PCC’s accreditation agency, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), requires in Standard 2.C.9 that “Applied undergraduate degree and certificate programs of thirty (30) semester credits or forty-five (45) quarter credits in length contain a recognizable core of related instruction or general education with identified outcomes in the areas of communication, computation, and human relations that align with and support program goals or intended outcomes.” This body of instruction is referred to as “Related Instruction.”

NWCCU further states, “The related instruction components of applied degree and certificate programs (if offered) have identifiable and assessable learning outcomes that align with and support program goals or intended outcomes. Related instruction components may be embedded within program curricula or taught in blocks of specialized instruction, but each approach must have clearly identified content and be taught or monitored by teaching faculty who are appropriately qualified in those areas.”(Standard 2.C.11)

Related Instruction in AAS Degrees and Certificates

At PCC, Related Instruction for AAS degrees is fulfilled by the 16 credits of general education with a minimum of 1 course (3 credits or more) in each of the three areas of the General Education/Discipline Studies list, as described in Academic Policies and Standards A102--Associate Degree Requirements/Associate of Applied Science Degree.

At PCC, the Related Instruction components for approved certificates of 45 credits or more are outlined on the Related Instruction Templates, showing which courses provide Related Instruction in which areas, and how many hours. The Template is recommended by the SAC, the SAC Administrative Liaison, the Degrees and Certificates Committee, and the Dean(s) of Instruction, for approval by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.

Related Instruction Course Options

The Related Instruction requirement in certificates may be fulfilled using stand-alone courses, courses in the program containing embedded instruction (both described below) or a combination of the two.

Stand-Alone Course(s) Option: Uses existing credit courses (must be 100-level or above) that address 1) communication, 2) computation, or 3) human relations. Sources for this option are a college-level course (CTE or LDC) in any discipline that provides instruction that would be relevant to the discipline in question and clearly addresses one (and only one) of the three areas. (Courses that address more than one area are considered to have embedded related instruction, as described below.) Stand-alone courses used for Related Instruction must be identified and the hours included on the Certificate's Related Instruction template. These must be submitted for approval via CourseLeaf. In the event the Degrees and Certificates Committee has concerns about the course content with respect to Related Instruction, it may refer the course to the Curriculum Committee for evaluation.

Embedded Instruction Option: Embedded instruction occurs simultaneously with program content instruction. Embedded instruction content and hours must be reflected in each course CCOG. More than one of the three areas can be embedded in a single course. SACs can identify embedded instruction hours that apply to their CTE courses only. The Related Instruction embedded in courses is recommended by the SAC, the SAC Administrative Liaison, the Curriculum Committee and the Dean(s) of Instruction for approval by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. Recommendation by the Curriculum Committee is required before the Degrees and Certificates Committee recommends the Related Instruction template.

Credit and Contact Hour Requirements for Related Instruction

In order to facilitate identification and recording, Related Instruction would be counted in hours of student learning rather than credits. A credit is considered to represent 30 hours of student learning (instruction supported by study and practice).

Student learning includes both direct instruction and class work such as study or practice. For every hour of lecture, it is expected students will spend 2 hours outside of class. Example: A 1-credit lecture class that meets for 10 hours (minimum) would generate 20 hours of additional learning time outside of the lectures over the course of a 10-week term, for a total of 30 student hours. The distribution of in-class versus out-of-class time is different for the lab and lec-lab configurations. The conventions used at PCC are as follows:

1 cr lecture meets 1 hr/wk, plus 2 hrs/wk of study, for at least 10 weeks = 30 hours

1 cr lec-lab meets 2 hrs/wk, plus 1 hr/wk of study, for at least 10 weeks = 30 hours

1 cr lab meets 3 hrs/wk, with minimal outside study, for at least 10 weeks = 30 hours

The Related Instruction Templates identify the courses and hours of instruction in the three areas used to meet the requirements described above. This is recommended by the SAC, the SAC Administrative Liaison, the Degrees and Certificates Committee and the Dean(s) of Instruction for approval by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.

For certificates of 45 to 60 credits: 240 hours (the equivalent of 8 credits) of Related Instruction with representation in three program-related instructional areas, 1) communication, 2) computation, and 3) human relations. A minimum 48 embedded hours (20% of the minimum total) of student learning are required in each area; 96 embedded hours are at the SAC’s discretion.

For certificates of 61 to 108 credits: 480 hours (the equivalent of 16 credits) of Related Instruction with representation in three program-related instructional areas, 1) communication, 2) computation, and 3) human relations. A minimum 96 embedded hours (20% of the minimum total) of student learning are required in each area; 192 embedded hours are at the SAC’s discretion.

Instructor Qualifications for Embedded Related Instruction

The CTE SACs develop specific requirements that pertain to the Related Instruction embedded in their courses, and recommends these for administrative approval. These requirements are published as part of the Instructor Qualifications.

The Instructor Approval Form will note that an instructor is qualified to deliver embedded Related Instruction; either for all courses or for specific courses, and supporting documentation of the relevant qualifications will be attached to the approval form.