Meeting of the Board of Regents | July 2008
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THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234
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TO: |
Full Board |
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FROM: |
Johanna Duncan-Poitier |
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SUBJECT: |
Proposed Amendment to the Rules of the Board of Regents Relating to Registered Degrees |
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DATE: |
July 9, 2008
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STRATEGIC GOAL: |
Goal 4 |
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AUTHORIZATION(S): |
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SUMMARY
Issue for Decision (Consent Agenda)
Should the Board of Regents amend §3.50(c) of the Rules of the Board of Regents to provide for honorary associate degrees?
Reason(s) for Consideration
Required by State statute
Proposed Handling
The proposed amendment will come before the Board for adoption as a permanent rule at the July 2008 Regents meeting.
Procedural History
Chapter 324 of the Laws of 2006 amended §6306 of the Education Law by adding subdivision 5-b, which provides: “Subject to the approval of the board of regents, the board of trustees [of a community college] shall have the authority to award honorary associate degrees.” The proposed amendment was before the Higher Education Committee for discussion at the June 2008 meeting. A Notice of Proposed Rule Making concerning the proposed amendment was published in the State Register on May 7, 2008. No public comments were received. Supporting materials for the proposed amendment are available on request from the Secretary to the Board of Regents.
Background Information
The only honorary degree titles available for use by New York degree-granting institutions are those listed in §3.50(c) of the Rules of the Board of Regents. That subdivision now lists only master’s degree and doctoral titles. An amendment is needed to list the honorary associate degree titles that may be used. It is proposed to list 13 such titles, consistent with those already authorized for honorary master’s and doctoral degrees.
By implementing §6306(5-b) of the Education Law by identifying the associate degree titles available for use, this amendment would benefit community colleges. Those titles also could be awarded by the SUNY and CUNY Boards of Trustees, by independent colleges that seek amendment of their charters to authorize their use, or by any New York degree granting institution meeting the requirements of §3.48 of the Rules of the Board of Regents: (1) holding an absolute charter or the equivalent, (2) conferring baccalaureate or higher degrees, and (3) holding institutional accreditation by a Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agency.
The State University of New York polled its community colleges and advised the Department that they preferred to use Associate of Humane Letters (A.H.L.) and Associate of Letters (A.Litt.) as honorary degrees. CUNY did not disagree. CUNY community colleges do not have separate boards of trustees and the CUNY Board of Trustees is authorized to award any honorary degree listed in §3.50(c). Recognizing that other New York higher education institutions might be interested in awarding honorary associate degrees, the Department proposes to include the titles requested by SUNY and go well beyond them.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Board of Regents take the following action:
VOTED: That Section 3.50 of the Rules of the Board of Regents be amended, as submitted, effective August 21, 2008.
Timetable for Implementation
The effective date of the amendment is August 21, 2008.
AMENDMENT TO THE RULES OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS
Pursuant to sections 207, 210, 214, 215, 305, and 6306(5-b) of the Education Law.
Subdivision (c) of §3.50 of the Rules of the Board of Regents is amended by the addition of a new paragraph (3), effective August 21, 2008, as follows:
(3) Associate Degrees:
Associate of Civil Law (A.C.L.)
Associate of Commercial Science (A.C.S.)
Associate of Divinity (A.D.)
Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A.)
Associate of Hebrew Letters (A.H.Litt.)
Associate of Humane Letters (A.H.L.)
Associate of Jewish Theology (A.J.T.)
Associate of Laws (LL.A.)
Associate of Letters (A.Litt.)
Associate of Music (A.Mus.)
Associate of Pedagogy (A.Pd.)
Associate of Sacred Theology (A.S.T.)