At an executive committee meeting in September, the University of Alabama System approved converting six existing joint or shared academic programs to cooperative arrangements and approved related memoranda of understanding intended to standardize how collaborative courses are cataloged and transcripted.

Dr. Tonjaneeta Johnson, who presented the items, said the changes respond to "changing definitions at SACSCOC" and to shifts "at the 8 levels," and that the materials in the meeting packet include the new MOUs and updated expectations for how collaborative courses will be cataloged, accessed and transcripted by each campus. "Approving these items will help to accommodate and finalize some very pressing UAB follow‑up related to these collaborative programs, which is due to SACSCOC later this month," she said.

The committee voted by voice vote to approve the transition and the MOUs. The motion carried with voices of "aye" and no recorded opposition.

Johnson told trustees the programs are not new — they "range in establishment dates from 1986 to 02/2002" — and that campuses have benefited from shared resources. She said the MOUs were reviewed by the system general counsel. She also said the system office will propose related amendments to Board Rule 506 for the board’s review in September and will report on enrollment and productivity for all shared and cooperative programs this fall, continuing a biennial review cycle. Johnson said the system will share recommendations for more comprehensive campus‑level reviews as part of academic program review work tied to system strategic goals.

The presentation discussed two distinct elements: (1) operational changes — new MOUs and more prescriptive cataloging and transcript practices for collaborative courses; and (2) governance and oversight — proposed rule amendments and scheduled productivity reporting and reviews. The committee’s approval was for the transition to a cooperative arrangement and formal approval of the MOUs as provided in the meeting materials; no additional policy changes were adopted beyond that approval.

No individual trustee questions or substantive objections were recorded during the discussion. The board secretary recorded the motion and second before the voice vote approving the resolutions.

Follow‑up steps noted during the meeting include presenting amendments to Board Rule 506 for board review and issuing the system‑level report on enrollments and productivity later this fall.