Curriculum

Create a New Occupational Program (NOP)

The New Occupational Program processes allow for the addition of approved certificates and degrees. Prior to the development of a curriculum proposal for a new occupational program, the initiating college must ensure that the MCCCD New Occupational Program Alert process is complete and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs has approved the development of the program.

Helpful Information/Tips

• The District Curriculum website is the main resource for program and course information. It lists all programs offered at Maricopa colleges. It also lists all credit courses in the course catalog, including previous versions as well as current course information. The most current version of a course has an Active Range that ends in 99999.

• A new program leading to an AAS degree may contain:
  • A certificate (CCL)
  • A series of certificates
  • A series of certificates that constitute steps leading to a degree

• The new occupational program procedure applies when creating AAS degrees and Certificates of Completion.
• New occupational programs can be developed and offered in three distinct ways. This is referred to as program availability and is described below:
  • College specific: program to be offered at one of the MCCCD colleges - GCC only.

  • District-wide: program to be offered at all MCCCD colleges. The requirements for the program are identical at all the colleges offering the program.

  • Shared programs: program to be offered at multiple colleges but not available at all colleges. The requirements for the program are identical at all the colleges offering the program.

Steps to Create a New Occupational Program

Once the New Occupational Program Alert has been approved by the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, proceed with the following:

1. Contact the Curriculum Design Facilitator and make an appointment to discuss creating the new occupational program proposal.

2. Download the New Occupational Program Template (at the top of the page) and complete it as thoroughly as possible. The template will help to gather information on the following components of a new occupational program:
   • Program Title: Where possible, titles of programs should indicate the occupational field, such as Emergency Medical Technology. Program titles should not indicate the job title for which the program provides competency development and preparation, such as Emergency Medical Technician. The unabbreviated program title will be used for both diploma and transcript purposes.

   • Beginning Term: Identify the first year/term of the program.

   • Program Availability: Identify the Program Availability - whether the program will be offered at GCC only, offered District-wide by all colleges, or if multiple colleges will share the program. If Shared, provide the acronyms of the colleges who will participate in the program.

   • Instructional Council: Type the name of the Instructional Council(s) receiving the proposal.

   • Need Statement: provide a brief need statement for the new program and any additional information to help clarify the development of the proposal and facilitate the approval process.

   • Program Description: A program description is included in the catalog of the college where the program is based. The program description explains to students the general nature and purpose of the program.
     • Include general overview of program content

     • Identify unique features of program

     • Explain purpose of program

     • Do not list courses or course information, or program credit hours within the program description as these are subject to change

   • Admission Criteria: Critical information for students regarding admittance to the program. This should not be confused with program prerequisites.

   • Program Prerequisites: May be prerequisite course(s), licensure prerequisites, competency level, etc.

   • Required Courses: Courses that provide skills specified by program competencies.

   • Restricted Electives: A list of specified courses from which a student must select an established number of credits, if applicable.

   • Free Electives: An established number of credits students must take from any discipline. Courses do not need to be specified but may be recommended under this category, if applicable.

   • General Education: Courses annually approved by the MCCCD Governing Board.

   • Program Competencies: Program competencies are written for critical content required in the program. They reflect a list of observable, and measurable skills students develop within the program. Program competencies are the minimum skills that students achieve after completing the program.

     When writing program competencies:

     • Use behavioral verbs that are measurable and observable to describe what the student should be able to do upon completion of the program (See Suggested Verb List for Writing Behavioral Objectives for additional information)

     • State minimum job skills, not learning skills needed within the program

     • Write them for all courses in the Required Course area EXCEPT when a lower level course provides learning skills as prerequisites to job skills developed in a more advanced course (e.g., ELT101 prepares students for skills developed in ELT102)

     • List after each program competency the course(s) under Required Courses area which support the competency

     • Write competencies in terms that can be clearly understood by students and prospective employers

3. When completed, email an electronic version of the draft to Christine Moore and copy Yvonne McMillan. Christine will review the proposal to ensure it meets the District Curriculum Committee (DCC) format and standards. Christine may need to meet with you to review the proposal, as we depend on you as the content expert to advise us on any questions or concerns that may be raised. Yvonne will input the proposal into the District Curriculum Office (DCO) forms and return it to you for your review and approval.

Processing the New Occupational Program Proposal

1. Once you've approved the proposal, Yvonne will send it to the instructional council for their review and approval. The IC has ten days to review and vote on new program proposals. The proposal will be placed on an upcoming meeting agenda of the College Curriculum Committee. You should plan to attend that meeting to present it to the committee. The committee occasionally has questions that, if unanswered, can cause proposals to be tabled until the next meeting when someone can be there to answer them. This holds up the already lengthy curriculum process.

2. Assuming that the instructional council and the college curriculum committee approve your proposal, it will be submitted to the DCO to be placed on a meeting agenda of the DCC. If the DCC approves the proposal, it will go forward to the Governing Board for final approval.

3. Once the program is Governing Board approved, the District IT department will enter it into SIS, and the DCO staff will add the program to their web site, a process that usually takes two weeks. Yvonne will send status updates to keep you informed of the proposal's progress through the curriculum process.

4. The program will be added to the General Catalog and Student Handbook online and in the next print edition.