2012-2013 CATS Secondary Program Approval
The 2012-2013 CATS Secondary Program Approval file is now open for new secondary CTE program approval requests. It is recommended that Programs of Study (POS) program approval be sought for all programs for which a POS has been developed. For those programs for which a POS has not been developed, seek Tech Prep approval. By the 2012-13 school year, all approved programs must be delivered as POS or Tech Prep. The deadline for seeking new program approval is May 31, 2012, two months earlier than past deadlines.

CATS Secondary Program Approval Instructions are available on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s web site at the following link:
http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/program_approval/14503

CATS can be accessed at the login on the PDE home page. http://www.education.state.pa.us

School entities that cannot meet the requirements for approved programs as outlined in Chapter 4 and Chapter 339 Regulations should mark those programs for deletion in CATS on or before October 31, 2012. CTE program approval is required for a school entity to receive CTE subsidy. Programs that are operating without PDE approval will not be eligible for CTE subsidy.

CATS Program Re-approval
For the 2012-2013 school year, the PDE/BCTE, in accordance with Chapter 339.4(a)(2), will review all existing approved programs currently being offered at high schools across the Commonwealth. CTC approved programs were re-approved during 2011. All school entities with approved programs must ensure that all data elements in CATS are accurate. In 2011, revisions were made to CATS including the addition of three new data elements on the Specific Information page. Professional staff from the PDE/BCTE will be contacting all high schools to assist with the re-approval process. Failure to comply may result in loss of approval as opposed to re-approval. Loss of approval results in the loss of CTE subsidy. The deadline for seeking re-approval, by submitting the required data elements in CATS, is May 31, 2012.

In those instances where a CIP is approved under the Occupational, Tech Prep and POS delivery type, it is necessary to edit the data elements only for the POS delivery and the Occupational and Tech Prep deliveries must be marked for deletion after the POS is approved. For CIPs in which a POS has not been developed, it is necessary to submit the data elements only for the Tech Prep delivery type and the Occupational delivery must be marked for deletion.   

All of the data elements listed below must be edited prior to being considered for re-approval:

•    Contact information will include 2 names
•    Program Specific information
•    Articulation Agreement information
•    Secondary Scope and Sequence
•    Postsecondary Scope and Sequence must be completed for any program that has a
     one-to-one Articulation Agreement
•    Dual Enrollment Credits (If applicable)
•    Articulated Credits (If applicable)
•    Student Industry Certifications (If applicable)   
•    Teacher Certificate information including PPID
•    Teacher Industry Certifications (If applicable)   
•    Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor information (If applicable)
•    Industry Accreditations (If applicable)
•    Comments (As applicable)

Programs of Study (POS) Information
Any secondary institution may submit a request for POS approval. Currently, there are 38 POS available on the PDE web site and an additional four Phase V POS are being developed. See the list of POS CIPs at the following link:
http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/programs_of_study/7686

The competency/task grid for each POS has been developed as the foundational curriculum framework for the CIP. Therefore, all competencies/tasks must be addressed in the approved program. Several POS competency/task grids have been revised and are posted on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s website. LEAs are expected to use the most recent list available. Additional competencies should be added as recommended by your Occupational Advisory Committee.

A crosswalk template has been added to each POS under the Program of Study Documents section to allow schools to crosswalk their existing competency/task list with the POS competency/task list. Competency/task lists must be available for Perkins technical assistance visits and approved program evaluations to show that all foundational competencies are being offered in the approved program at the local site.

In addition, your approved POS will provide the benefit of the articulated credits indicated by the statewide group of postsecondary institutions named on the following link: http://collegetransfer.net/tabid/101/Default.aspx?from=4067

Note: When requesting approval for POS to replace Tech Prep, be certain to transfer your existing one-to-one Articulated Agreements to the new request for POS.