Program Management Glossary

Increasing Student Success

Program Management

This category of glossary terms relates most directly to the operation of administrative offices, programs, and in some cases classroom instruction. Additional terms related to program management are contained in the Assessment category. More comprehensive glossaries of terms can be found in the Greenwood Dictionary of Education (Collins & O’Brien, 2011) and the Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation (Newcomer, Hatry, & Wholey, 2015).

academic credential

1. Definition: Certificate stating that instructors or staff members have attended a properly accredited postsecondary institution and completed a curriculum in the academic discipline they are instructing or supervising.

academic rank

1. Definition: Category of an institution’s classification system of professional personnel 2. Examples: Academic professional and administrative employee, assistant/associate/full professor, assistant/senior lecturer, docent, instructor, and teaching specialist.

accreditation

1. Definition: “A voluntary process conducted by peers through nongovernmental agencies to improve educational quality and ensure the public that programs and services meet established standards. In higher education, accreditation is divided into institutional and specialized. Although both are designed to assure minimum levels of quality, the former focuses on the institution as a whole while the latter focuses on specialty professional or preprofessional programs (such as law, business, psychology, or education) or services such as counseling centers within the institution” (Council for the Advancement of Standards, 2019, para. 1).

adjunct faculty

See PART-TIME FACULTY.

ancillary facilities

1. Definition: Postsecondary programs, services, and functions provided to support the educational function of the institution.

2. Examples: COURSE-BASED LEARNING ASSISTANCE, LEARNING ASSISTANCE CENTERS, and TUTORING.

certification

1. Definition: “Official recognition by a governmental or professional body attesting that an individual practitioner demonstrates knowledge and can apply learned skills to meet established standards or criteria. Criteria most often include formal academic preparation in prescribed content areas and a period of supervised practice with successful completion of a standardized test of the practitioner’s knowledge” (Council for the Advancement of Standards, 2020, para. 15).

compliance

1. Definitions: (a) The extent to which a particular ASSESSMENT guideline is followed; and (b) The degree to which a program is judged to meet an ASSESSMENT standard.

2. Example: Legal compliance with Title IX or other federal and state mandates.

contingent faculty

1. Definition: Includes both PART- and FULL-TIME FACULTY who do not have continuing employment contract protection. This portion of the teaching component has increased in recent years since it gives the institution’s administrators flexibility to lay off or add additional personnel depending on budget pressures and new program offerings.

2. Compare with ADJUNCT, FULL-TIME FACULTY, INSTRUCTOR, PART-TIME FACULTY, and TENURE/TENURE-TRACK FACULTY.

cost-effectiveness

1. Definition: Condition achieved when the lowest-cost option is utilized for achieving the greatest benefit or gain (Collins & O’Brien, 2011).

emergency crisis management procedures

1. Definition: Step-by-step directions for dealing with extraordinary events.

2. Examples: students in crisis, health emergencies, active shooter on campus, and student discipline.

ethical standards

1. Definitions: (a) Criteria that provide requirements and guidelines for behaving in a manner that is fair to all individuals; (b) In assessment, criteria ensuring that data are collected, recorded, and reported with honesty and integrity; and (c) (In writing and use of COPYRIGHTED materials), the professional uses other people’s created materials in an appropriate fashion.

fair employment practices

1. Definition: Adherence to laws prohibiting employment discrimination because of age, color, creed, cultural heritage, disability, ethnicity, gender identification, nationality, political affiliation, religious affiliation, sex, sexual identity, or social, economic, marital, or veteran status.

Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

1. Definition: Federal ruling that places extensive procedures and restrictions on the disclosure of information regarding an individual without obtaining that individual’s permission. This federal legislation protects student records pertaining to enrollment, grades, and any services received at a postsecondary institution.

full-time faculty

1. Definition: Varying degrees of autonomy in the courses they teach and can have vastly different course loads from one another due to their individual course releases to engage in public service and research time. The faculty members may receive a range of privileges for the position from the institution. These educators may or may not have continuing employment contract protection.

2. Compare with CONTINGENT FACULTY, INSTRUCTOR, PART-TIME FACULTY, and TENURE/TENURE-TRACK FACULTY.

in-service education (sometimes called on-the-job training)

1. Definition: Job-related instruction and educational experiences made available to employees by the institution to improve the knowledge and skills of employees, usually offered during normal working hours (Collins & O’Brien, 2011).

instructor

1. Definitions: (a) Someone who performs a teaching function in any setting; and (b) Faculty designation of untenured rank or staff instructors without rank of any kind.

2. Examples: Lecturer, INSTRUCTOR, staff member, and assistant professor.

3. Compare with FULL-TIME FACULTY and PART-TIME FACULTY.

job functions

1. Definition: Required skills or duties to perform a job.

joint faculty appointments

1. Definitions: (a) Assignment of instructors to duties in more than one area or unit of the institution, such as teaching college-level and developmental-level courses; and (b) Teaching courses in two or more different academic departments.

liability exposure

1. Definition: “Breadth of damages for which an institution can be held legally responsible” (Hill & Hill, 2002, pp. 248–249). Depending upon the situation, PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY COVERAGE through insurance may or may not protect the individual or institution charged with the incident.

2. Compare with PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY COVERAGE.

merit increases