1P14 Changing or Discontinuing Programs

Changing or discontinuing programs follows rigorous processes. All continuing programs are subject to state and local annual review processes to gauge performance.

State Annual Program Review

STI submits data on all program enrollments, retention, and placement to the State Office of Curriculum, Career and Technical Education (OCCTE) every year. The OCCTE reviews the data and compares it to a set of performance levels established by OCCTE and the technical institutes. Programs that fall below the established performance levels are required to complete a follow-up report on how the institute plans to improve the performance level of the program for that particular measure. After a third consecutive year below an established performance level, a program is assessed as high risk, and the director of OCCTE submits an updated continuing program report to the Secretary of Education and the Board of Education with recommendations regarding the continuation of the program. The recommendation may be to continue or discontinue the program. The director’s recommendation includes parameters for ongoing review and continued approval of the program if the Board of Education approves program continuation.

STI Local Level Review

At the local level, the STI Administrative Team reviews all programs each year using both the criteria outlined in the continuing program process from the state and other criteria deemed important by the institute. STI may discontinue a program after careful consideration of the following program related criteria:

Student enrollment
Retention
Graduation rates and number of graduates
Regional employment needs
On-going program costs
Program facility needs
Regional graduate salaries
Instructor availability

Whenever STI determines that a program will be discontinued, a plan is developed for phasing it out. This plan includes information on how STI will assist current program students to complete the program or transition into another one, communicate changes to faculty, staff and the community, and remove the program from various processes and publications, etc. The process for changes in programs is described in 1P 3 .