South Dakota Board of Regents New Site: Request to Offer an Existing Degree Program Use this form to request authorization to deliver an existing degree program at a new site or by distance delivery. The Executive Director or the Board may request additional information. University Degree(s) and Program New Site(s) Proposed Implementation (term) South Dakota State University Sociology Major Online FY2012 University Approval To the Board and the Executive Director: I certify that I have read this request, that I believe it to be accurate, and that it has been evaluated and approved as provided by university policy. President of the University Date After approval by the President, a signed copy of the proposal should be transmitted to the Executive Director. Only after Executive Director review should the proposal be posted on the university web site and the Board staff and the other universities notified of the URL. 1. What is the need for this program in this site (these sites)? What is the expected demand for graduates in the site(s)? South Dakota State University requests authorization to offer the B.S. in Sociology online for two reasons. First, some of our current students are unable to complete their degree because their work hours make it impossible for them to attend on-site courses or they have moved. Access to online instruction can address this issue. Second, as the importance of having a degree in order to get and retain a good job and acquire promotions, non-traditional students need a way to access our degree program. Online delivery of the Sociology Major supports the Board s strategic goals: Educational Attainment: increasing college participation, improving completion rates, and increasing the number of graduates. Economic Development & Quality of Life: workforce development, off-campus programs A degree in Sociology prepares graduates for careers in social services, nonprofit organizations, social science research, public relations, juvenile corrections, human resources, support positions in universities, sales and marketing, and services. Sociology graduates are employed as counselors, probation parole agents, human resources support professionals, retention advisors and in a variety of other career areas. ST Site BS Soc Online.docx Page 1 9/15/2011
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in social assistance are expected to grow in the future. In an article on tomorrow s jobs 1, the rapidly aging and diversified population will mean that More than 3 out of every 10 new jobs created in the U.S. economy will be in either the healthcare and social assistance or public and private educational services sectors. The South Dakota Department of Labor predicts employment growth in many occupations related to sociology. The chart that follows indicates projected growth in various industry sectors. South Dakota Department of Labor Occupational Estimates and Projections, 2006-2016 2 Selected Occupations Related to Sociology SOC* Code SOC Title 2006 Base Number of Jobs 2016 Projected Number of Jobs 119151 Social and Community Service Managers 220 260 18.2 131071 Employment, Recruitment and Placement Specialists 745 880 18.1 131072 Compensation, Benefits and Job Analysis Specialists 455 530 16.5 211092 Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists 415 430 3.6 211093 Social and Human Service Assistants 695 875 25.9 273031 Public Relations Specialists 1,290 1,485 15.1 273042 Technical Writers 85 100 17.6 Percent Change 414011 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products 1,875 2,115 12.8 419022 Real Estate Sales Agents 1,215 1,330 9.5 433071 Tellers 2,205 2,810 27.4 434051 Customer Service Representatives 8,970 12,610 40.6 434061 Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs 585 605 3.4 434161 Human Resources Assistants, except Payroll and Timekeeping 390 455 16.7 *SOC = Standard Occupational Classification 2. Is any regental university authorized to offer a similar program at the new site(s)? Is any non-system institution offering a similar program at the new site(s)? If either answer is yes, identify the institution(s) and program(s) and explain why authorization is requested. 1 U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm 2 Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor http://dol.sd.gov/lmic/occupation_projections.aspx ST Site BS Soc Online.docx Page 2 9/15/2011
No, at this time no online major in Sociology is from regental institutions. Dakota State does offer an online minor in Sociology. Students in the online major may also utilize online classes from other regental institutions. Many institutions offer an online degree in Sociology including Phoenix, North Dakota State University, University of Colorado, University of North Carolina, etc. Authorization is requested to serve the needs of the nontraditional students who enroll in online courses. 3. Are students expected to be new to the university or redirected from other programs or both? Complete the table and explain how the estimates were developed. How will the new site(s) affect enrollments in other campus and off-campus programs in the regental system? Fiscal Years* 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Estimated FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 New to the university 10 20 20 10 Redirected from other programs 10 10 10 5 Continuing from previous year 15 25 30 = Total in the program at the site 20 45 45 45 Credit hours, majors in program courses** 300 420 600 650 Graduates 5(a) 15(a) 15 * Do not include current year. ** This is the total number of credit hours generated by the majors in the required or elective program courses. The same numbers are used in Appendix B Budget. (a) This degree program is designed to appeal to an adult student population with previous college credits. Students with all general education and additional credits (64 or more