OPERATING PROCEDURES

Tennessee Public Health Workforce Development Consortium Operating Procedures

1.0 Overview

The Tennessee Public Health Workforce Development Consortium, hereinafter called the Tennessee Consortium, is a collaborative effort to offer certificate programs for workforce development for employees of the Tennessee Department of Health and other interested health care providers. All programming is designed to meet the needs of students, the standards and prerogatives of each component institution and the requirements of the sponsoring agencies and organizations. Faculty and administration from each unit closely supervise the educational and administrative processes. The certificate programs are academically rigorous and designed to enhance the education and skills of public health professionals by emphasizing studies in health administration, community and behavioral health, environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics and other disciplines related to the effective and efficient delivery of public health services.

1.1 Consortium Membership 

The following Tennessee institutions, which offer accredited public health graduate programs, comprise the Tennessee Consortium: The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis; and East Tennessee State University.

1.2 Program and Institutional Accreditation

1.2.1 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)-- All institutions participating in the Consortium are individually accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

1.2.2 Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-- The institutions participating in the Consortium have programs that are accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. Each institution is responsible for maintaining or achieving its own CEPH accreditation, consistent with its mission.

1.2.3 Compliance Monitoring for Accreditation-- To ensure that each component institution meets all SACS and CEPH standards, the certificate curricula and faculty must meet all SACS and CEPH standards. Compliance shall be monitored annually by the component campuses and the Consortium Academic Affairs Committee.

1.3 Roles of Component Institutions

1.3.1 Roles and Responsibilities-- It is the role of each participating institution in the Consortium to meet their own institutional standards and responsibilities. Consortium members maintain authority and responsibility for admitting students, developing and implementing courses and granting certificates, assigning instructors and assuring that courses are taught as scheduled.   The Consortium does not award the certificates. Certificates are awarded only by the participating institutions that are responsible for the application, oversight, and consistency of the certificate programs with the institutional mission. No institution is required to participate in a certificate program if that program does not fit the institution's mission and standards.

1.3.2 Campus Review and Approval

Each participating institution is responsible for assuring that all courses and certificates offered on behalf of the Consortium, and all faculty teaching in the program receive appropriate campus/system review and approval. Thus, the ultimate responsibility for the certificate programs, the courses in the programs, the approval of teaching faculty, and the award of the certificates resides in the faculty of each participating institution.

1.3.3  Memoranda of Agreement

Each member institution will certify its agreement with the goals and procedures of the Consortium by submitting a Memorandum of Agreement approved by the Executive Committee that is signed by the appropriate Academic Dean or other appropriate campus officials.  Memoranda of Agreement will be renewed every two years.

1.3.4 Affiliation Agreements

Each participating university will be responsible for developing and implementing affiliation agreements with health departments and other agencies that will provide education and training to students enrolled in its programs.

1.3.5  Intellectual Property Rights

Each institution shall govern the intellectual property rights of their faculty. 

1.3.6  Other Continuing Professional Education Programs

Membership in this Consortium does not pre-empt any member organizations from developing and implementing its own professional educational programs.

1.3.7  Application for Membership

Any institution requesting to join the Consortium shall submit a request to the Chair of the Executive Committee.  New members must be approved by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Committee and be approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Health.

1.3.8  Termination of Membership

Any institution may terminate its membership by submitting a letter signed by the appropriate official to the Chair of the Executive Committee.  Notice of intent to withdraw must be given one year before termination of membership.

2.0 Function and Structure of the Organization

This document establishes that the Consortium certificate and continuing education programs are offered on behalf of and controlled by the participating Tennessee institutions consistent with their mission and institutional standards. The certificates are jointly administered by the faculty and administration of the participating institutions through an Executive Committee and an Academic Affairs Committee.

2.1 Functions of the Tennessee Consortium

The Tennessee Consortium serves as a multi-institutional group whose mission is to coordinate the development and the implementation of academic certificate and continuing professional education programs for public health professions across the state of Tennessee. It functions to coordinate the activities of its members to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of the educational programs developed and offered by the members and to provide financial support for programs that meet its needs and standards.

2.2 Consortium Executive Committee 

The Consortium Executive Committee coordinates administrative functions of the certificate and continuing education programs and is responsible for policy and oversight of the programs. Each participating academic institution and the Tennessee Department of Health will name a representative to the Executive Committee. The Executive Director will also serve as a member of and convener of the Executive Committee.

