Standard II.A

Standard II. A. 13

13. All degree programs include focused study in at least one area of inquiry or in an established interdisciplinary core. The identification of specialized courses in an area of inquiry or interdisciplinary core is based upon student learning outcomes and competencies, and include mastery, at the appropriate degree level, of key theories and practices within the field of study. The institution agrees and comply with the requirements of the accreditation standards to offer programs with specialized courses across the disciplines and to ensure the institution meet the requirements

2019-2020 catalog lists all the institution programs- II.A-13

· Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education

· Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with Advanced with Specialization Certificate in Deaf Education

· Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with Advanced with specialization Certificate in Severe Disability

· Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with Certificate of Completion in Special Education

· 4 Associate Degrees

· 8 Certificate of Completion

· 3 Job skill Certification

Analysis and Evaluation

As shown in the institution response to Standard II. A.9, it is evidenced that all course levels and programs have appropriate learning outcomes as the requirements for awarding credit. (II.A.-13 ; II.A.-11), ( CMI catalog pg. 66-135), (CMI annual Report,2019 pg. 27-30) The curriculum review process ensure that all courses and programs are consistently aligned with, and meet the legal mandates, ACCJC accreditation standards, industry requirements and practices common in American higher education. (II.A.13) The Assessment Committee occasionally reviews all learning outcomes to ensure they are still relevant in the inevitable changes of the curriculum or programs.

To ensure students are obtaining and mastering skills in all the course levels along with the key theories and practices of student area of inquiry, all course level SLOs are mapped into the PLOs, for PLOs are attained upon the conferring of the degrees and certificates. Such degrees and certificates are the strong evidence that students have achieved the expected level of competency within their field of studies. (II.A-5),

Baccalaureate Degree

As indicated in the institution response to Standards II. A. 5 and II. A. 12, Bachelor of Arts students will earn 120 credits. Like the other fields of studies, the BA degree program engages in the program review process and a continuous assessment of course level SLOs.

As a result, the College of the Marshall Islands meets Standard II. A.13.

II.A.12 | The institution requires of all of its degree programs a component of general education based on a carefully considered philosophy for both associate and baccalaureate degrees that is clearly stated in its catalog. The institution, relying on faculty expertise, determines the appropriateness of each course for inclusion in the general education curriculum, based upon student learning outcomes and competencies appropriate to the degree level. The learning outcomes include a student’s preparation for and acceptance of responsible participation in civil society, skills for lifelong learning and application of learning, and a broad comprehension of the development of knowledge, practice, and interpretive approaches in the arts and humanities, the sciences, mathematics, and social sciences. (ER 12)

The mission of the General Education core program is to empower students to make intelligent life choices by providing a foundation in Inquiry and critical thinking, communication, the diversity of the human experience, and ethics and social responsibility. The mission of the GE core program complements the mission of the college in that it focuses on skills that support access to quality, student-centered, post-secondary educational services, as well as the ILOs in that students are required to use skills and knowledge to the economic, political, intellectual, social, and ethical benefit of local communities, the RMI, and the global community and make innovative, informed, and responsible decisions based on evidence. All our Associate programs require the completion of a General Education pattern (with a total of 26 credits). The GE Pattern includes courses required of all students, regardless of major or career goals, for the associate degree. The GE pattern has seven subject areas: 1) English Language, 2) First Year Experience, 3) Humanities, 4) Mathematics, 5) Science, 6) Social Science, and 7) Technology.

Our General Education PLOs enable students to communicate complex ideas and information, demonstrate civic awareness, process, analyze and synthesize information from a variety of sources, use the scientific method to solve problems, demonstrate quantitative literacy, and demonstrate understanding and appreciation of the creative processes in the arts and humanities, the sciences, mathematics, and social sciences. All course level SLOs, PLOs and ILOs, as well as GE PLOs have been mapped where appropriate.

Additional Questions

Mission of GE program – how does it overlap with the college mission …

What excerpt from the Catalogue about GE can we put in here?

How is the GE program reviewed? (CC and quote CC manual)

II.A.11 | The institution includes in all of its programs, student learning outcomes, appropriate to the program level, in communication competency, information competency, quantitative competency, analytic inquiry skills, ethical reasoning, the ability to engage diverse perspectives, and other program-specific learning outcomes.

