14.4 Representation to Other Agencies

Notification Responsibilities

The Director of Institutional Effectiveness and the Accreditation and Baccalaureate Assessment Coordinator are responsible for the maintenance of specialized program accreditation documentation according to SACSCOC standards and policies as well those put forth by specialized program accreditors. Both positions work with deans, program directors, and the SACSCOC liaison to ensure the proper documentation is housed and displayed accordingly for each academic program. Our centralized hub for specialized program accreditation is St. Petersburg College’s Accreditation website, where approval letters and certificates can be found along with dates for site visits. Program Deans and program directors communicate changes relevant to specialized program accreditation to the Director and Assessment Coordinator, who then are responsible for overseeing notification of any accreditation changes to the respective accrediting agencies. Participation in site visits and reports by the Director and Assessment Coordinator vary by the academic program’s needs as well as the requirements of the academic program’s specialized accrediting body.

Statements Used to Describe Institution to Accrediting Bodies

SPC uses accurate and consistent language when describing the institution to outside accreditors. Programs seeking outside accreditation or new program status are provided with a standard template to use in crafting program or accreditor documents. This template describes the following requisite elements:

• Purpose: SPC’s Mission, vision, values
• Governance: Board of Trustees, other institutional structure/organization
• Programs: Programs offered by SPC
• Degrees: Degrees awarded by SPC
• Certificates: Certificates awarded by SPC
• Personnel: Requirements SPC has regarding qualified faculty/personnel
• Finances: How the institution financially supports the program
• Constituents: Discussion regarding student population, other invested stakeholders

Additionally, a sampling of SPC’s review of documentation submitted to the accrediting agencies demonstrates consistency and accuracy in the language used to describe the elements above. For purposes of conciseness and relevancy, descriptions extracted from the program accreditation reports do not include information that the above-mentioned elements do not require. Links to the full program self-studies can be found below and in the chart above.

Programmatic Accreditation Changes since the last Reaffirmation

Since the submission of the College’s ten-year reaffirmation report to SACSCOC, SPC has voluntarily placed five programs with programmatic accreditation in teach-out status – the Orthotics & Prosthetics Associate in Science (ORTHO-AS) program, the Paramedic Advanced Technical Diploma (PMED-ATD), and three College of Education programs: the Science Teacher Education Biology 6-12 Bachelor of Science (BSCED-BS) program, the Middle Grades Science Education Bachelor of Science (MGSED-BS) program, and the Middle Grades Math Education Bachelor of Science (MGMED-BS).

The Orthotics & Prosthetics (AS) program, accredited by the Committee of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the National Commission Orthotics & Prosthetics (NCOP), was closed to further enrollment in Fall 2022. This decision was based on decreased demand and enrollment, which were partly related to changes within the industry and the local job market. This change was brought before the St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees for final approval to close in June 2022. As of July 2022, all remaining students completed the program. A letter concerning this change was sent to SACSCOC in January 2023, and approval is pending. CAAHEP acknowledged the closure of the program in January 2023.

The Paramedic Advanced Technical Diploma, accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), entered teach-out to move all credits to an existing for-credit program. The program is not accepting new students as of Spring 2023, and all students completed the program in Fall 2022. The St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees approved this change in May 2023. SACSCOC received a notification letter concerning this change in May 2023, and approval is pending. CAAHEP does not require notification of this change as another program modality is still available for enrollment.

Three programs accredited by the Florida Department of Education–Bureau of Educator Recruitment, Development, and Retention are also in teach-out. The Science Teacher Education Biology 6-12 (BS) program was closed due to low enrollment. The program was scheduled to close in Fall 2018 with a teach out plan in place until Summer 2021. The students remaining in the program were provided individualized teach out plans to ensure their program completion. This change was brought before the St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees for final approval in 2018. The Florida Department of Education accreditor guidelines did not require notification of program closure at that time. A notification letter concerning this change was sent to SACSCOC in July 2018, and approval was received in October 2018.

The Middle Grades Science Education (BS) program was also closed due to low enrollment. As such, further enrollment was closed in Spring 2021. Only one student was affected by this change and has since completed the program as of Spring 2022. The St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees approved this change in November 2020. A notification letter concerning this change was sent to SACSCOC in May 2022 and approval was received in October 2022. Per updated accreditor guidelines, the change was communicated to FLDOE via the 2023 Program-Level Baccalaureate Accountability Report.

The Middle Grades Mathematics Education (BS) program also entered teach-out due to low enrollment and because only one course was unique to this program. Further enrollment was closed as of Spring 2023, and program staff are working with remaining students to ensure individual teach-out plans are in place. The St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees approved this change in August 2022. A notification letter concerning this change was sent to SACSCOC in October 2022 and approval is pending. Per updated accreditor guidelines, the change was communicated to FLDOE via the 2023 Program-Level Baccalaureate Accountability Report.