# COMAR Title 13B — Maryland Higher Education Commission

## Subtitle 02 — Academic Regulations

### Chapter 03 — Academic Programs — Degree-Granting Institutions

#### Regulation .05 Long-Term Goals.

*COMAR 13B.02.03.05*

Four long-term goals, quality, access and choice, accountability, and HBI enhancement, guide the Commission's program approval responsibilities, with each goal having the following focus:

A. Quality shall focus on the effectiveness of institutional actions, including:

  (1) The extent to which an institution fulfills its stated mission;

  (2) The centrality of a proposed program to the institution's approved mission; and

  (3) The adherence of a proposed program to commonly accepted standards of academic practice as found in Regulation .06 of this chapter;

B. Access and choice for Maryland citizens to higher education shall focus on the needs of citizens for higher education programs, services, and research, including:

  (1) Financial assistance;

  (2) Transferability of credit;

  (3) Economic development;

  (4) Equal opportunity concerns; and

  (5) Expansion of educational opportunities and choices for minority and educationally disadvantaged students at institutions of higher education;

C. Accountability shall focus on whether there is a comprehensive set of reliable and valid indicators, appropriate to the mission of the institution, which can assess an institution's effectiveness in delivering the proposed program; and

D. HBI enhancement shall focus on whether the proposed program advances the expansion of mission, program uniqueness, or institutional identity at HBIs.