shall provide that overall educational policy and its implementation are the responsibility of the institution's faculty and academic officers. Other appropriate segments of the institutional community may share in this responsibility in accordance with the norms developed by each institution.

(3) The institution shall establish, publish and enforce explicit policies with respect to:

(i) academic freedom;

(ii) the rights and privileges of full-time and part-time faculty and other staff members, working conditions, opportunity for professional development, workload, appointment and reappointment, affirmative action, evaluation of teaching and research, termination of appointment, redress of grievances and faculty responsibility to the institution; and

(iii) requirements for admission of students to the institution and to specific curricula, requirements for residence, graduation, awarding of credit, degrees or other credentials, grading, standards of progress, payment of fees of any nature, refunds, withdrawals, standards of conduct, disciplinary measures and redress of grievances.

(4) Academic policies applicable to each course, including learning objectives and methods of assessing student achievement, shall be made explicit by the instructor at the beginning of each term.

(5) The institution shall provide academic advice to students through faculty or appropriately qualified persons. The institution shall assure that students are informed at stated intervals of their progress and remaining obligations in the completion of the program.

(6) The institution shall maintain for each student a permanent, complete, accurate, and up- to-date transcript of student achievement at the institution. This document will be the official cumulative record of the student's cumulative achievement. Copies shall be made available at the student's request, in accordance with the institution' s stated policies, or to agencies or individuals authorized by law to review such records.

(f) Other requirements. The institution shall assure:

(1) that all educational activities offered as part of a registered curriculum meet the requirements established by statute, the rules of the Regents or this Part; and

(2) that whenever and wherever the institution offers courses as part of a registered curriculum it shall provide adequate academic support services.

(g) Exceptions. To achieve particular objectives, an institution may depart from these standards with the prior written approval of the commissioner.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 8 § 52.2