Curriculum

Create a New Occupational Program Early Alert

The purpose of the Early Alert Process is to provide opportunities for sharing information, for collaborating on new programs, and for avoiding unnecessary duplication of programs. It is the first step in creating a new occupational program.

The New Occupational Program Early Alert form (available for download at the top of the page) is used by the Occupational Administrator of the college as formal notification to the other Maricopa colleges of the intent to develop a new occupational program.

For programs that are shared (offered at multiple colleges) or district-wide (offered at all of the MCCCD colleges), the New Occupational Program Alert would identify the program as a district-wide or shared program and would identify the primary college with responsibility for coordination of new program development and future modifications.

The Occupational Administrator of a college interested in collaborating in a shared program would send an email indicating their interest to the Occupational Administrator of the primary college.

If other colleges indicate their intent to "partner" with the initiating college, the initiating college (college that brought forth the idea) becomes the primary college and has the responsibility for coordination of the development of the curriculum with the other colleges, including any future program modifications.

Approval Timeline

Per the approval process defined on the MCCCD New Occupational Program Early Alert Form, approval to begin the development of the new program will be assumed within 10 faculty accountability days after submission of the form, unless concerns are raised. The day count begins with the date the original email was sent out. Notification of action taken (approval/disapproval/other) by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will be sent to all parties noted on the distribution list at the end of the form.

Steps to Creating an Early Alert

1. Contact the Curriculum Design Facilitator (Christine Moore) to make an appointment to discuss your curriculum plans for the new occupational program.

2. Download the New Occupational Program Early Alert form (Word file available at the top of this page) and fill out as completely as possible, focusing on the following items:

   • Program Title

   • Will this be offered as an AAS? CCL? Both?

   • Will the program be offered at GCC only? Or will it be Shared with one or more other colleges? If so, please list which colleges will be sharing the program. Or will it be a District-wide program shared by all colleges?

   • Please provide a brief statement (no more than one to one and a half pages) of the need for the new program covering the following points as much as possible:
     • Industry request
     • Evidence of labor market demand
     • Anticipated wages/salaries
     • Availability of same or similar programs at other colleges/trade schools etc.
     • Availability of well qualified instructional personnel
     • Availability of funds to support program over the long term
     • Industry co-investment/resource support to the program

3. Email an electronic copy of the Early Alert form to Christine Moore and copy Yvonne McMillan. Christine will review the proposal and may need to meet with you again to review the early alert, as we depend on you as the content expert to advise us on any questions or concerns that may be raised.

4. Christine will forward the proposal to the Dean of Instruction and Occupational Program Administrator for their review.

5. Once the early alert has been reviewed and found satisfactory to all, the Occupational Administrator will email the proposal for informational purposes to the other Occupational Administrators, Deans of Instruction, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, District and College Curriculum personnel, and appropriate Instructional Council(s) responsible for the curriculum, with a response about concerns or issues sent to the Occupational Administrator within the 10 days of faculty accountability timeline. The IC receives the Early Alert for information purposes only.

   Helpful Information/Tips

   • Always consult with the Department Chair and Instructional Dean before proceeding to discuss the proposed new occupational program.

   • Communication with the Instructional Council beforehand helps to navigate through the curriculum process with greater success.

   • The Center for Workforce Development web site has a complete list of links to web sites with Economic, Workforce, and Business and Industry Information. They include links to Financial and Local news. This is a wonderful resource for collecting the data needed to complete the Need Statement for the Early Alert.

   Processing of the New Occupational Program Early Alert

   • New Occupational Program Early Alerts will be initiated by the faculty and coordinated by the Occupational Administrator of the college or colleges. Contact Christine Moore to schedule a time to meet and discuss the new program and the process to create the Early Alert.

   • Early Alerts will be sent out during faculty days of accountability allowing a minimum of 10 faculty accountability days for the response.

   • New Occupational Program Early Alerts will be sent by the Occupational Administrator of the originating college for informational purposes to the other Occupational Administrators, Deans of Instruction, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, District and College Curriculum personnel, and appropriate Instructional Council(s) responsible for the curriculum, with a response about concerns or issues sent to the Occupational Administrator within the 10 days of faculty accountability timeline.

     The Early Alert is sent to the Instructional Council for informational purposes. Once the curriculum is developed, the Instructional Council will follow the review and approval process outlined in the Curriculum Procedures Handbook for new occupational programs.

   No Concerns Raised

   If no concerns are raised within the 10 faculty accountability days after the New Occupational Program Early Alert has been distributed, the Occupational Administrator from the originating college will send an e-mail to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs with a copy to the original distribution list stating that no concerns have been raised on the Early Alert in process and request approval to move forward. The Vice Chancellor's response to the request will be sent to the Occupational Administrator with a copy to the original distribution list.

   Concerns Raised

   • If concerns are raised, the New Occupational Program Early Alert will be put on hold for no more than 20 faculty accountability days in order to resolve the concerns. Any extension beyond 20 days will be the result of collaboration between the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the colleges.

   • If concerns are raised, the Occupational Administrators or their designee, the initiator of the Early Alert proposal, and the Instructional Council representatives from the colleges involved will try to resolve those issues. If the issues are resolved between the respective colleges, the Occupational Administrator from the originating college will send an e-mail to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs with a copy to the original distribution list stating that the concerns have been resolved on the Early Alert in process and request approval to move forward. The Vice Chancellor's response to the request will be sent to the Occupational Administrator with a copy to the original distribution list.

   • If resolution cannot be reached, the Chair of the Occupational Administrators Council or designee will convene a meeting between the Occupational Administrator and/or Dean of Instruction of the concerned colleges, the initiator, a representative from the Center for Workforce Development, and any appropriate Instruction Council Chairs or council members. The purpose of this meeting will be to resolve issues and send a recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The Vice Chancellor will review the recommendation and determine if the New Occupational Program Early Alert should be approved. An email will be sent to the original distribution list indicating the decision.

   Once the Early Alert is approved by the Vice Chancellor, we will need to begin work on creating and submitting a New Occupational Program proposal (NOP), which is the next and final step in creating a new occupational program.