CERTIFICATE
ORDER
ADOPTING RULES
OF THE
WISCONSIN TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM BOARD
REPEALING AND RECREATING
RULE RELAT
ING
TO
CERTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL
The Wisconsin Technical College System Board proposes an order
to repeal and recreate TCS 3 related
to
Certification
of Personnel
: Requirements and Procedures
.
The scope
statement for this rule, SS
0
88
-1
3
, was approved by the Governor on
July 18
, 2013,
and
published in
Register No. 6
92
A
on
A
ugust
14, 2013.
The final rule was approved by the Governor on January 15, 2015.
ANALYSIS PREPARED BY THE
WISCONSIN TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM BOARD
1.
Statutes interpreted:
Wis. St
ats. §
38.04
(
4
)
3.
Explanation of agency authority:
Wis. Stats. §
38.04
(
4
)
,
Stats.,
states that the
qualifications of educational personnel shall be approved by the
technical college system board
.
Wis. Stats. §
38.14
(a), Stats., states that the WTCS Board shall promulgate rules, applicable to all district boards, establishing general district policies and procedures on personnel (and other topics).
4.
Related statute or rule:
Wis. Stats. §
3
8
.1
2 (3
)(
b)
, Stats.
5.
Plain language analysis:
The Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS)
recently reviewed Chapter
TCS 3
of the Wis. Admin. Code, entitled Certification of Personnel: Requirements and Procedures, to ensure that the process is efficient for both the System and its colleges while maintaining a high quality process that supports the statutory responsibilities of the WTCS Board.
TCS 3, which was last amended in 1993, establishes the standards and procedures for implementation of a personnel certification system.
6.
Summary of, and comparison with, existing or proposed federal regulations:
There are no federal rules regarding
certification
of
technical college
personnel.
7.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states:
Not applicable
.
8.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies:
Not applicable
.
9.
Analysis and supporting documents used to determine effect on small business or in prepar
ation of economic impact report:
Not applicable
.
10.
Effect on small business:
None
11.
Agency contact person:
Nancy
A.
Merrill, Senior Policy Advisor and Federal Relations Officer,
Wisconsin Technical College System,
4622 University Avenue,
P.O. Box 7874, Madison, Wisconsin 5370
7-7874, telephone (608) 26
7
-
9514
, e-mail
nancy.merrill@wtcsystem.edu
.
12.
Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission:
Comments
were
submitted to the agency contact person listed above.
Deadline for submission
was 5 PM on April 29, 2014. A public hearing was held on April 29, 2014.
PUBLIC HEARING SUMMARY
A public hearing was held on
April 29, 2014 and the deadline for comments to be received was 5
PM on April 29, 2014.
Five
members of the public were present at the hearing with three people testifying and submitting written comments. Two of those who testified opposed the changes, one supported the changes.
Two additional people who attended the hearing registered but did not spe
ak (one in favor, one opposed.)
Those who appeared and registered in favor of the proposed changes at the public hearing were: William Patrick Barlow (registered) and Terry Webb (spoke).
Those who
appeared
and registered against the proposed changes at the public hearing were: Jean
Kapinsky
(spoke), Leigh Barker (spoke) and Nancy McMahon (registered).
In
cluding
the public hearing, a total of 130 comments were
received as
electronic comments and written
letters
and testimony at the public hearing. Overall, among the 130 comments, 18 (13.8%) opposed the changes and 112 supported the proposed changes (86.2%). There was widespread support from all
across
the state.
When a reason was given for supporting the proposed changes, t
wo primary factors were cited most often
:
that the new rules would: 1) reduce administrative burdens
in hiring full- and part-time faculty
and thus increase efficiency; while at the same time 2) maintain high quality and qualified faculty.
We agree that the new requirements strike an appropriate balance between reduced administrative burdens and maintaining high faculty quality.
The most common concern cited by those opposed to the new rule is that eliminating certification requirements for educational administrators other than faculty will hurt educational quality, with 12 people raising this concern. They argue current requirements should be maintained requiring certification for presidents, counselor and librarians and those teaching adult continuing education courses and non-district personnel in K12 and prison settings. We believe the new
requirements more consistently and appropriately apply certification requirements to faculty teaching credit courses and as such, they are consistent with regional accreditation requirements.
