RAND School of Public Policy Teach-Out Policy

Guiding Principles

When discontinuing a program with active student enrollments, the approach adopted for the transition and teach-out period must reflect the following principles:

  • Academic Integrity: Any proposed arrangements must enable students to attain all program learning outcomes.
  • Cost: The teach-out policy cannot result in an increase in costs to the students.
  • Completion Time: The teach-out must provide reasonable time for students to complete the program.
  • Access: Courses required for the teach-out policy must be provided on the current campus of the program.
  • Student Support: The level of services, resources, and support to students cannot be reduced in any part of the teach-out process, or disadvantage students in other ways (e.g. arrangements allow balanced study loads, part-time or full-time study options, completion of their program without delay).
  • Focus on Affected Students: Once the School administration approves the decision to close the program, no additional students shall be enrolled in the program.
  • Communication: The following stakeholder groups must be notified of the teach-out plan and any subsequent changes: students, faculty, staff, administration, and cooperating organizations.
  • Records Continuity: Arrangements will be made to ensure that graduates have access to their transcripts and records subsequent to the closing of the program.

Procedures

Proposing Program Discontinuation and a Teach-Out

Documentation for approval for a program discontinuation must include

  1. the justification for discontinuing the program
  2. a recommended study sequence for each student cohort in the program and for all locations where the program is offered
  3. an analysis of the impact on faculty and staff
  4. a communication plan for all students enrolled in the program
  5. a communication plan for faculty, staff, and other stakeholders.

Approval and Plan Development

Program discontinuation must be approved by the Dean.

Subsequent plan development must involve the School’s leadership team, program directors, the Curriculum and Assessment Review Committee, and the Registrar who must be provided with the final full discontinuation documentation prior to delivery to students.

Communication to Students

The communication plan must ensure that all students including those who are currently on leave of absence or any other form of leave receive clear and accurate information regarding their options.

Students must be notified in writing within 21 days of the approval to discontinue a program so they can gain advice as to the best course of action.

International Students

The School will ensure that the transition arrangements enable international students to complete all requirements of the program within the duration of their existing student visa, provided that the student is maintaining satisfactory progress.

Plans, Options, and Communication for Faculty and Staff

Faculty should be involved in and informed of plans to terminate a program at the earliest possible stage of consideration. The School will determine whether any faculty or staff will be adversely affected by the program closure. The School will develop employment timelines for all affected faculty and staff and will work with RAND Human Resources so that School employees can be redeployed elsewhere in the School or RAND or helped to find new employment. The School will develop a communication plan for faculty and staff.

Accreditation Communication

As soon as the teach-out plan has been developed, the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) will send the plan to the WSCUC Vice President Liaison for review and approval. The plan will include

  • background information (the program to be closed and rationale for closure decision)
  • descriptive statistics (number of students, faculty, and staff)
  • a plan for every student (currently enrolled and inactive)
  • plans and options for faculty and staff (part-time and full-time)
  • communication plan (to students, staff and faculty, the public, and coordination with any other relevant accrediting or governmental bodies).

Length of the Teach-Out Period

If the program is being discontinued entirely, with no replacement program available, the length of the teach-out period for a program is determined by the amount of remaining program study for the most recently enrolled students, expressed in quarters, plus a reasonable amount of time to allow for predictable delays.

The minimum teach-out period is two years regardless of the length of the program.

The length of the teach-out is not extended for individual students who seek leave of absence during the teach-out period.

At the end of the teach-out period, the School, based on the number of students remaining, will make a decision as to whether to extend the teach-out period or put into place other mechanisms to allow the remaining students to complete their studies.

Courses and Structure of the Teach-Out

The courses included in the teach-out arrangement should, whenever possible, be those that were included in the original curriculum plan. If different courses need to be substituted, the School must ensure that all impacted students meet the discontinuing program’s stated learning objectives by graduation.

Curriculum Modifications

Courses substituted for required courses must be delivered and assessed at the same level as those in the program being discontinued.

A study plan must be developed for each entry cohort in the discontinued program to demonstrate the teach-out arrangement for that cohort. Individualized study plans may be used to ensure that individual students are aware of the applicable study plan/enrolment pattern they need to follow to complete the program within the teach-out period.

A teach-out plan cannot require students to do any of the following

  • complete more program requirements than were originally required
  • create additional financial burdens for students
  • require students to take more than 3 units of coursework in any quarter.

The teach-out plan must include details of

  • availability of program requirements (courses, OJT, etc.)
  • waiving or changing course prerequisite requirements
  • changes to quarter offerings or delivery mode of courses.

The teach-out plan should be available to students and must be updated by the School on an annual basis.

International Student Considerations

To ensure compliance with international student regulations, the school’s Designated School Officials (DSOs) should be consulted during teach-out planning, and must be provided with the final full discontinuation documentation prior to delivery to students.

Students Not Completing Requirements Within the Teach-Out Period

Students who do not complete the program requirements within the teach-out period will be managed on a case-by-case basis. Every effort will be made to accommodate such individuals; however the School cannot guarantee suitable options will be available and cross-institutional study may need to be considered to complete the original qualification from the School.