2.3 Executive Director

An Executive Director will be housed at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis and will be a member of the Executive Committee and will be responsible for the administrative leadership of the consortium activities, and convener of the Executive Committee. The Executive Director will oversee the functions of the Consortium, convene and chair the Executive Committee, assure that goals and objectives are met, provide fiscal oversight, submit all required progress reports to the Tennessee Department of Health, and interact with the Department of Health and other relevant state departments and agencies. The Executive Director's appointment shall be consistent with the contractual arrangements with the Department of Health and approved by both the Department of Health and the Executive Committee.

2.4 Consortium Academic Affairs Committee

The Consortium is committed to faculty governance and is led by the faculty of each participating institution. Because of the consortial nature of the certificate programs, faculty representatives from each participating institution form the Academic Affairs Committee.

2.4.1 Membership of the Academic Affairs Committee

This committee is comprised of two graduate faculty from each participating university and two health professionals from the Department of Health. Members will be nominated by the respective institutions. Representatives from the universities shall be full-time tenured or tenure track faculty with appropriate professional and academic backgrounds and experiences. Representatives from the Department of Health shall have appropriate professional education and experience.

2.4.2 Responsibilities of the Academic Affairs Committee

The Academic Affairs Committee shall make recommendations to the Executive Committee on the following: curriculum content; ; approval of faculty; program objectives; course objectives, syllabi and assessment; resource needs; technology utilization including mechanisms to assure common formatting between courses and institutions; operating procedures, especially those related to course scheduling and logistics; ; and evaluation of courses, faculty and the certificate and continuing education programs.

2.5 Home Campus Representative

Each participating institution provides a Consortium Representative who serves as the home campus advisor for students.  This representative is the student's primary contact with the overall certificate programs and will assist students with administrative matters.

2.6 Lead Institution

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center will serve as the lead or coordinating institution.  This institution will have oversight over the following functions and assume the responsibility for these tasks.  However, these roles will be shared by Consortium members to capitalize on institutional strengths and to minimize the costs of central operations.

2.6.1  Financial management, including leading negotiations with the Department of Health for contract renewals and changes, developing any necessary subcontracts or Memoranda of Understanding required for financial management of the Consortium and managing all centralized accounts.

2.6.2  Consortium operations, including developing and maintaining a Consortium calendar and alert members to upcoming deadlines, providing an annual progress report to all members and the Commissioner of the Department of Health, developing and maintaining the Consortium website and maintaining an accessible database of all Consortium students, including contact and academic information.

2.6.3  Coordinate Consortium communication, including maintaining an accessible database of names and contact information of key personnel, arranging for conference calls and meetings of committees and other groups.

2.6.4  Support Consortium governance, including maintaining Consortium documents, including these operating procedures and preparing and distributing minutes of all meetings and conference calls of standing committees.

2.6.5  The lead institution shall employ a full-time program coordinator.

2.7  Dissolution of the Consortium

If, for any reason, the Consortium ceases to exist, each member institution will make a good-faith effort to provide ongoing educational opportunities for its students to complete the certificate program(s) in which they are enrolled.

 

3.0 Faculty

The purpose of this section is to establish minimum faculty qualifications and an approval process for faculty teaching in the Consortium certificate programs.

3.1 Faculty Credentials/Qualifications

All faculty teaching courses in the Consortium certificate and continuing education programs must meet all SACS criteria and must be academically and/or professionally qualified.

3.2 Approval of Faculty

Only faculty members who are academically or professionally qualified are allowed to teach in the certificate programs. All faculty teaching in the Consortium programs must have a current curriculum vitae and transcript on file with their home campus representative. New faculty must be reviewed and approved by the Academic Affairs and the Executive Committees prior to teaching in the Consortium. Faculty must present documentation of online teaching experience and training in the Blackboard Learning System.

3.3 Intercampus Appointments

If a faculty member desires an intercampus appointment, participating institutions will be provided with current vitae, transcripts and other required documents for review and approval by campus faculty through the faculty personnel committee(s), graduate council, and other traditional campus approval processes, as appropriate.

4.0 Curriculum

The Consortium will coordinate continuing education and graduate certificate programs. Development of learning objectives which drive the curriculum for all joint efforts will be the responsibility of the faculty of the participating institutions comprising the Academic Affairs Committee.

4.1 Educational Technology 

The certificate programs feature internet-based methodologies as well as other methods which provide public health employees of the Tennessee State Department of Health state-wide access to professional development and graduate study.

