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Criterion 8.4 - Prerequisites: The program must show evidence that it has developed appropriate course prerequisites and that students enrolled in a course have completed all prerequisites.
Criterion 8.5 - Program Length/Maximum Time Frame: The minimum educational program length for the clinical doctorate in Oriental medicine is 4000 hours which includes the current ACAOM Masters-level training requirements. Of the 4000 hours, a minimum of 1200 hours is required at the doctoral level. Advanced clinical training must constitute a minimum of 650 hours for the doctoral program. The doctoral level portion of the program must be completed within 4 calendar years from the date of matriculation.
Criterion 8.6 - Residency: Doctoral study includes residence at the educational institution in which the student pursues graduate study together with other students enrolled in the program. Residence provides students access to: a) a core Oriental medicine faculty who are committed to and responsible for the doctoral program; and b) other students matriculated in that program. Doctoral study in residence also requires education to be conducted on campus. A majority of the doctoral program must be taken in residency at the institution.
Criterion 8.7 - Clock to Credit Hour Conversion: One semester credit hour is granted for each 15 hours of classroom contacplus appropriate outside preparation or the equivalent; or one semester credit hour for each 30 hours of supervised laboratory or clinical instruction plus appropriate outside preparation; or one semester credit hour for each 45 hours of clinical externship or independent study. One quarter credit hour is granted for each 10 hours of classroom contacplus appropriate outside preparation or the equivalent; or one quarter credit hour for each 20 hours of supervised laboratory or clinical instruction plus appropriate outside preparation; or one quarter credit hour for 30 hours of clinical externship or independent study.
Guideline: If translation is provided for a class taught by an instructor who is not fluent in the language of the students, the program should take into account an adjustment to the class-to-credit-hour-ratio to allow for the extra time needed for translation.
Guideline: The program is expected to articulate its curriculum for each academic year, identifying semesters, courses and precise clock or credit hours. A credit hour is 50 minutes of instruction per week for a specified term, semester or its equivalent.
Criterion 8.8 - Completion Designation: To each person successfully completing the clinical doctoral program, the degree Doctoral of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine ("DAOM"), is awarded. A certificate of completion or a diploma may be awarded in the interim while the school is actively pursuing state authorization to grant a doctoral degree.
Criterion 8.9 - Syllabi: A syllabus must be prepared for each course or major unit of instruction and must be distributed to each student in the course. A syllabus must contain at least the following: the purpose of the course; the objectives of the course in specific terms; the prerequisites of the course; an outline of the content of the course and laboratory instruction in enough detail to permit the student to see its full scope; the method(s) of instruction; the requirements of the course with important dates (e.g., papers, projects, examinations); the type of grading system used; and the required and recommended reading.
Guideline: Syllabi should be reproduced and made available to faculty members so that they may learn what the various courses in the curriculum include and can relate their instruction to other courses.
Guideline: Copies of syllabi should be kept in the library and the curriculum files.
Criterion 8.10 - Challenge Examinations: Any procedures for challenge examinations which are available for didactic course work must be clearly articulated and must ensure that students have acquired the relevant knowledge and skills required by the challenged course(s). Clinical and research practicum courses cannot be challenged.
Faculty
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT 9: The program must have an identifiable core didactic and clinical faculty responsible for its leadership who:
a) Function as an integral part of the program, including engaging in curriculum planning and development and program assessment;
a) Are sufficient in numbers for their academic and professional responsibilities;
a) Have theoretical perspectives as well as academic and applied experience appropriate to the program’s goals and objectives;
a) Demonstrate substantial competence and have recognized credentials in those areas which are at the core of the program’s objectives and goals;
a) Are available to function as appropriate role models for students in their learning and socialization into the discipline and profession and engage in actions that promote the students’ acquisition of knowledge and competencies consistent with the program’s training goals;
a) Are accessible to students and provide them with a level of guidance and supervision that actively encourages timely completion of the program; and,
a) Provide continuing evidence of keeping abreast of developments within the fields in which they teach.