The
second
most commonly
cited
concern by those opposed to the change is that the changes will create variations in hiring and qualifications for staff at different colleges by eliminating statewide minimum standards. The
nine
people raising this issue were concerned that a lack of statewide standards may limit the ability of students to seamlessly transfer credits between the WTCS and 4-year institutions. The System believes that the proposed changes actually strengthen statewide standards by clarifying minimum hiring and professional
develop
ment
standards
and better ensuring
compliance
with national accreditation standards that have, in the past, been linked to credit transfer questions.
The third most common concern, raised by seven people, was that elimination of the State Certification Committee hurts the credibility and objectivity of certification by removing state-level oversight. On the contrary, the System believes that the new rule appropriately places the major responsibility for certification at the college level while strengthening standards for documenting
credentials
prior to teaching and for establishment of a Faculty Quality Assurance System that includes consistent standards for professional development, recruitment and hiring, and performance evaluation. The proposed new rule maintains the authority for System-level review of college
compliance
with the rule.
RESPONSE TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS
The Legislative Council staff recommendations were
largely
technical in nature related to numbering of sections and formatting of rule
and clarifying language for consistency
. The recommended changes were accepted in full.
FINAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS AND ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORTS
Attached.
TEXT OF NEW RULE
SECTION 1.
Chapter TCS 3 is repealed and recreated to read:
Certification of Personnel Requirements and Procedures
TCS 3.01
Purpose and Applicability
TCS 3.02
Definitions
TCS 3.03
District D
ocumentation
of
Instructor Credentials
TCS 3.04
Instructor Requirements
TCS 3.05
Faculty Quality Assurance System
TCS 3.06
Review of district compliance
TCS 3.01 Purpose and application. (1)
PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards and procedures pursuant to s.
38.04(4
)(
a)
, Stats., for the approval of minimum requirements for district educational personnel who provide instruction in courses that apply to a degree or adult basic education.
(2)
APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to all district instructors teaching courses that apply to a degree or adult basic education. It does not apply to instructors teaching adult continuing education or community service/avocational courses listed under aid code 42, 47 or 60
, as defined in the Wisconsin
t
echnical
college s
ystem educational services manual as follows
:
aid code 42
applies to
general adult educational offerings that contribute to basic education, citizenship and community safety for the general public; aid code 47 occupational adult
applies to
educational offerings with a definite vocational/technical objective designed to either provide future employment or upgrade individuals in their present
occupations
; and aid code 60 applies to educational offerings that are leisure-time, self-enrichment activities
including
arts, crafts, games, hobbies, sports, recreation, and foreign language conversation.
TCS 3.02 Definitions.
In this chapter:
(1)
"Academic instructor" means a person teaching one or more courses in academic subjects such as mathematics, social science, English, communications, and science where the knowledge and skills taught are obtained by the instructor through collegiate preparation.
(2)
"Accredited" means official recognition as a public or private educational institution by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S.
d
epartment of
e
ducation.
(3)
"Board" means the
Wisconsin
t
echnical
c
ollege
s
ystem
b
oard.
(4) “
Currency” means ongoing engagement in assigne
d occupational or academic area or areas
that ensure instructors meet the most recent standards of practice for professions associated with their assigned content areas.
(5)
"Director" means the person appointed as the
s
ystem
p
resident by the
b
oard under s.
38.04(2)
, Stats.
(6)
"District" means a technical college district established under
ch.
38
, Stats.
(7)
"District board" means the district board in charge of the technical colleges of a district.
(8)
"District director" means the person employed by a district board under s.
38.12(3
)(
a)
1,
Stats.
(9)
"Employed full-time" means employed by a district as an academic or occupational instructor in a position that qualifies as full-time according to district policy or standards.
(10)
"Employed part-time" means employed by a district as an academic or occupational instructor in a position that qualifies as part-time according to district policy or standards.
(11)
“Faculty Quality Assurance System” means the system used to ensure compliance under this chapter.
(12)
“Higher Learning Commission” means the independent corporation that accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the north central region, thereby granting accredited institutions membership in the commission and in the north central association
(13)
"Occupational instructor" means a person employed by a district to teach one or more courses that are vocational, technical or apprentice-related in nature and that apply toward a degree.
(14)
.
"Postsecondary degree granting institution" means a public or private educational institution awarding an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree.
(15)
" Required
o
ccupational experience" means occupational experience that is
documented by a
district director’s or designee’s reference check.