CMI ILO’s

The CMI graduate will have life-goals and will know how to use available resources to achieve those goals.

The CMI graduate will be knowledgeable and respectful of his or her own culture and respect the cultures of others.

The CMI graduate will use skills and knowledge to the economic, political, intellectual, social, and ethical benefit of local communities, the RMI, and the global community.

The CMI graduate will make innovative, informed, and responsible decisions based on evidence.

The CMI graduate will understand the importance of mental and physical well-being and be able to make personal decisions leading to a healthy lifestyle.

Standard II.A.11

The institution includes in all of its programs, student learning outcomes, appropriate to the program level, in communication competency, information competency, quantitative competency, analytic inquiry skills, ethical reasoning, the ability to engage diverse perspectives, and other program-specific learning outcomes.

The mission of the College of the Marshall Islands is to provide access to quality, student-centered, post-secondary educational services to the Marshallese people. The College also provides selective, higher education programming, intellectual resources, and research specific to the needs of the nation and the larger Pacific community.

The mission statement of the College refers to the major areas for which we offer instructional programs: associate degrees and certificates, as well as the newly created baccalaureate degree in Elementary Education. The mission statement also reflects on key aspects of the ILOs we want our students to achieve. The ILOs are described more fully for students and the public in the Catalogue, posted online. The ILOs are also posted on publicly-accessible website:

Educational Master Plan

ILO Chart and Mapping Template

Program Review Handbook

Although the language of Standard II.A.11 does not appear specifically in the Institutional Learning Outcomes of the College, it is possible to map the boarder concepts covered by Standard II.A.11 over the ILO’s of the College.

College of the Marshall Islands ILO’s

Communication Competency

Information Competency

Quantitative Competency

Analytic Competency

Ethical Competency

Engage Diverse Perspectives

Have life-goals and know how to use available resources to achieve those goals.

x

x

x

x

x

Be knowledgeable and respectful of culture.

x

x

x

x

Use skills and knowledge to the economic, political, intellectual, social, and ethical benefit of local communities, the RMI, and the global community.

x

x

x

x

x

x

Make innovative, informed, and responsible decisions based on evidence.

x

x

Understand the importance of mental and physical well-being and be able to make personal decisions leading to a healthy lifestyle.

x

x

x

We ensure that all our students who receive degrees or certificates achieve the ILOs in several ways:

· Regularly assess and map SLOs and PLOs to the ILOs and, if applicable, GELOs

· Require all students to take a GE pattern of courses

· Assess the ILOs directly

Because the college has mapped all of its course level SLOs to its PLOs and ILOs, as well as the GELOs where appropriate, the regular assessment of the SLOs and PLOs ensures that we are also addressing the assessment of the ILOs.

Standard II.A.10: The institution makes available to its students clearly stated transfer-of-credit policies in order to facilitate the mobility of students without penalty. In accepting transfer credits to fulfill degree requirements, the institution certifies that the expected learning outcomes for transferred courses are comparable to the learning outcomes of its own courses. Where patterns of student enrollment between institutions are identified, the institution develops articulation agreements as appropriate to its mission. (ER 10)

The transfer of credits policy is located in the CMI Catalog and on the website and is reviewed when needed by the Enrollment Management Committee (EMC). The policy provides that transfer credits are accepted from United States’ accredited colleges and universities or from international colleges and universities if accreditation equivalency has been established with the following restrictions:

● Transfer credits must have a minimum grade of 2.00 (C) on a 4.00 scale. Transfer credits must be at the College level.

● A maximum of 30 semester or 45 quarter hours of academic credit is accepted toward a CMI associate degree.

● Transfer credits are evaluated through a course-by-course analysis.

The transfer of credit is based on factors such as applicability to the CMI program and quality of grades. All official transcripts are received by the director of admissions and evaluated by the dean of academic affairs or the vice president for academic and student affairs to determine if courses are relevant and apply to a college major. The decision to accept or deny credit will be made by the dean of academic affairs or the vice president for academic and student affairs. The student will be informed of the decision of the accepted credits by the Dean of Academic Affairs after consultation with the VPASA. This is done through a one-to-one advising between the Dean of Academic Affairs and the individual student. CMI has the right to award or deny transfer credit depending on the relevance and applicability of such credits to the total degree program. The final 12 credits in any CMI degree program must be earned at the College of the Marshall Islands (Transfer of Credits Policy in Website).

