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Section IV: Programs
SACS Comprehensive Standard for Undergraduate Programs 

IV-14.  The institution defines and publishes general education and major program requirements.  These requirements conform to commonly accepted standards and practices of collegiate institutions.

JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

 Yes, East Tennessee State University is able to provide a portfolio of evidence supporting compliance.

 STATEMENT OF RATIONALE FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

The general education and degree program requirements for East Tennessee State University are defined and published annually in the ETSU Undergraduate Catalog (General Education Requirements; General Education at ETSU).  General education requirements at ETSU consist of a collection of courses representing 41-44 credit hours, a total which represents an enhancement of the 32-hour distribution requirement mandated by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR Manual, Undergraduate Degree Requirements).  Degree program requirements are determined by the faculty in the discipline and approved after review by a series of university committees and by the TBR (SACS Standard IV-1a, IV-11).

East Tennessee State University ensures that general education requirements conform to accepted collegiate standards and practices by executing targeted reviews, the most recent of which was a state-mandated review completed in 1996-1997.  In this review, over 70 faculty and staff from ETSU and three external reviewers from peer institutions participated in a self-study and assessment.  Both groups found ETSU's general education requirements to be acceptable (1996-97 Review of General Education Final Report).  A few suggestions for improvement were included in the findings of this review, and these have been addressed in a systematic fashion by the institution (Action on Recommendations, 1996-1997 Self-Study of General Education).

To ensure that degree program requirements conform to accepted collegiate standards, ETSU employs three methods that emphasize systematic reviews of all degree programs.  These methods are, as follows:

1.     All ETSU undergraduate programs conform to accreditation or degree program standards for the discipline, as outlined by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC Performance Funding, Program Accountability).

2.     All undergraduate programs meet the TBR requirement of a minimum of 120 credit hours (TBR Manual, Undergraduate Degree Requirements).

3.     All undergraduate degree programs are evaluated in accord with a published cycle (ETSU Accreditation Schedule; ETSU Undergraduate Program Review Schedule, Graduate Academic Program Review Schedule) and with procedures mandated by the THEC (THEC Performance Funding, Program Accountability).  All accreditable programs undergo review by the appropriate accreditation agency (ETSU Accredited Programs; University Profile System, Academic Departments).  All programs not represented by an accrediting agency undergo an external peer review process that includes an internal self-study followed by review by a panel of experts invited from peer institutions (ETSU Academic Program Review).  Findings from peer or accreditation reviews are used to make program improvements through budget and staffing decisions, curriculum refinements, and faculty development activities (SACS Standard IV-18).

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