Establishing and Maintaining the Minimum Faculty Qualification (MFQ) Standard List

Operational Standard/Purpose

The Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs (EVPAA) serves as the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) and is responsible for the establishment, approval, and adherence to the Minimum Faculty Qualifications (MFQ) standards.

Minimum faculty qualifications are required by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) for instructors who teach credit-bearing courses. These vary depending upon the type of instruction credits (PCS Table below), subject (aka discipline), and specific course content requirements. The Program Classification System (PCS) Code is how Illinois Community College Board categorizes the type of instruction.

These are the PCS categories and how they are displayed in the Catalog of Record:

In addition, Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), external accreditors (e.g., Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)), and ICC may impose additional qualifications requirements. Generally, Transfer (TC) courses require a minimum of a Master's degree in the subject being taught OR a Master's degree plus 18 graduate semester hours in the subject being taught. There is significantly more variability with Occupational (OC) and non-TC courses since many of these disciplines do not award Master's or doctoral degrees or subject matter expertise is alternatively measured through industry certifications and/or tested experience (aka, career experience) in the field being taught.

Occupational (OC), Basic Education (BEC), Adult Education (ABE), Adults Secondary Education (ASE) and Adult English as a Secondary Language (ESL) qualifications apply to a broad range of career fields with varying knowledge, skills, and abilities that comprise subject matter expertise. The preference is to have a combination of an academic award (Certificate, Associate degree or Bachelor's degree), recognized apprenticeship or industry certification AND tested experience. However, the MFQ standard for some Occupational (OC), Basic Education (BEC), Adult Education (ABE), Adults Secondary Education (ASE) and Adult English as a Secondary Language (ESL) areas may list multiple combinations of academic award levels (e.g., AAS degree plus 4,000 hours of tested experience, Bachelor's degree plus 2,000 hours of tested experience, AWS certification with 8,000 hours of tested experience). In addition, it is permissible to specify an option of skills testing, such as with welding using assessed samples as a means to determine subject matter expertise.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When skills testing may be considered an option, that option must be approved and listed in the approved MFQ listing in advance so that the requisite competencies are available to all applicants.

MFO Standards are applied at the course level. MFQ Standards may be different for individual courses within a discipline depending upon specialized course content and whether a course is intended for transfer by having the ICCB 1.1 PCS designation. (See above table) Course MFQ requirements supersede the general subject level requirements.

MFQ standards will be maintained in Coursedog which will serve as the definitive repository for course MFQs. Coursedog will be used to generate a document called MFQ Standards List. The MFQ Standards List is maintained by the Academic Affairs Office and is located on the ICC Hub. In addition, a Dual Credit catalog will be issued each fall for use by Early College and our district partners. This catalog will be based on an abbreviated list of courses that are most commonly offer through Early College.

Scope/Applicability

This SOP applies to the hiring of all instructors for credit-bearing courses for ICC. This includes full-time, adjunct, and dual credit instructors who teach ICC credit-bearing courses. Furthermore, established MFQ requirements must be uniformly applied to all instructor classifications and partner institutions (i.e., school districts).

Procedure(s)

The department Dean will collaborate with the faculty in the program or discipline to determine the need for a change or an addition to the MFQ Standards List due to a new course(s) and/or new programs. The recommendation is posted on the ICC Hub for two weeks for college comment with notice of the posting being distributed through the weekly "Employee Notice". Comments are returned to the requesting Dean for consideration with the associated faculty before making a final recommendation to the EVPAA.

The EVPAA will either approve the recommendation and update the standing MFQ Standards List or deny it with explanations to the department Dean for revision and resubmission.

Additions to the MFQ Standards List are required when a new course(s) is recommended by the Curriculum Committee, EVPAA approves and ICCB approves the new course(s). The corresponding chair (or coordinator), faculty, and department Dean are jointly responsible for developing the applicable MFQ and completing the submission process prior to offering the new course(s) or hiring full-time or adjunct faculty to teach them.

The EVPAA will notify all Academic Affairs faculty and staff, Early College department, and Human Resources whenever there is an updated MFQ Standards List posted to the ICC Hub.

Provisional Approvals

Provisional approvals for individual faculty may be allowed per the Illinois Dual Credit Quality Act (110 ILCS 27/20). Under the statute, dual credit instructors may be conditionally approved to teach college level courses if they are short of the minimum standards provided, they are approved under the professional development requirements as stated in Para. 2 and 2.5.

Provisional approvals for ICC non-tenured full-time or adjunct faculty may be considered on a case-by-case basis in circumstances where additional qualifications need to be obtained. In these cases, the deficiencies must be limited to what can be remediated within one academic year. The Dean will submit the MFQ form, CV/resume, transcript, and written request for consideration of provisional approval to the EVPAA. The written request will list the applicable MFQ requirements, the deficiencies, and the timeline for remediation of outstanding requirements. These require approvals by the EVPAA and college President. The written approval will include the expiration of the provisional approval. A faculty member hired with provisional approval will sign a statement acknowledging their provisional hiring and the implications should they not complete the requirements within the time allowed. A provisional approval may at the discretion of the college President be renewed for one additional year; however, provisional approvals will not be granted for full-time faculty who would be entering their third year of employment due to the requirements for granting tenure.

On rare occasions, exceptions to the posted MFQ Standards List may occur due to extraordinary circumstances. These circumstances may include emergent faculty needs due to unexpected departures of scheduled faculty or individuals who document and demonstrate the requisite subject matter expertise through unique or unconventional career experience. For an exception to be granted on a case-by-case basis, the Dean in consultation with the discipline or program faculty will make a request in writing to the EVPAA that will include the supporting materials and rationale for the exception. The request must specify whether the request is for a specific period/term or as a permanent decision.

The EVPAA will review and either deny the request, return it for further documentation, or approve and forward to the college President for final approval and signature. The EVPAA review will be completed within 2 business days.

Additional Provisions/Information

An additional SOP sponsored by the Human Resources department called Minimum Faculty Qualification (MFQ) outlines the use of the MFQ Form in the process of hiring faculty.