4.2 Certificate Curriculum

A certificate program consists of 15 semester credit hours. Students may also take applicable course work from existing on-campus programs of their home institution with the prior approval of their home institution. Proposals from a member institution for certificates with less than 15 credit hours that meet institutional guidelines will be considered by the Executive Committee on an individual basis.

4.3 Course/Program Approval Process

The Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) is responsible for overseeing the curriculum for each certificate or continuing education program offered and the content and delivery of each course or program that are part of those curricula. The Academic Affairs Committee approves the content and the format of all programs offered on behalf of the Consortium. This includes the content, learning objectives, assessment mechanisms and a schedule of availability for each course or program as well as the course requirements for a certificate. Any new courses and/or certificates that are developed must be approved by the Academic Affairs Committee, the Executive Committee, and the appropriate curriculum review and approval groups of each participating institution before implementation.

4.4 Recommendations for New Courses and Programs

Suggestions for new courses or programs may come from any participating institution's faculty. Course and curriculum proposals are reviewed by Consortium's Academic Affairs Committee. Positive action by the Academic Affairs Committee forwards the proposal to the Executive Committee for approval. No course may be offered unless it is approved by both the Executive Committee and the appropriate curriculum committee of each campus.

4.5 Course/Program Modification Process

Suggestions for modifications to courses or programs may come from faculty of any participating institution. Proposals are presented to and approved by the Academic Affairs Committee who may recommend them to the Executive Committee for approval. Each participating institution is responsible for following the required on-campus approval procedures. Modified courses or programs may not be implemented until the changes are approved by each institution and the Consortium Academic Affairs and Executive Committees.

4.6 Curriculum Development Teams

For each certificate offered on behalf of the Consortium, a curriculum development team of no less than three faculty may be appointed by the Academic Affairs Committee. The curriculum review team is responsible for developing the detailed curriculum for that certificate and monitoring course quality and content.

4.7 Frequency of Course Offerings

The course rotation schedule will be developed by the Academic Affairs Committee and approved by the Executive Committee. A rolling course schedule will be developed and posted two years in advance.

4.8 Minimum and Maximum Class Size

While class size and number of sections necessary are determined by each participating institution, sections should be designed and staffed to achieve sufficient interaction for students with faculty and fellow students. Issues related to adequacy of class size or section offered should be referred to the Academic Affairs Committee with the Executive Committee being the final level for resolution of issues related to staffing. If a course is cancelled, it is the responsibility of an institution's Executive Committee representative to notify the Executive Director of the intent to cancel a scheduled class at the earliest possible date. The Executive Director will notify all participating institutions of the course cancellation.

4.9 Course Listings, Instructor Assignments and Grade Recording

Each course offered through the Consortium will be reviewed, approved and listed in the catalog of each participating campus regardless of the campus developing and implementing the course. Thus, a course developed on one campus and taught by an instructor on that campus will be listed and assigned course numbers in the catalogs of the other two campuses. An instructor will be assigned to the course from each campus although the instructor from the implementing campus will have primary teaching responsibility. Grades will be assigned by the primary instructor and transmitted to the instructor of the student's home campus for inclusion in the official transcript.

5.0 Admissions

5.1 Home Campus

Students may apply to and may be admitted to any participating institution. The institution to which a student is admitted becomes the student's home campus. The home campus is responsible for assigning an advisor to the student and the award of the certificate at the completion of the program.

5.2 Course Enrollment

Students may take classes from any of the participating institutions in addition to the campus which serves as their home campus.

5.3 Admissions Criteria

5.3.1 Home Campus Admissions Criteria

Students are admitted to a "home" institution. Each home campus is responsible for evaluating and approving applicants for admission to the certificate programs. Official undergraduate and, if appropriate, graduate transcripts will be required.  Letters of recommendation will not be required for persons applying through the Department of Health.  Each campus may require additional information for students not applying through the Department of Health.

Admission requirements are published in the Graduate Catalog or equivalent publication of each institution. Admission decisions should be made on the basis of complete dossiers only, including all application materials, and official transcripts.

5.3.2 Minimum Admissions Criteria

To be eligible for admission to a certificate program, students must possess a baccalaureate degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited institution and document a minimum undergraduate grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.75 on a scale of 4.0.  Individual home campuses may set higher G.P.A. limits or establish additional requirements in accordance with local policies and procedures.

5.3.3 Probationary Admission

A limited number of students may be admitted under probationary status. Probationary admission for applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements is at the discretion of the home campus.

