Regional Program Recommendation Process

Introduction

If you are you a CTE faculty member who has been tasked with developing a new CTE certificate or degree (program) for your college, you will need to secure regional consortium recommendation from the Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium (IE/DRC) before you submit your program approval documents to the State Chancellor’s Office for formal approval (chaptering).

Your college CTE Dean can advise you on the regional recommendation process and your college’s own curriculum approval process. You should also consult your college’s curriculum committee chair (or designee) early in the development process.

  Chancellor’s Office Program and Course Approval Handbook (PCAH), 7th Edition

The Inland Empire/Desert Regional (CTE) Consortium

The Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium is comprised of the 12 community colleges in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The California Community College Chancellor’s Office requires that all requests for new CTE program approvals include a recommendation from the “appropriate CTE Regional Consortium” (PCAH 7th Edition, page 22). This recommendation ensures program offerings meet regional labor market needs and do not unnecessarily duplicate programs.

The IE/DRC vested responsibility for recommending new programs, program revisions, and other program matters with its CTE Deans subcommittee (click here to see IE/DRC Governance).

Regional recommendation should occur at the beginning of new program development. Colleges seeking regional recommendation must submit their request online at RegionalCTE.org. The process is described on the next tab, "Process".

Guiding Principles for IE/DRC Recommendation

• Format for Submitting a Request: Colleges seeking regional recommendation of new programs must do so by completing the online request form. Before submitting the request form, they must obtain LMI information from the region’s Center of Excellence (COE).
• Timeline: The region is committed to review and act on all requests for regional recommendation within 30 days, provided the request is complete at the time it is submitted. CTE Deans hold regular monthly meetings between September and May. Meeting dates, meeting format (online or in-person) and agendas can be found on the IE/DRC website under “Meetings”. Requests received after the May meeting and before the September meeting will be reviewed electronically in order to honor the 30-day turn-around.
• Voting: A vote to recommend a new program will occur at the CTE Deans meeting. Each college present at the meeting will receive one vote. The college’s CTE dean (or their designated representative) will place the vote for their college. A minimum of eight colleges must participate in any meeting where a vote is to be taken. Seven votes are required to pass any action. The college requesting recommendation must be present at the CTE Deans meeting in order to discuss their request, otherwise the item will be tabled until the next meeting when the proposing college can be present. (Note: colleges may ask another college to represent them on the program matter if they are unable to attend.) College faculty responsible for the development or revision of the program are also encouraged to attend the meeting.
• Minutes: Minutes will be reviewed and approved at the conclusion of each meeting and will be posted to the IE/DRC website within five (5) business days. The outcome of the vote, along with any discussion, including any substantive comments or concerns voiced by the CTE Deans, will be recorded in the meeting minutes. The college’s CTE dean is responsible for communicating those comments and/or concerns to their college’s appropriate program personnel.Minutes for the current academic year can be found on the IE/DRC website under Meetings. Archived minutes can be found under the Home dropdown menu in the Archive section titled CTE Deans Meeting.