General Requirements for Substantive Change

The below general requirements will apply to all or most of the substantive change types. These requirements will address obligations and processes by an institution and SACSCOC.

Submission Deadlines

For full SACSCOC Board of Trustees

March 15th for review at the Board's June meeting
September 1st for review at the Board's December meeting

For those requiring approval from the Executive Council of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees or Notification only

January 1st for an implementation date between July 1st and December 31st
July 1st for an implementation date between January 1st and June 30th
Notifications may be submitted any time before implementation. Once the notification has been submitted, the institution may implement the change prior to receiving a response from SACSCOC. If any additional information is needed, the SACSCOC liaison will be contacted.
For a substantive change to close a program, site, program at a site, or method of delivery, a teach-out plan should be submitted as soon as possible after the decision is made to close.

Substantive Change Academic Procedures

The following guidelines should be followed when developing and delivering LDCC credit-bearing courses off-site, electronically, or for a new program and program level. The Vice Chancellor of Education and Student Service's Office will monitor the implementation of these procedures by tracking governance action items, curriculum items, and course scheduling reports.

Substantive changes requiring notification only prior to implementation include, but are not limited to:

offering 25%-49% of a program at an off-campus site (including dual enrollment sites)
offering programs or courses through Cooperative Academic Arrangements
initiating joint programs with another SACSCOC-accredited institution

Substantive changes requiring approval include, but are not limited to:

adding significantly different programs to the academic curriculum at LDCC
initiating off-campus sites (including dual enrollment sites) where students can obtain 50% or more of the credits toward a program
closing (inactivating) a program, or closing a method of program delivery (such as online)
initiating joint degrees with another institution not accredited by SACSCOC

The College's first step is determination of the type of substantive change and reporting requirements. Initial information will be requested from the department or unit initiating the change through utilization of the Academic Intake Form, conveniently located in Intra Communication Center Teams. In some cases, a letter of intent or notification to SACSCOC signed by the College Chancellor (or the SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison) with basic information regarding the change is required. In other cases, a simple notification letter or a completed prospectus will be required and sent to SACSCOC. If a prospectus is required, the Vice Chancellor of Education and Student Service's Office will provide the unit/department desiring to institute the change a template to use for the prospectus and will assist in preparing the prospectus for submission to SACSCOC. The time frame for submitting the prospectus information to the Vice Chancellor of Education and Student Service's Office must accommodate an adequate review timeline by SACSCOC Substantive Change office, which is generally twelve (12) months in advance of the possible change.

All questions about whether a change is substantive should be directed to the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation for guidance.

Deciding if you might have a SACSCOC substantive change

Programs and Certificates

If you are involved with an academic program or certificate, please answer the following questions to determine if you should complete the substantive change intake form:

Does this involve development of a new degree or certificate program?
Does this new degree or certificate program involve a contract, MOU, grant, or consortium for the development or construction of all or part of a program or certificate? (This applies whether LDCC is outsourcing instruction or LDCC is providing the instruction for another organization or company.)
Does this involve instruction of courses delivered by LDCC instructors/employees at an off-campus location?
Does this involve the deactivation of a program or certificate?

If you answered yes to one or more of the self-assessment questions above, please complete the Academic Intake Form. Academic Affairs will review the completed form and utilize the information to determine the type of substantive change (notification or approval) required. Once the determination has been made, the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation will contact you with next steps in the process and information for SACSCOC submission.

Administration

If you are involved with an administrative department, please answer the following questions to determine if you should contact the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation regarding a potential substantive change:

Does this include initiating a contract, MOU, grant, or consortium regarding outsourcing instruction or regarding LDCC's provision of instruction for another organization or company?
Does this potential substantive change include buying new property for LDCC?
Does this potential substantive change include opening a new institution-owned campus or center?
Does this potential substantive change involve a new off-campus instructional site?
Does this potential substantive change include the relocation of an off-campus instructional site?

(For example, LDCC offers some nursing courses at the XYZ Building at a specific street address provided to SACSCOC. If XYZ Building wants LDCC to move the instruction to another street address, then this could be considered a substantive change.