Program Development Materials

Reasonable And Moderate Extensions of Previously Approved Units of Instruction

While the Illinois Public Community College Act grants the ICCB the responsibility to approve "new units of instruction, research, and public service," it reserves the ability for colleges to make "reasonable and moderate extensions" of previously approved units of instruction, as defined by Administrative Rules of the Illinois Community College Board. It is this reasonable and moderate extension clause that permits the colleges to reshape their curriculum to keep up with the times. The definition and parameters of reasonable and moderate extensions are found in ICCB Rule 1501.302d.

ICCB rules permit two general types of reasonable and moderate extensions, with appropriate forms for each.

• New certificates or degrees created as options or subsets of existing programs require the Form 21, "Reasonable and Moderate Extension Request," which requires acceptance by ICCB staff.
• New short-term certificates of less than seven semester credit hours of new courses in a two digit CIP category in which the college has previous approval to offer one or more programs require Form 21S “Reasonable and Moderate Extension: Short-Term Certificate,” which requires acceptance by ICCB staff.

Other modifications to revise or upgrade existing programs by adding, withdrawing, or changing courses or changing the title (replacing the original program), while leaving the intent of the curriculum the same, do not require the Form 21, but rather may be made by filing other appropriate forms with ICCB staff to record the changes: Form 22 for curricula changes and Form 12 for course changes.

Procedures for each type of reasonable and moderate extension are described below. Appropriate forms should be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the expected start date of the program.

Creation of New Certificates or Degrees Through the Reasonable and Moderate Extension Process (Form 21)

New certificates or degrees may be created through the reasonable and moderate extension process when the new program is closely related to an existing program(s)  This process allows the college to create the new program from an existing “parent program”, following parameters in ICCB Rule 150l.302d2D and E.

AAS or Certificate Options: AAS or certificate options are programs that are very similar to their parent program and in the same general occupational field, but include coursework that focuses on a given specialty. An option may be created by primarily using courses in the parent program or cluster of closely related curricula; e.g., from the same four-digit code, and new or different courses as needed, provided that no more than 15 credit hours are different in AAS options or no more than nine credit hours are different in certificates of 30 semester hours or more. For example:

• AAS option: If a college currently offers a Secretarial Science AAS, it may be used as a parent program to create a Secretarial Science/Legal Option AAS. The college would primarily use courses in the parent program and could also use up to 15 different credit hours not currently in the parent program if needed to provide the legal secretary instruction. Such degree options must have a similar first-year sequence of required courses as their parent program.

Subsets/creating certificates from larger certificates or degrees. New certificate programs may also be created as subsets of existing AAS degrees and certificates. The new certificate may be created by primarily using courses in the parent AAS or certificate program or a cluster of closely related curricula; e.g., from the same four-digit CIP code and, in some cases, a few different courses as needed, provided that no more than nine credit hours are different in certificates of 30 semester hours or more and no more than six credit hours are different in certificates of less than 30 semester credit hours. For example:

• New certificate of 30 semester credit hours or more: If a college has an AAS degree in Secretarial Science and a certificate in microcomputer/software applications, it could create a 35 semester credit hour certificate in information processing. The college would primarily use courses in the AAS and certificate, but may use up to nine different credit hours in the new certificate; for example, to provide additional instruction on information processing. Both of these existing programs serve as the parent program, with the program that is the source of the bulk of the credit hours being cited as the parent program on the Form 21.
• New certificate of less than 30 semester credit hours: If a college has a 45 credit hour certificate in Business Management, it could be used as the parent program to create a 25 credit hour certificate in small business management. This certificate would primarily consist of existing courses in the Business Management certificate and could use up to six different credit hours; for example, to provide instruction on entrepreneurship.
• AFA Options: The first time a college applies for an Associate in Fine Arts, the proposal is treated as a new unit. If the first proposal for an AFA is for fewer than four options (art, art education, music, music education), a college may submit a proposal for one or more other options at a later date. Hours for each option may vary. The general program format for any of the AFA options must follow the IAI recommendations from the art and music panels.

Consequently, through the use of the Form 21 in the reasonable and moderate extension process, the college is able to either create a degree or certificate program option moderately different from its parent program or to create a certificate that is a subset of a parent program. A college cannot, however, create a new certificate or degree that is larger than its parent program, such as create an AAS from a certificate.

Application. Submit the Form 21(one copy) and Form 21AFA (two copies) to the ICCB with all sections completed. Concurrently, the college should submit two copies of the Form 22, which will be used to record the change on the college's ICCB Curriculum Master File (see Form 22 instructions later in this section.) Please see the following page for Form 21 and instructions.