Hillsborough Community College defines and publishes General Education requirements and major program requirements through two principal mediums: the HCC Catalog, which is also included in the HCC website.  These requirements are in compliance with Florida statutes and State Board of Education Rules (General Education Requirements - Florida Statutes 1007.01 and State Board of Education Rules 6A-10), which constitute the commonly accepted standards and practices for degree programs in the State of Florida. 

The College offers Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Science (AS), and Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degrees.  The AA degree, which requires 36 hours of General Education course work as mandated by Florida Statute 1007.23, is awarded to students who complete university transfer curricula designed to prepare them to enter as juniors at four-year State colleges or universities.  The AS degree and the AAS degree, which require 15 to 18 hours of General Education coursework (depending on the specific program), are awarded to students who complete technical program curricula.  Currently, the College has one AA program, 42 AS programs, and 48 AAS programs.

Hillsborough Community College provides information about its educational programs, including philosophy, goals, and required courses, through the HCC Catalog, the Career Book, and its recruitment materials, such as AS Program Brochures.  Students are also able to obtain information on the HCC website, the State’s advising website (FACTS.org), the College’s advising guides, and through sessions with advisors and counselors.  The Orientation Course (SLS 1101 sample syllabus) and the College Success Course (SLS 1501 sample syllabus) further inform students about College programs.

The institution ensures that all documents provide clear, complete, and consistent information through its annual review process.  Specifically, each fall, all deans, directors, and program managers are asked to review the college catalog for accuracy.  The director of student services shares the catalog with academic advisors and counselors for supplemental reviews to improve accuracy.  Recommendations for changes are coordinated through the office of associate in arts programs.  Other documents, both printed and otherwise, undergo similar annual review processes.

Program Design, Goals, and Experiences

HCC faculty participate on statewide curriculum advisory committees that help to establish general education and program requirements.  For example, the HCC chair of the preparatory curriculum cluster serves on the SCNS reading advisory committee.  Three HCC faculty serve on a statewide English for Academic Purposes (EAP) committee. 

In addition, occupational-technical programs, including health science programs, conform to standards set by program-specific accrediting agencies and/or standards set by industry (HCC Catalog p. 8- Accreditation).

Internally, each HCC program undergoes design through the academic affairs process, includes published goals, and provides an identifiable set of experiences for students. 

Program Design

Hillsborough Community College designs programs through the academic affairs process, which is described in the Academic Affairs Handbook.   A flowchart of the process appears below.  The expanded version appears on page 11 of the Academic Affairs Handbook.

Initiator → Faculty Curriculum Cluster Review → Technical Review →

Academic Affairs Committee  → Vice President of Education and Student Development/Cabinet  →

President  → Board of Trustees

A description of the flowchart follows:

• The initiator submits a recommendation to one of the fourteen faculty curriculum clusters. 
• The cluster reviews the proposal and votes for or against it.  Proposals approved by the cluster are moved forward to the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC).  If the cluster votes against the proposal, the initiator may still submit it to the AAC.
• Prior to being reviewed by the AAC, the Technical Review Committee (TRC), which is made up of faculty, staff, and administrators, reviews the proposal for accuracy and alignment with state and institutional policy.  The TRC votes for or against moving the proposal forward to the AAC.  Proposals that are not approved by the TRC are sent back to the academic cluster for review and revision.
• The Academic Affairs Committee, which is comprised of faculty representatives from each academic cluster, reviews proposals for appropriateness to our students and our institution.  The review focuses on a variety of elements such as curriculum alignment, student learning outcomes, program outcomes, institutional policy, state policy, student needs, and community needs.
• The AAC makes recommendations on the proposal to the Vice President of Education and Student Development, who makes recommendations in concert with Cabinet Leadership to the President.  If approved, the President makes the final recommendation to the Board of Trustees.  If disapproved, the recommendations are returned to Academic Affairs.
• Minutes of the AAC meetings provide a record of faculty approvals of programs (sample AAC minutes) and Board of Trustee meeting minutes provide a record of final approvals of programs (sample Board minutes).
• As an example of the academic affairs process and recommendations on the curriculum, minutes from the September 2005 meeting are attached (Academic Affairs September 2005 minutes).  In that meeting, recommendations were made for the following:

• Six new AS degrees;
• one new AS program, including twelve new courses for the program;
• one new college credit certificate;
• twelve course modifications; and
• three program modifications.

Program Goals

HCC publishes goals for its AA program, titled General Education Outcomes Statements in the College catalog p.89.  HCC also publishes goals for each occupational/technical program (AS Outcome Statements).  These occupational/technical program goals follow curriculum frameworks established at the state level (Curriculum Frameworks - http://www.firn.edu/doe/dwdframe/).

