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The following citations from the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education include sections that are referenced within the Application for Registration of a New Program. Please note, however, that this compendium does not include all regulations applicable to program registration. For example, full standards required for programs which lead to teacher certification or licensure in certain professions, as well as procedures for appeal on denial of initial registration, are contained elsewhere in Part 52 of the Regulations.

Registration of Curricula

Section 3.47 Requirements for earned degrees.

(a) No earned degree shall be conferred unless the candidate has had a preliminary education of at least a four-year high school course, or its equivalent, as determined by the commissioner. Satisfactory evidence of such preliminary education must be offered before beginning the course of study for the degree.

(b) No earned degree shall be conferred in this State on any person who has not completed the course of studies requisite to such degree, which institution shall be authorized to confer the same. No earned undergraduate or graduate degree shall be conferred unless the applicant has completed a course of study registered by the department.

Section 52.1 Registration of postsecondary curricula.

(a) Registration is required for:

(1) every curriculum creditable toward a degree offered by institutions of higher education;

(2) every curriculum leading to licensure in a profession;

(3) every curriculum for which registration is required by statute, the Rules of the Regents, or any other section of these regulations; 

(4) every curriculum leading to a certificate or diploma offered by a nonchartered proprietary institution authorized by the Regents to grant degrees, except non-credit curricula approved by another State agency for the purpose of licensure by that agency; and 

(5) every curriculum leading to a master's degree in a clinically rich graduate level teacher preparation pilot program as prescribed under section 52.21(b)(5) of this Part.

(b) To be registered each curriculum shall:

(1) be submitted to the commissioner, together with such information as the commissioner may require, in a form acceptable to the commissioner;

(2) conform to all applicable provisions of this Part; and

(3) show evidence of careful planning. Institutional goals and the objectives of each curriculum and of all courses shall be clearly defined in writing, and a reviewing system shall be devised to estimate the success of students and faculty in achieving such goals and objectives. The content and duration of curricula shall be designed to implement their purposes.

(c) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (b) of this section, to be registered every new curriculum shall be consistent with the Regents Statewide Plan for the Development of Postsecondary Education.

(d) Registration shall be granted only to individual curricula.

(e) Curricula offered at each branch campus shall be registered separately from curricula at an institution’s principal center.

(f) Each course offered for credit by an institution, shall be part of a registered curriculum offered by that institution, as a general education course, a major requirement, or an elective.

(g) Each curriculum for which registration is required shall be registered before the institution may publicize its availability or recruit or enroll students in the curriculum.

(h) New registration shall be required for any existing curriculum in which major changes are made that affect its title, focus, design, requirements for completion, or mode of delivery.

(i) The length of the term of registration of each curriculum shall be determined by the commissioner.

(j) Application for reregistration of each curriculum shall be presumed, and no actual application for reregistration shall be required of an institution.

(k) Each institution shall notify the department in writing of the discontinuance of any registered curriculum.

(l) Registration or reregistration of a curriculum may be denied if the commissioner finds that curriculum, or any part thereof, not to be in compliance with statute or this Title.

(1) Notice of the denial of registration or reregistration shall be given in writing by the department to the chief executive officer of the institution and shall state the specific reasons for denial. When an initial registration of a proposed curriculum is denied, such notice shall also advise the institution of its rights to appeal such denial pursuant to section 52.24 of this Part. When reregistration of a curriculum is denied, such notice shall also advise the institution of its rights to appeal such denial pursuant to section 52.23 of this Part.

(2) Reregistration of a curriculum shall be denied only upon a finding that a curriculum fails to comply with any applicable provision of statute, of the Rules of the Board of Regents or of this Part. Such findings shall be based on an inspection followed by a written statement specifying failures to comply. The institution shall have an opportunity to respond in writing to such statement, and an opportunity to submit a plan, acceptable to the commissioner, to achieve compliance.

(3) If a plan acceptable to the commissioner is submitted, the curriculum will be registered during the period in which such plan is being implemented. At the end of such period, an inspection shall be made to determine the extent to which compliance has been achieved, and registration shall be denied or renewed based on such determination. Such denial of registration shall conform to the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subdivision.

(4) Upon notification by the institution of its termination of a curriculum, the curriculum shall not be reregistered beyond the date on which there are any students enrolled in it.

(m) In accordance with the provisions of section 224 of the Education Law, the approval of the commissioner may be granted to a person, firm, association, or corporation to advertise in the State a college degree granted by an institution located outside of the State, provided that such institution is recognized as a candidate for accreditation by the appropriate regional association, is accredited by a specialized accrediting association recognized by the United States Commissioner of Education, or, in the judgment of the New York State Commissioner of Education, meets the standards of quality set forth in section 52.2 of this Part.

(n) At the request of an institution, the department may review noncredit curricula to attest their quality for approval for the training of veterans.

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 is 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 the 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 designed 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 Education Law 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 underrepresented 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.

Section 54.1 Approval of off-campus instruction.

(a) Branch campuses.

(1) No independent institution shall establish a branch campus unless the institution is authorized to establish such branch campus by its charter and master plan, as approved by the Regents.

(2) No public university or college thereof shall establish a branch campus unless the university is authorized to establish such branch campus by its master plan as approved by the Regents and the Governor.

(3) No degree-granting proprietary institution shall establish a branch campus unless the institution has the permission of the Regents to establish such branch campus.

(4) The criteria to be used in reviewing the application of an institution to establish a branch campus will include:

(i) the conformity of the curricula to be offered at the proposed branch campus with the standards of academic quality required by Part 52 of this Title;

(ii) the need or demand for the branch campus or the curricula to be offered there from the points of view of students or special groups of students such as military personnel and people in sparsely populated areas, potential employers of the graduates of such curricula, the institution, and the public;

(iii) the impact of the proposed branch campus upon the institution and upon other institutions in the region and in the State as a whole; and

(iv) the compatibility of the proposed branch campus with the Regents Statewide Plan for the Development of Postsecondary Education.