The second edition of the Program and Course Approval Handbook (pdf)has been published and is now available on the Web.

The Handbook is available either as a Microsoft Word document or in Portable Document Format (pdf).

This document contains laws and administrative procedures relating to approval requirements for degrees, certificates, and courses in our system. It includes application forms and instructions for approval of new occupational programs, transfer programs, options within existing programs, and apprenticeship programs. It also includes forms for reporting non-substantial changes to existing programs, and requesting the addition of projected programs to the State inventory.

Because of our budget cutbacks, we will not make any hard-copy distribution of this second edition. We urge each college to download the Handbook and reproduce copies as desired.

Most changes in this second edition are technical or "clean-up" in nature. Ambiguous wording and minor errors have been corrected in several forms and instructions. Language has been added to cover a few circumstances that were not thought of at the time of the first edition--for example, how the approved status of stand-alone courses would be determined when a center becomes a new college. More direction on distinguishing between an option and a new program has been added (p. 7 and the instructions for the "Request to Add New Option" form). The signature of the articulation officer been added on the "Application for Approval--New Transfer Program" form. The form for "Non-Substantial Changes" has been completely overhauled. Web addresses have been updated throughout the book.

Other changes include:

• Some language in the discussion of "Appropriateness to Mission" as an approval criterion has been adjusted (p.15);
• The Chancellor's Office relationship to the California Postsecondary Education Commission with regard to program approval has changed (p. 21);
• Changes have occurred in regulations covering distance education (p. 49).

I would like to extend my thanks to the representatives of the Chief Instructional Officers and the Academic Senate who participated in reviewing the draft of this second edition.

For questions about the availability of the Handbook, or problems accessing it, please contact Stephanie Ricks-Albert, Curriculum Analyst, at (916) 323-3093, or e-mail to sricksal@cccco.edu. For questions or comments about the contents of the Handbook, please contact Charlie Klein, Specialist in Academic Planning, at (916) 322-6888, or e-mail: cklein@cccco.edu.