Program Experiences

The nature of the goals is such that they provide an identifiable set of experiences for each student.  For example, in the AA program, each student is expected to demonstrate their ability to think critically.  The HCC curriculum map (General Education Curriculum Map) identifies the courses in which this goal and experience is introduced, emphasized, and/or reinforced.  Similarly, the AS Outcome Statements document includes the skill sets that students must obtain to meet each program outcome.  For example, a program outcome for Nursing is that students will be able to demonstrate the competencies included in the Nursing Florida Department of Education Curriculum Frameworks.  The assessment of the program outcome is that graduates will score within 10 points or better of the State of Florida passing rate on the NCLEX exam.

Selection of General Education Coursework

The process for determining the coursework to be included in the general education requirement incorporates faculty committee recommendations, an approval procedure, and, ultimately, final approval by the College Board of Trustees.  The General Education Committee makes recommendations on the coursework to include in the general education requirements (General Education Handbook).  The Committee consists of two faculty co-chairs, serving on staggered terms, twelve faculty members from the general education clusters (communications, humanities, math, natural sciences, behavioral sciences, and social sciences), two faculty members from the occupational/technical clusters, one librarian, and one counselor.  The director of associate in arts programs serves as a non-voting member and provides staff support.

The Committee makes recommendations about the general education curriculum to the Academic Affairs Committee, which subsequently endorses or rejects the recommendations.  The General Education Committee undertook the last major revision of the general education curriculum during the 2000-2002 academic years (General Education Committee Final Report).  This undertaking included extensive review of general education programs offered at Florida public universities and community colleges as well as multiple opportunities for faculty-wide participation, including invitations to submit recommendations and college-wide forums for discussion. 

Recommendations from the Academic Affairs Committee go to the Vice President of Education and Student Development, who makes recommendations in concert with Cabinet leadership to the President.  If approved, the President makes the final recommendation to the Board of Trustees.  If disapproved, the recommendations are returned to Academic Affairs and to the General Education Committee.

Determination of Major Program Requirements

Coursework in HCC’s programs are guided by state-level requirements.  For example, as described above, the AA program must include 36 hours of general education coursework, with the remaining 24 hours established as electives.  For each track identified in the AA program, the electives include common course pre-requisites for transfer into the senior-level coursework, as identified in the state Common Prerequisite Manuals for Public Institutions (http://www.facts.org/PreCoreq_SW/PreCoreq2005/index2.html). 

State-level curriculum frameworks (http://www.firn.edu/doe/dwdframe/) guide the determination of AS and AAS program coursework.  Additionally, HCC has established advisory committees to provide input on program design and development and to ensure that these programs remain aligned to business and industry standards (Program Advisory Committees – page 9 of the Catalog). 

Finally, the academic affairs process, also described above, provides the formal approval process for determining coursework in the major program requirements.   For example, during the 2003-2004 academic year, the Academic Affairs Committee recommended 132 modifications to the curriculum, which were subsequently approved by the Board of Trustees.  These included one new program, eleven program modifications, one program deletion, one new certificate, two certificate deletions, 69 new courses, 41 course modifications, and six course deletions.  During the 2004-2005 academic year, 207 modifications, including three new programs, thirteen program modifications, eleven program deletions, four new certificates, 82 new courses, 69 course modifications, and 25 course deletions, were recommended.

Faculty Role in the Design and Assessment of College Programs

The faculty role in the design and assessment of each program is done primarily through the academic affairs process, described above, and through the program review process.  Every five years, each program at the college undergoes a review.  Recently, the Associate in Arts program underwent review, and the task force was chaired by a faculty member from the general education curriculum (AA program review report; AS program review reports). 

In addition, special assessments may develop based on faculty committees.  For example, the General Education Committee recommended the development of a capstone course, IDS 2110 Connections to help assess the effectiveness of HCC’s general education program.  This interdisciplinary course allows students to synthesize key components of their general education experience.  Based on the selected topics approach, the course summarizes major points in the bodies of knowledge that were acquired while students participated in the general education curriculum.  Faculty teaching sections of Connections provide assessments of the effectiveness of HCC’s general education program through their evaluations of overall student performance in Connections.

For AS and AAS programs, HCC has established advisory committees, mentioned previously, to provide input on program design and development and to ensure that these programs remain aligned to business and industry standards (Program Advisory Committees – page 9 of the Catalog). For programs in the health sciences, faculty also participate in the reviews undertaken to secure and maintain professional accreditation (HCC Catalog p. 8- Accreditation).

The faculty’s role in the assessment of the College’s educational programs is discussed in more detail in 3.4.1 and 3.5.1. 

In summary, HCC defines and publishes accurate general education requirements for all of its programs, as well as major program requirements for all of its programs.  These requirements conform to state standards that are accepted in all Florida public postsecondary institutions, and all such standards and associated documentation undergo regular college reviews for accuracy and any needed modifications.