Policies & Procedures

Academic Programs

Administrative Guidelines for Extramural Instructional Programs - 1B1

These guidelines apply to programs which carry regular university credit and which are designed to be offered without the support of state appropriations. These are full programs of instruction leading to university degrees. They are distinguished from other university instructional programs in that they are conducted at locations other than the main instructional centers located at Edwardsville, Alton, and East Saint Louis and fees are charged at a level which recovers all costs of instruction. The guidelines are subject to modification and change as needed, through appropriate consultation between the Provost and those academic units involved. They should be supplemented by detailed school or college or departmental policies as required.

The development and administration of these programs may require administrative services and controls which supplement those which have been designed to insure efficient operation of academic programs at the Edwardsville, Alton, and East Saint Louis campuses. These services and controls may include cross-school or college coordination of program scheduling, provisions for instructional facilities and supportive services in remote locations, liaison with external agencies and a dispersed student body, policies for establishing fee levels, and program budgeting arrangements in support of units engaged in these activities. Responsibility for assuring appropriate levels of service rests jointly upon program faculty and administrators and upon administrative support units.

Responsibility for Academic Programs: An extramural instructional program shall normally be the responsibility of a departmental chairman or his designee. In the case of programs which are interdisciplinary, cross-departmental, or cross-school or college, a program director will be identified at the appropriate level (e.g., the Dean or the program director of an interdisciplinary program). Each program director will be responsible for scheduling, faculty appointments, curriculum development, student advisement, and all other duties which normally devolve upon faculty units charged with operating instructional programs. In all academic matters, normal university procedures will be followed except as special procedures may be developed in order to meet the particular requirements of these programs. Normal administrative reporting lines (e.g., Department Chairman to Dean to Provost) will be followed in the administration of these programs.

Program Coordination Responsibility: When coordination of two or more programs or program components is required, such coordination shall be performed at the next more central level of administration. Interdepartmental programs will be coordinated by the Dean or his designee. Interschool or college programs shall be coordinated by the deans concerned through the Office of the Provost. Appropriate program budgets (or unit budget augmentations) shall be made from program revenue to provide the necessary resources to those charged with coordination. In no case shall coordination be interpreted to imply that a more central administrative office shall assume control of matters which would otherwise rest in the program units.

Fiscal Responsibilities: Each program director shall be assigned a program budget based upon his approved schedule of course offerings and activities. The program budget shall include sufficient funds to support the program in all budget categories appropriate to the administrative level of the director.

Office of the Provost -Services and Functions: The Office of the Provost shall serve as the central coordinating agency for extramural instruction, in the same manner as for resident instructional programs. Specifically it shall:

1. Develop, in consultation with appropriate units, university policies governing features of these programs which are unique.
2. Establish policies relative to program budgets and program revenue through consultation with participating academic units and the responsible deans.
3. Assist interested academic units in the development of programs through providing administrative assistance and initial budget support, where necessary.
4. Approve all new extramural programs or expansions of existing programs.
5. Serve as a central clearing point for information about the extramural instructional programs of the university.
6. Facilitate services of various campus units (e.g., Registrar, Bursar, Library, Student Affairs) to program units, as required.
7. Assist in the development of programs of financial assistance designed to meet the special needs of students in these programs.
8. Arrange for, and support remote facilities when they are necessary and justifiable for programs.

Responsibilities of Program Directors: Academic program directors will assume the same responsibilities with respect to extramural instructional programs as they do with respect to on-campus instructional programs. Normal reporting and coordinating procedures will be observed. Specifically, academic program directors shall:

1. Recruit the teaching staff and recommend all appointments to teach in extramural programs through regular channels, to the Provost. New graduate faculty or visiting graduate faculty must be approved by the Graduate Dean.
2. Schedule courses and coordinate the schedule with units offering secondary concentrations in his program.
3. Provide academic advisement for off-campus students in degree programs.
4. Be responsible for curriculum development and for the quality and appropriateness of the instruction offered in their programs.

Scheduling:

1. An official schedule of all extramural instructional offerings shall be maintained by the Registrar, and an academic term class schedule shall be published for distribution to students and faculty.
2. The responsibility for scheduling rests with academic program directors. Program directors must normally submit class schedules to the Registrar at least 13 weeks in advance of the commencement of an off-campus term.
3. Schedules involving non-university classrooms will be coordinated and cleared with the appropriate outside agency or industry officials by the program director.

Average Enrollments:

Enrollments in courses offered by a given program, within any given term, shall be at a level which will insure that all program costs, including overhead, are recovered. Exceptions to this policy shall only be made in the case of newly developing programs where explicit approval and short-term developmental funding have been granted by the Vice Chancellor and Provost.

Planning and Review:

Program planning, modification, and review will be conducted as it is for on-campus activities.

Course Evaluations:

Each extramurally offered course should be evaluated through a questionnaire distributed to each student by mail after the last class meeting. Program directors will use student evaluations in conjunction with other criteria to assess the appropriateness of course materials, of curricular components, and of individual instructors for off-campus instructional programs.

Fee Structure:

Fees shall be set at a level which will at least provide sufficient revenue to pay all costs of instruction; fees shall be deposited with the Bursar.

Residual Funds:

The status of each program account will be jointly reviewed by the program director, his/her dean, and the Office of the Provost. They shall jointly determine the extent to which revenues have exceeded necessary program expenses and requirements for an operating cash reserve. Excess revenues shall be considered as residual funds and shall be distributed according to the University policy governing distribution of recovered indirect costs from training grants.

Student Admissions:

Students in extramural instructional programs shall be subject to regular University requirements for admission and retention.

Faculty Payment:

Faculty may accept assignment to teach in extramural instructional programs as part of their normal teaching load, or as an overload. When such assignment is part of the normal load, the appropriate portion of his salary shall be charged to the program budget. Overload teaching shall be compensated at the rate applicable to visiting faculty. According to current regulations, individual faculty members are limited to a maximum of two month's salary in overpayment per annual period beginning with the fall term.

Compensation for Visiting Professors:

Visiting faculty shall normally be compensated according to a scale approved by the Provost.

Individual units may establish other compensation scales subject to approval by the Provost.

Travel Expenses:

Faculty who teach in extramural programs are entitled to reimbursement for costs of travel and maintenance incurred by requirements of the assignment, in accordance with University travel regulations.

Approved by Chancellor effective 8/2/95
This policy was issued on January 11, 2002, replacing the February 1, 1996 version.
Document Reference: 1B1
Origin: AAT 30; OP 11/5/90; OP 4/10/91; OP 8/2/95