Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Section 3 - CTE Course Details, Sequence and Curriculum
General Instructions
Section 3 contains a Program Overview tab, individual tabs for each course in the program sequence, and a Supporting Documents tab. The Supporting Documents tab includes required uploads, such as syllabi for all courses in the proper sequence and, when applicable, a postsecondary articulation agreement for a program of study or U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) apprenticeship documentation.
Program Overview Tab
In the Program Overview tab, districts must describe the potential postsecondary credential available to students, including at least one of the following: college credits, an USDOL Registered apprenticeship, or Industry-valued credential (IVC). To be approved as a program of study, each application must offer students at least one recognized postsecondary credential.
Per Perkins V legislation, articulation agreements are formal written commitments established at the State level or approved annually by the lead administrators of the partnering secondary districts and post-secondary institutions.
- Articulated credits are college credits that a student becomes eligible to receive after high school, once they enroll in the partner college and meet the established articulation agreement requirements.
- Dual credit refers to college courses taken during high school in which students earn transcripted college credits while simultaneously being enrolled in both their high school and the partnering college. If information is provided for a postsecondary partnership, then the signed articulation agreement must be provided as supporting documentation uploads.
USDOL Registered Apprenticeship Option
If the program offers students enrollment and participation in a USDOL registered apprenticeship, complete the information in the USDOL Registered Apprenticeship section. A verification form is required to be submitted as a supporting document uploaded as a Microsoft Word or PDF file. The USDOL Registered Apprenticeship Verification form is composed of two parts:
- Letter from Chief School Administrator (CSA)
- USDOL Registered Apprenticeship Information
1. Letter from CSA
A narrative signed by the CSA, detailing:
- USDOL Registered Apprenticeship program
- Alignment to the CTE POS
- How it will culminate in the attainment of a recognized post-secondary credential (Per Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act TEGL 10-16) in conjunction with the sponsor that is supporting programming
Examples of sponsors include Adult Post-Secondary County Vocational, Union or Trade Association, Adult Private Career School, Institution of Higher Education, Intermediary, and Business.
2. USDOL Registered Apprenticeship Information
- Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS) Code
- Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor
- Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor ID
- Address
- City, State and Zip Code
Industry Valued Credential Option
Select Industry-Valued Credentials (IVC) can be offered as a postsecondary opportunity for students in a Program of Study. Specific credentials have been approved by New Jersey’s Credential Review Board as pathways for operating a Program of Study.
A list of approved credentials can be found on each career cluster page.
Applicable IVCs are automatically generated in a drop-down list based on the proposed CIP code.
Course Tabs
Complete a course tab for each course in the sequence. A minimum of three courses (or the equivalent) are required for all CTE programs of study (shared-time vocational programs are the only exception). The general information required for each course is:
- Course Title
- Grade Level
- SCED Subject Area
- SCED Course Number
- SCED Course Name
- Delivery Format (Length of Course)
- Academic Credits
- Course Description
- Work-Based Learning (WBL) Opportunities
Work-Based Learning Opportunities
Providing Work-Based Learning (WBL) experiences for students is a requirement of a CTE program of study and is a performance indicator for Perkins V. Perkins V defines WBL as sustained interactions with industry or community professionals in real workplace settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated environments at an educational institution that foster in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks required in a given career field, that are aligned to curriculum and instruction.
WBL is required within a CTE program of study sequence of courses. It is highly recommended that a CTE program of study incorporate a continuum approach to WBL. Experiences throughout the entire program of study should build upon each other in progression and include career exploration, preparation and training experiences that are appropriately aligned to the content of the program of study. Applicants must include a description of each WBL experience for each course. If there is a WBL experience in a certain course, then include the description on that course page. If it is incorporated into another course, describe it on that course page. A district may provide the same WBL opportunity for multiple courses, but the district must indicate the opportunity on each course page.
Each WBL experience must include the learning type, the business/agency/employer partner, location (city), length of experience (weeks, days and hours), and the number of students that will be involved (capacity). Each description should include the tasks and duties the student(s) will be expected to perform at the worksite.
Supporting Documents Tab-Required
The following are documents that are required to demonstrate program quality and alignment to Perkins V program requirements and the NJDOE State Plan:
- A separate, current syllabus (valid within one year of the application) must be uploaded for each course, which includes New Jersey Student Learning Standards. The syllabus shall also state the district name, course name, course description, prerequisite information, number of course credits, units and lessons to be studied, course assessments, industry-valued credentials, college credit opportunities, instructional resources and other technical skill proficiencies.
- If the application identifies a postsecondary articulation agreement, a signed current letter must be uploaded. The letter must state that the post-secondary institution agrees to award college credits to qualifying students for a high school course that aligns with a specific college course. These agreements should be signed and dated by the lead administrators of both the secondary institution (Superintendent or Chief School Administrator) and the postsecondary institution (President or the President’s official designee) annually. Each agreement must specify the course name, content, number of credits, cost, and any additional necessary information that defines the articulation between the institutions.
- If the application identifies a USDOL registered apprenticeship, the CTE Program of Study USDOL Registered Apprenticeship Verification form must be uploaded in this section.
Continue to Section 4 — Advisory and Business Labor Partnerships
- Districts should ensure that every mandatory field in the application is accurate and thoroughly filled out. The use of “to be determined” (TBD) is not permitted in any section.
- CTE POS courses may not be a mandatory schoolwide course offering. Courses that all students must take, such as financial literacy, cannot be included in the CTE sequence.
- CTE courses must be accessible for all students. The only allowable prerequisite within a Program of Study is successful completion of the previous CTE course in the designated sequence. Additional prerequisites or screening requirements are not recommended.
- Articulation agreements must be updated annually and kept on file by the district.
- A Thomas Edison State University Professional Learning Review (PLR) meets the requirements for the articulated credit option for program of study status. The official verification letter must be uploaded in Section 3.
- CTE courses must be sequential and progressively rigorous. Courses within the CTE Program of Study should build logically upon prior coursework and demonstrate increasing rigor. Elective courses that do not contribute to the structured course sequence are not acceptable within a CTE POS.
- Advanced Placement (AP) courses are generally not accepted in a CTE Program of Study. AP courses may only be included if they meet all CIP‑specific requirements, which may include being demonstrably career‑focused, not eligible to count as a mandatory school offering, taught by a certified CTE teacher and only open to CTE students in the program.