The majority of faculty must possess a doctoral degree, the terminal degree or its international equivalent in the areas in which they teach no later than December 31, 2012. In addition to the core faculty, other individuals with demonstrated professional experience and adequate credentials who hold faculty appointments at the institution may be used to augment and expand students’ educational experiences.
Guideline: Clinical Supervisors should have a minimum of five years of documented professional experience as licensed Oriental medicine practitioners.
Criterion 9.1 - Faculty Credentials: For each faculty member who does not possess a doctoral degree, the program must document the method(s) by which it determined the instructor’s competence, including relevant education and training and significant experience and leadership in their areas of instruction, to teach at the doctoral level.
Criterion 9.2 - Policies and Procedures: The recruitment, appointment, promotion and retention of well qualified faculty members must be outlined in policies and procedures that are stated clearly in institutional documents. Due attention must be given to pertinent legal requirements in areas of non-discrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative-action employment practices.
Guideline: Faculty contracts should clearly specify responsibilities.
Criterion 9.3 - Professional Development and Benefits: Conditions of faculty service must be adequate and equitable, and administered ethically, to provide faculty members with academic freedom, opportunities for professional growth and development, and adequate preparation time. Evaluation of individual faculty performance must be carried out periodically.
Guideline: Provisions for benefits and/or professional development should be reviewed periodically.
Criterion 9.4 - Communication: Provision must be made for regular and open communication among members of the faculty and between the faculty and administrative officers of the institution. The faculty must meet frequently enough to adequately consider educational policies and issues. Complete and accurate minutes of faculty meetings must be taken and kept in a permanent file within the institution.
Guideline: The faculty should adopt, subject to the approval of the board, a set of bylaws which delineate faculty governance and responsibilities within the institution.
Student Services and Activities
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT 10: The program shall provide student services and activities that reflect the program's objectives, create good student morale and assist students in the achievement of professional growth while making progress toward their career goals.
Criterion 10.1 - Support Fulfillment of Objectives: Student services and activities must fulfill the objectives of the program and meet public and community service needs. The institution or program must assure all students access to a well-developed program of counseling, advisement, orientation and career development.
Criterion 10.2 - Published, Fair Student Policies: The program must develop a statement of the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of students and of disciplinary proceedings for violations of those responsibilities. The program’s policies and procedures regarding student discipline, academic progress and grading must be fair and consistent and published and made available to students. These policies and procedures must be made available to students through the catalog, student handbook, or other appropriate means.
Criterion 10.3 - Student Input: Some provision or vehicle must be provided for obtaining student views and input into institutional decision making.
Criterion 10.4 - Grievances: The program must have fair and efficient procedures for reviewing and responding to legitimate grievances made by students and must maintain a record of all student complaints during the preceding three year period demonstrating that these complaints were handled in a fair and equitable manner. The program must disclose the Commission's address in its published policy on student complaints so that, if upon the program's disposition of a legitimate student complaint, the student is not satisfied that the program has adhered to its policy or been fair in its handling of the complaint, the student may contacthe Commission.
Library and Learning Resources
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT 11: The program shall have adequate learning resources and equipment to support the professional doctoral program. The program shall have a library with sufficient resources to support faculty and student scholarship and research at the professional doctoral level.
Criterion 11.1 - Library Resources and Access: The library must include adequate space and access time appropriate for the size of the student body. Access and utilization of library resources by faculty and students in the core areas including acupuncture and Oriental medicine, biomedical sciences, research, specialty and clinic topics must be demonstrated by the institution.
Criterion 11.2 - Professional Librarian: The program must have a professional librarian with expertise in issues of library development, management and computer on-line research.