previous credits) will be able to complete this degree program in 2 years. Over the last 10 years, Sociology courses have been offered online and have had very good enrollment. All courses required for the degree program are currently offered online with the exception of three courses. In addition, we expect that all courses for the human services specialization will be ready for online delivery by Fall 2012. There appears to be significant student demand in that a number of on-site students have requested online courses and all current online courses have good enrollment numbers even though the full degree program is not currently offered online. Impact on Existing Programs It is not expected that this degree program will impact enrollment in the on-campus Sociology degree program although students who now commute to main campus or the University Center in Sioux Falls will have the option of completing their program online. In addition students whose college career has been interrupted will be able to complete their program on line. We anticipate that the majority of students in the online major will come from current outreach sites ST Site BS Soc Online.docx Page 3 9/15/2011
where the number of interested students is not high enough to run classes and from rural and remote areas where access to higher education is difficult. 4. Complete the table and explain any special circumstances. Attach a copy of the program as it appears in the current catalog. If any program modifications are requested, attach that form. Explain how the new courses will be delivered. Attach the new course request forms. South Dakota State University B.S. in Sociology Credit hours System General Education Requirements 30 Institutional Graduation Requirements 8-9 Information Technology Literacy Requirements 0 Subtotal, Degree Requirements 38-39 Courses currently from this university online Courses currently from other universities at this site Courses new to this university Online Required Support Courses 8 cr. # Major Required credits 12 3 3 3 Major Electives or Minor 21 24 28 2 Subtotal, Requirements of the Proposed Major 33 Free Electives credits 34 many many Total, Degree with Proposed Major 128 3 *If the major will be in more than one degree (BA, BS, BS Ed) at the new site(s) and the number or distribution of credits will vary with the degree, provide a separate table for each degree. # College of Arts & Sciences required courses Only Sociology 307, Sociology 308, and Sociology 403 are needed to make all required courses. All other courses required to complete the B.S. in Sociology are offered online. We also intend to have all the coursework for the human services specialization online by the end of 2012 which includes an additional three courses that are slated for development in fy2012. *If the major will be in more than one degree (BA, BS, BS Ed) at the new site(s) and the number or distribution of credits will vary with the degree, provide a separate table for each degree. 5. How will you provide student services comparable to those for students on the main campus? A program area advisor will serve as the advisor to students in the major and will maintain an appointment schedule to meet the needs of students near existing outreach centers. Advising appointments will also be scheduled using Skype, teleconferencing, and Elluminate to meet the needs of distant students. The Student Services Advisors will also provide onsite general support to online students in the Sociology program. ST Site BS Soc Online.docx Page 4 9/15/2011
Library support services will be to students through a variety of means: Faculty may place materials on reserve for student use in D2L. Distance librarians from Briggs Library will provide materials to students through its distance library services as needed. SDSU students in online classes will have access to EBSCO host and other electronic databases through Briggs Library. A distance access librarian is also to these students. Other student services such as disability services accommodations will be to students upon request. 6. Is this program accredited by a specialized accrediting body? If so, address any program accreditation issues and costs related to offering the program at the new site(s). There is no specific program accreditation for Sociology. 7. Does the University request any exceptions to Board policy for delivery at the new site(s)? Explain requests for exceptions to Board policy. If no exceptions are requested, enter None. None 8. Costs, Budget & Resources Related to New Courses at the Site: Explain the amount and source(s) of any one-time and continuing investments in personnel, professional development, release time, instructional technology and software, other O&M, facilities, student services, etc needed to implement the program at the new site(s). Complete Appendix B Budget using the system form. The program will be funded from self-support tuition revenue generated from the online tuition. A budget is NOT provided because only three additional courses will be needed to offer the B.S. in Sociology online and these will be developed with existing resources.. Courses will be taught by SDSU Sociology faculty and adjunct faculty. If online enrollment in the B.S. in Sociology grows to a level where a new faculty member is needed, the position will be funded with self-support tuition revenue. No additional classroom or laboratory resources are required to offer this program at University Center. 9. Additional Information. (Optional) Limit the number and length of additional attachments. ST Site BS Soc Online.docx Page 5 9/15/2011
Identify with capital letters (C, D, E, etc). In some cases, responses to questions from the Board or the Executive Director may be provided as appendices. Letters of support are not necessary and are rarely included with Board materials. ST Site BS Soc Online.docx Page 6 9/15/2011