(
16
)
“Subject matter expert” means an individual with scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge in a specific subject matter, profession or field of study exhibited by or obtained through knowledge, skill, experience, training, education, or a combination thereof.
TCS 3.03 District documentation of instructor credentials.
Prior to being assigned to teach any course, a person employed by a district as an academic or occupational instructor shall provide
all of the following
to the district director or designee:
(1) Official transcripts of undergraduate and graduate credits from accredited
postsecondary degree granting
institutions to document compliance with educational requirements
under this chapter.
(2) Copies of professional or occupational licenses required by a state or federal agency for employment in the occupation or profession.
(3
) Verification from accredited postsecondary degree granting
institutions of appropriate teaching experience.
(4) Verification of required occupational experience for occupational instructors.
TCS 3.04
Instructor requirements.
(1)
Each academic and
occupational
instructor
shall meet applicable requirements established by the
h
igher
l
earning
c
ommission and federal and state licensing requirements.
(2)
Each occupational instructor shall have a minimum of
2
years (4,000 hours) of occupational experience in a target job for the program
or programs
being taught, of which at least
1
year (2,000 hours) shall be within
5
years prior to the date of appointment. One year (2,000 hours) of related occupational experience may be waived if the occupational instructor has at least
2
years of post-secondary teaching experience in the appropriate occupational field within
5
years prior to the date of appointment
.
T
wo years of post-secondary teaching experience means
8
semesters of part-time teaching or
4
semesters of full-time teaching at
an accredited post-secondary degree granting institution.
(3)
An exception to the occupational experience requirements under s
ub.
(2)
may
be granted by the district director or designee for
any of the following
:
(a) Emergency staffing situations;
(b) Pending credentials;
(c) Specialized expertise or renowned qualifications of candidate;
(d) Emerging fields; and
(e) Lack of candidate availability.
(4)
An occupational experience exception under s
ub
.
(3)
shall
only be allowed if a plan is approved by the district director or designee to ensure the occupational instructor granted the exception complies with occupational experience requirements within the time period specified pursuant to s.
TCS 3.05(2)
.
TCS 3.05
Faculty Quality Assurance
System.
Each district shall provide annual reports as required by the
director
on its activities to maintain a faculty quality assurance system that includes all of the following:
(1)
D
istrict recruitment and hiring procedures for academic and occupational instructor positions that
include all of the following
:
(a)
D
emonstrate efforts to achieve a diverse instructor population;
(b)
I
nclude subject matter expert participation in the development of each new instructor position;
(c)
C
omply with all state and federal laws;
(d)
C
omply with
b
oard policy on criminal background checks;
(e)
V
erify prospective employee qualifications; and
(f)
A
ddress onboarding for new employees through providing a district employee handbook or standard operating practice and the Wisconsin
t
echnical
c
ollege
s
ystem mission, vision and strategic direction.
(2)
professional
development plans for each academic and occupational instructor that
include all of the following
:
(a)
identifies
how the instructor will
completes all
director
-approved competencies within
3
years of the date of employment if
employed
full-time or within
5
years of the date of employment if
employed
part-time.
(
b)
ensures
the instructor
maintains currency in their assigned content area(s). The district director or designee shall establish a process to maintain currency of academic and occupational instructors.
(c)
fulfills
occupational experience requirements within the time period specified by the district director or designee for an occupational
instructor hired pursuant an occupational experience exception under
s.
TCS
3.04(3)
.
(
d
) complies with all other requirements and policies set forth by the
Wisconsin technical college system s
tate
b
oard or
director.
(3)
a
performance evaluation system for each full-time academic or occupational instructor that includes
all of the following:
(a)
documentation
that the instructor and
the instructor’s
supervisor discussed and set instructor goals;
(b)
data
measures that will be used to assess instructor performance; and
(c)
an
employee development or performance improvement plan.
(4)
a
process for evaluating academic and occupational instructors who are less than full-time.
(5)
a
plan that provides peer coaching or mentoring for all academic and occupational instructors.
TCS 3.06 Review of district compliance.
The
director
or designee shall review district compliance
with the requirements established in this chapter under
ss.
TCS
3.03
,
3.04
,
a
nd
3.05
at least once every
3
years.
SECTION 2.
Effective date. This rule shall take effect on the first day of the month following publication in the Wisconsin Administrative Register as provided in s. 227.22(2)(intro.), Stats.