Criterion 11.3 - Library Holdings: The program’s library must have:
– Suitable and sufficient dictionaries and general reference materials in each language area in which the doctorate is offered;
– Minimum holdings of a significant proportion of acupuncture and Oriental medical texts or 1,000 Oriental medical volumes, whichever is greater, in a language or languages accessible to students and faculty;
– Minimum holdings of a significant proportion of professional journals or 12 titles, whichever is greater, per language area covering topics of Oriental medicine. Journal holdings shall extend back three years or to journal inception, whichever is less;
– Minimum holdings of 100 text volumes in biomedicine, which are up-to-date and relevant;
– Minimum holdings of five biomedical journals. Journal holdings shall extend back three years or to journal inception, whichever is less;
– Appropriate number and balance of both Oriental medicine and biomedicine journals and texts in the program’s specialty area(s) and;
–Sufficient holdings, or convenient and ready access to other library resources, covering subject matter in the curriculum other than Oriental medicine and biomedicine, including volumes concerning research, statistics, ethics, languages, counseling skills, and additional foundation areas related to the program.
Criterion 11.4 - Computer Resources: The program must have on-site computer resources sufficient to provide ready access to biomedical and other databases. At a minimum, CD-ROM and on-line access to Medline and the Internet must be provided.
Physical Facilities and Equipment
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT 12: The institution shall provide sufficient and appropriate facilities to house the doctoral program. These must include:
– classroom space properly equipped and appropriate to the program’s curriculum and size;
– adequate staff, faculty and student facilities and learning equipment; clinical facilities appropriate to doctoral training and clinical specialties with sufficient and appropriate equipment, including sterilizers, sinks, work areas, storage and disposal; and,
– an herbal dispensary appropriately equipped for doctoral training in Oriental medicine.
All program facilities must be safe, accessible, functional, flexible, appropriately maintained and sufficient to house the program, to provide for effective functioning, and to accommodate the staff, faculty and the student body.
Criterion 12.1 - Compliance with Standards Facilities must meet all applicable laws and regulations including federal, state and local fire, safety and health standards.
Criterion 12.2 - Upkeep Provisions for the cleaning, repair and maintenance of buildings and grounds, and specific responsibilities for care of grounds, security, fire protection, utilities and facilities upkeep must be appropriately assigned.
Financial Resources
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT 13: Financial resources must be adequate so that continuing operation of all professional programs in Oriental medicine are assured at an acceptable level. A separate budget must be available for the doctoral program that provides for all programmatic needs, including but not limited to faculty resources, materials and supplies, faculty development, library and learning resources, and evaluation for purposes of assessment of achievement and to insure program effectiveness. The college or school must establish and manage student enrollment consistent with available resources.
Publications and Advertising
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT 14: All publications, advertising, and other communications of information concerning the institution and its programs, services, activities, and personnel must be accurate, honest, clear and unambiguous.
Criterion 14.1 - Catalog: The institution shall publish, and make available to students and to the general public, a catalog or comparable official publication that honestly and accurately sets forth the doctoral program’s:
• Current purposes and educational objectives
• Entrance requirements and procedures
• Admissions and transfer-credit policies
• Rules and regulations for conduct and attendance
• Opportunities and requirements for financial aid (if applicable)
• Procedures for discipline and or dismissal (for academic and other reasons)
• Grievance procedures for students
• Grading policy
• Fees and equitable refund policies
• Program completion and performance requirements
• Members of the administration
• Professional education and qualifications of full- and part-time faculty (If degrees are listed, the institution from which the higher degree was issued must be listed; when indicating an earned doctorate, designation of the country of origin, other than the U.S., in which the degree is conferred shall be listed, e.g., Ph.D. (China), M.D. (China).
• Members of the governing and advisory boards
• Non-discrimination policy
• Curriculum with course descriptions of each course
• Academic calendar
• Course schedule
• Description of each academic program and course of study
• Description of the learning and other physical resources
Criterion 14.2 - Accurate Disclosure: Programs, courses, services, and personnel not available during a given academic year must be identified clearly. Degree titles of faculty must reflect the actual degree conferred.
Criterion 14.3 - Representation of Opportunities: Publications and advertising must not misrepresent employment, career, or licensure opportunities.
Criterion 14.4 - Status with ACAOM: The program must report accurately to the public its status and relationship with the Commission according to the statements provided to it by the Commission.
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