3-11.1 Procedure - REACH Act Compliance

Under South Carolina statute Section 59-29-130 and through the guidance of the South Carolina State Technical College System, Greenville Technical College (GTC) requires undergraduate students completing a baccalaureate degree program to complete a three-credit course that requires, at a minimum, the reading of the Founding Documents in their entirety. The Founding Documents include: 

• The United States Constitution
• The Declaration of Independence
• The Emancipation Proclamation
• Five (5) Federalist Papers
• One or more documents foundational to the African American Struggle

Although associate degree programs are not required to include courses that require reading of the Founding Documents, the Commission on Higher Education (CHE) recommends that these readings be included in courses that are transferrable to a four-year South Carolina public institution. Therefore, Founding Documents will be included in all sections of the HIS 201 (American History: Discovery to 1877) and the PSC 201 (American Government) courses.

Syllabus Compliance

All HIS 201 and PSC 201 syllabi must be found in compliance before the start of each semester. Any course section of HIS 201 or PSC 201 added to the course offering schedule past the first date of the semester will be required to follow the review process below before the first day the course section meets. Each syllabus must notate the specific date for each founding document, distinguished by the document title, to be read in its entirety.

Faculty

All faculty members newly assigned to teach either HIS 201 or PSC 201 will be given a copy of the REACH Act Onboarding document (REACH Act Compliance for South Carolina) by the respective department head.

Every semester, the assigned faculty member is responsible for the course section syllabus to ensure that all of the Founding Documents are included, distinguished by the document title, in the course schedule. Each document must be covered in its entirety with a specific date indicated. The faculty member will prepare the REACH Act Syllabus Compliance form before the due date requested by the department head (approximately two and one-half weeks before the start of class).

Advising

Faculty and professional advisors are responsible for:

1. Advising all students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program to complete either HIS 201 or PSC 201.
2. Advising all students who plan to transfer to a four-year South Carolina public institution of higher learning to complete either HIS 201 or PSC 201.

Verification of Student’s Completion

The registrar is responsible for verifying the completion of the requirements written in the REACH Act Compliance Policy through the degree audit procedure. Any student seeking a baccalaureate degree who does not successfully complete the requirements will not be awarded a degree.

Review Process

The review process for compliance with the REACH Act is the responsibility of the following individuals.

• Department Head:
  1. Assign faculty to each course section and provide the due date (approximately two and one-half weeks before the start of class) for receiving the completed REACH Act Syllabus Compliance form and PDF of the course section’s syllabus from the assigned faculty member.
  2. Review the syllabus for each course section for required content to include the title of the Founding Document and its corresponding assignment date.
  3. Complete and submit the REACH Act Syllabus Compliance form and a copy of each syllabus to the Dean of Arts & Sciences or the Dean’s appointed designee two weeks before the start of each semester. If the course section is added to the schedule after the first day of the semester, this review process must be completed before the first day the course section meets.
  4. Verify that all faculty newly assigned to HIS 201 or PSC 201 are given the REACH Act Onboarding document and validate distribution and receipt by completing the REACH Act Faculty Onboarding Acknowledgement form before the first day of class.
• Dean of Arts & Sciences or the Dean’s appointed designee:
  1. Will ensure that all department heads responsible for the PCS 201 and HIS 201 courses are correctly instructed on the onboarding requirements for REACH Act compliance.
  2. Will be copied on all form submissions initiated adequately through the GTC network.
  3. Will be copied on all communications from the AC&R office to the respective department heads.
  4. Will be notified of all non-compliance.
• Office of Academic Compliance and Review (AC&R):
  1. Complete the annual survey, including submission of the initial set of syllabi requested in the survey.
  2. Prepare the college’s REACH Act Verification form.
  3. Maintain all syllabi in PDF format for submission to CHE upon request.
  4. Submit the REACH Act Verification form to the VP of Learning and Workforce Development for final review.
• VP of Learning and Workforce Development:
  1. Review the REACH Act Verification form submitted by AC&R.
  2. Prepare an annual validation letter verifying the review results and compliance with the REACH Act requirements for the current academic year.
  3. Submit the letter and the REACH Act Verification form to the college president for signature.
• President will send a signed annual verification letter and the REACH Act Verification form annually by June 1 to the Vice President of Academics, Student Affairs, and Research for South Carolina Technical College System, who will review and submit to the Commission of Higher Education (CHE) annually by June 30.
• CHE Staff will identify a random set of courses (the larger of 10% of sections or ten sections) from the concluding academic year for review from the college.
  • Office of Academic Compliance and Review will submit the syllabi for the random set and each section taught by a new faculty as requested by CHE annually by July 31.

Review by CHE

Through the review of the random set of courses by CHE, if it is determined that any syllabus is out of compliance, the college will be required to submit a copy of every syllabus from a REACH Act course (HIS 201 and PSC 201) for subsequent years until all syllabi are found in Compliance by CHE, at which point review will revert to the randomized selection of courses. Further, the respective department head(s) will develop and submit a plan to ensure that the affected students are given the opportunity to meet the REACH requirements without additional cost to the student.

CHE staff will prepare a final report outlining compliance. This report will be shared with the Committee on Academic Affairs & Licensing (CAAL) and the entire Commission before submission to the General Assembly in December of each year.