Articulation agreements are initiated by the vice president for academic and student affairs, who evaluates the agreements along with the Curriculum Committee (CC) and the president of the college. The basis for articulation agreements is the relevancy to the CMI curriculum and the needs and wants of the students. The College currently has articulation agreements or memorandum of understanding with the University of Hawaii-Hilo, University of Guam (UOG), Taipei Medical University, University of Ryukus, and the University of the South Pacific (USP).

In the BAEE program, the transfer of credits policy states that “The College of the Marshall Islands values the work accomplished and will accommodate any transferable credits. In order for the course to transfer, students must have earned a C or better from a regionally accredited community college or university. CMI Admissions Officer and Dean of Academic Affairs will then review the course content and material to determine if course credits are viable for transfer. A total of up to 70 college or university credits can be transferred in order to ensure that the transferred student can earn a CMI 4-year Bachelor degree.” The policy was approved through the participatory governance process (EMC Electronic Vote Transfer Policy May 15, 2018, EC Meeting Minutes May 16, 2018, and BOR Meeting Minutes May 29, 2018).

Draft of Standard 11.A. 9

Standard II.A.9: The institution awards course credit, degrees and certificates based on student attainment of learning outcomes. Units of credit awarded are consistent with institutional policies that reflect generally accepted norms or equivalencies in higher education. If the institution offers courses based on clock hours, it follows Federal standards for clock-to-credit-hour conversions. (ER 10)

The CMI Catalog states the criteria for evaluating student learning and awarding course credit. The criteria for course credit for all our courses, including the upper division courses in our baccalaureate program, reflect Board Policy and are in line with Title 5 regulations and Commission Policy on Institutional Degrees and Credits. Student evaluation processes, grading criteria, and SLOs are published in Department Websites and appear in the course syllabi. (Evidence CMI CATALOG)

Our faculty conduct ongoing assessment of learning outcomes, and report mid-term and annual assessments reports to the Registrar, who post reports on the SIS Navigator. Faculty ensure alignment of course content and outcomes (Evidence SIS)

The CMI Catalog states the requirements for the awarding of degrees and certificates and the listed requirements include minimum competencies. When a new course is entered into from the Curriculum Committee, the clock –to-clock credit hours are calculated by the Curriculum.

Analysis and Evaluation.

Student learning outcomes (SLOs) and program learning outcomes (PLOs) are reviewed and approved through the participatory governance structure of the College specifically by the Faculty Senate and the Curriculum Committee (CC). The SLOs and PLOs are then assessed by faculty. The CC ensures that all SLOs are appropriate for the level and amount of credit awarded prior to approving course outlines. CC also reviews the mapping of the SLOs to associated program PLOs, including the General Education PLOs. Faculty then design their teaching-learning activities based on the SLOs. Some faculty employ the same embedded assignments used to evaluate instruction and complete SLO assessments to evaluate students. All this information, including the faculty’s expectations of students and their basis for assigning grades to students are included in the faculty’s syllabus which are revised or updated at the start of every semester. Adjunct faculty members work with department chairs in the design of their syllabus to ensure consistency across all department faculty members. All faculty members, full-time and adjunct, are required to submit copies of their course syllabus to the dean of academic affairs (Sample Faculty Syllabi Fall 19 and Spring 20) and to the students. Students use the syllabi to get course textbooks and class materials from the College Bookstore. All faculty document the basis for awarding credit, and the registrar records those credits. CMI awards course credit, degrees and certificates based on the student’s satisfactory completion of the degree course requirements focused on defined learning outcomes at the course and program level (SLO-PLO Mapping Report from Nuventive Impprove). In addition, each and every program learning outcome is mapped to the Institutional Student

Learning Outcome which defines the goals for a CMI graduate (PLO-ISLO Mapping Report from Nuventive Approve.).

The unit of credit at CMI is the semester credit. All courses that comprise only of a lecture delivered in 16 weeks of 50 minutes of contact hours per semester equal one credit. Laboratory, workshop, seminar hours and nursing clinical hours vary and are equal to one credit. Practicum and internships also vary both in hours and credit depending on the degree program