5.3.4 Admission Procedures and Deadlines

Students may enter the certificate programs during the Annual Enrollment Period at the beginning of the Fall semester of each year. Application deadlines and other application procedures will be determined by each campus.

6.0 Student Policies and Information

6.1 Registration

Students will register in accord with registration policies and procedures for their home campus. It is the intent of each institution to accommodate Tennessee State Department of Health personnel in all classes.

6.2 Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for certificate courses will be consistent with those charged by the student's home campus for similar students in similar programs.

6.3 Tuition for Tennessee Department of Health Employees

The Department of Health will only pay tuition and fees for its employees who have been approved by the Department to participate in programs and courses sponsored by the Consortium. For students to be eligible to have tuition paid through the Tennessee State Health Department Workforce Development contract, courses must be part of an approved curriculum.   Tuition and fees for activities which are not part of an approved curriculum or program will not be paid by the State Contract, unless prior approval is received from the Department.

6.4 Application of Certificate Credit to Advanced Degrees

Courses offered as part of the Consortium are intended to be accepted as equivalent to similarly described courses offered by member institutions as part of Master of Public Health (MPH) degree programs.  The final decision as to which courses may be credited toward an MPH or another advanced degree will reside with the institution and program offering the advanced degree.

6.5 Transfer Credits

Students wishing to transfer academic course credits into a certificate program should consult with the home campus representative on their home campus. Each institution may make its own decisions regarding the appropriateness of transfer courses and the extent to which transfer credits from universities other than those in the Consortium will be permitted.

6.6 Satisfactory Progress

Students must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale with no grade less than a "C", after obtaining a maximum of 6 credit hours.  Each institution shall follow its own policies and make its own decisions regarding the continuation of a student not making satisfactory progress in the program.

6.7 Incomplete Grades

All work for which an incomplete is received must be completed in accord with the Home Institution's policy for incomplete grades.

6.8  Withdrawal from Courses or Programs

6.8.1  Students wishing to withdraw from a course shall do so by the procedures established on the student's home campus.  Awarding of grades and tuition refunds will also be determined by the home campus policies and procedures.  The student shall also notify the Program Coordinator.

6.8.2  Students wishing to withdraw from a Certificate Program may do so by letter to the Program Coordinator.  These students must also withdraw from the courses in which they are enrolled as in 6.8.1.

6.8.3  The Program Coordinator will notify the Department of Health of any withdrawals by employees of the Department.

6.9 Graduation Requirements and Diplomas

Each participating institution is responsible for certifying the satisfactory completion of certificate requirements and awarding the certificate.

6.10 Library

Library services are provided through the home campus library as well as through the TALC Universal Borrowers card (Tennessee Academic Libraries Collaborative) that can be used at any of the 19 Tennessee Board of Regents libraries, and at any of the 5 University of Tennessee campuses. The agreement and the list of participants are at http://www.lib.utk.edu/~talc/borrow.html.

6.11 Student Technology

Requirements All students must have access to a computer with appropriate hardware and software and an Internet connection. The Home Campus Representative will provide minimum specifications. All on-line courses will be accessed through Blackboard Learning System.

6.12 Student Rights and Responsibilities

All students in this program will be subject to the same requirements and have the same privileges as do other students in similar programs on the home campus. Their rights and responsibilities will be determined by the policies of the home campus as published in a Student Handbook or equivalent document.

7.0 Assessment

7.1 Program Review

The faculty of the Academic Affairs Committee will perform a review of each course at the end of each semester and of each certificate program at the completion of the first certificate cycle and every 18 months thereafter. The program review will be submitted to the Executive Committee and others, as appropriate.

7.2 Outcomes Assessment

Upon graduation, each student will be asked to complete a survey of student attitudes, experiences, and perceptions, and to provide a permanent address. An alumni survey similar to the graduate survey will be taken of graduates one and three years after graduation.

7.3 Student Evaluation of Instruction

Student evaluation of instruction will be administered in accord with procedures of the home institution each semester (including summer semester courses).

8.0 Policy Review

All policies and procedures contained herein shall be subject to periodic review by the Consortium Academic Affairs Committee and the Consortium Executive Committee. The first review will occur at the conclusion of the first certificate cycle and be repeated as needed, but no less than every two years thereafter. Changes can be made at any time. Other reviews and modifications may be made at any time.  The Executive Committee must approve all changes by a simple majority.