Policy: Substantive Change

Document Number: 1.003
Title: Substantive Change
Effective Date: 06/13/2024
Revised Date: N/A

Policy Statement

River Parishes Community College (RPCC), as a member institution of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), is committed to monitoring institutional, programmatic, and instructional site changes for compliance with the SACSCOC Substantive Change Policy and to reporting substantive changes to SACSCOC in a timely manner. 

Accreditation of RPCC by SACSCOC encompasses all programs and services, wherever they are located and however they are offered. SACSCOC reviews RPCC’s compliance with all standards every ten years (decennial reviews) and reviews a select group of standards between decennial reviews (five-year interim reports). To ensure that institution-, program-, and instructional site-level changes considered between these scheduled reviews do not compromise the quality of the total institution, RPCC is required to report changes that are considered substantive by the federal government as well as by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. 

The goals of this policy and associated procedures are to foster awareness of and provide guidance for recognizing substantive changes to RPCC administrators, faculty, and staff, demonstrate compliance with the requirement of SACSCOC regarding substantive changes, inform the RPCC administrators, faculty, and staff of the reporting requirements for different types of substantive changes, and ensure that RPCC reports substantive changes in a timely manner. 

Examples of substantive changes are summarized in the following bulleted lists. Consistent with the SACSCOC Substantive Change Policy and Procedures, the examples are arranged according to whether the change impacts the institution, specific programs, or instructional sites. The lists are not to be considered all-inclusive. The reader is encouraged to review the SACSCOC Substantive Change Policy for more details. 

Institutional Changes:

• Relocating an institution 
• Closing the institution 
• Substantially changing the established mission or objectives of an institution or its programs 
• Changing the legal status, form of control, or ownership of an institution 
• Changing the governance of an institution 
• Merging / consolidating two or more institutions or entities 
• Acquiring another institution or any program or location of another institution 
• Offering courses or programs at a higher or lower degree level than currently authorized 
• Adding graduate programs at an institution previously offering only undergraduate programs (including degrees, diplomas, certificates, and other for-credit credential) 
• Adding competency-based education programs 
• Initiating programs by distance education or correspondence courses 
• Changing the way an institution measures student progress for all programs, whether in clock hours or credit-hours (semesters, trimesters, or quarters; or time-based or non–time-based methods or measures) 
• Participating in the federal Prison Education Program providing Pell Grant access to confined or incarcerated students 

Program Changes:

• Adding a program that is a significant departure from the existing programs, or method of delivery, from those offered when the institution was last evaluated 
• Adding an additional method of delivery to a currently offered program 
• Entering into a cooperative academic arrangement 
• Entering into a written arrangement under 34 C.F.R. § 668.5 under which an institution or organization not certified to participate in the title IV Higher Education Act (HEA) programs offers less than 25% (notification) or 25-50% (approval) of one or more of the accredited institution's educational programs. An agreement offering more than 50% of one or more of an institution’s programs is prohibited by federal regulation. 
• Substantially increasing or decreasing the number of clock hours or credit hours awarded or competencies demonstrated, or an increase in the level of credential awarded, for successful completion of one or more programs 
• Changing a program’s progress to completion measure from clock hours to credit hours – or from credit hours to clock hours 
• Adding each competency-based education program by direct assessment (after approval at the institutional level for the first program) 
• Adding programs with completion pathways that recognize and accommodate a student’s prior or existing knowledge or competency 
• Awarding dual or joint academic awards 
• Re-opening a previously closed program 
• Closing a program, a method of delivery, or a program at an off-campus instructional site 

Off-campus Instructional Site Changes:

• Adding a new off-campus instructional site/additional location including a branch campus 
• Re-opening a previously closed off-campus instructional site 
• Adding a permanent location at a site at which an institution is conducting a teach-out program for students of another institution that has ceased operating before all students have completed their program of study 
• Relocating an off-campus instructional site (including a branch campus) 
• Closing an off-campus instructional site 

Non-compliance with federal and SACSCOC reporting requirements jeopardizes RPCC’s eligibility to provide federal financial assistance to eligible students and may result in RPCC being placed on sanction or being removed from SACSCOC membership. 

Policy Administration 

Each fall and spring term, RPCC’s Institutional Accreditation Liaison (IAL) distributes the URL for this policy (RPCC website) and Substantive Change Survey to RPCC administrative and academic officers and directors of academic and student affairs offices, along with a deadline for returning the completed survey. Questions regarding changes that arise outside of the fall and spring reporting periods are to be directed to RPCC’s IAL as soon as they arise. 

RPCC’s IAL reviews and summarizes the submissions and discusses them with the Chancellor to determine which, if any, of the proposed initiatives or programs represent substantive changes. The Chancellor’s approval is required for implementing the required reporting and submitting the appropriate documentation to SACSCOC. The IAL works with the individuals who have proposed changes to prepare the appropriate documentation, obtains the Chancellor’s signature on documents as needed, informs the SACSCOC Vice President dedicated to RPCC of the intent to submit the substantive change, and submits the substantive change to SACSCOC via the Institutional Portal.