Program Recommendation Frequently Asked Questions
About This Resource
One of the integral functions of the Los Angeles Regional Consortium is to recommend credit Career Technical Education (CTE) programs being proposed by community colleges in the region to the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) as described in Title 5, Section 55130(b)(8)E, of the California Education Code. This resource provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding the process of developing CTE programs, submitting applications for program recommendation, and receiving recommendation from the LA Workforce Council (LAWC).
If you still have questions after reviewing this information, please reach out to the LARC Grant Project Coordinator, Gray Rakow (grakow@pasadena.edu).
About Program Recommendation
The California Ed Code and the California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 5, require that career technical education programs submitted for chaptering to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) include in the application the recommendations of the career technical education regional consortium. LARC is the CTE regional consortium for Los Angeles County. The LA Workforce Council is the recommending body for LARC.
The LA Workforce Council (LAWC), among other functions, is the recommending body for the Los Angeles Regional Consortium (LARC). The LAWC reviews CTE program applications for regional program recommendation and determines if they will recommend the programs to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) for approval. The LAWC meets on the third Thursday of each month at the LARC Business Meeting.
The LAWC is made up of a voting member and an alternate voting member from each of the LA-19 community colleges. The voting member and alternate voting member are appointed by the respective community college president. Contact information for all LAWC voting members is available on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) has issued the Program and Course Approval Handbook (PCAH) (8th Edition), which includes all regulations regarding program recommendation. All LARC program recommendation requirements, processes, and resources are available on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
If you have any questions regarding the program recommendation process, please reach out to LARC Grant Project Coordinator, Gray Rakow (grakow@pasadena.edu).
Programs Subject to the Recommendation Process
The following programs must be submitted for LAWC recommendation:
- New credit CTE programs
- Certificates of achievement (16+ semester units)
- Associate degrees
- Baccalaureate degrees
- Existing low-unit, local certificate(s) for state chaptering
- Modified programs that require a new control number in COCI
The following programs should not be submitted for LAWC recommendation:
- Modified programs that do not require a new control number in COCI (colleges may still choose to submit these programs for recommendation)
- Noncredit programs
- Associate degrees for transfer
Modified programs must be submitted for regional program recommendation when the change to the program is substantial. Substantial changes are defined as those that require a new control number in the Chancellor’s Office Curriculum Inventory (COCI) system.
Information regarding what changes will require a new control number in COCI may be found in the California Community Colleges Curriculum Submission & Approval Technical Manual. An instructional resource has been developed by the LARC team that summarizes these changes. Please note that a name change for the program itself does not require a new control number in COCI.
Please reach out to your campus curriculum specialist if you have questions regarding whether a modified program should be submitted for regional program recommendation. The college must determine if the program should be submitted. Modified programs may still be submitted if they do not require a new control number in COCI, and they will be subject to all requirements of the LARC program recommendation process for modified programs.
Potential Low-unit, Local Certificate(s) for State Chaptering:
- Set/sequence of certificates that meet the following criteria:
- Single 4-digit TOP Code
- Lower level certificate(s) required for higher level certificate(s)
- Set/sequence that, as a whole, meets 16+ semester units (or 24+ quarter units).
- Existing certificate that is being increased to 16+ semester units (or 24+ quarter units)
The Program and Course Approval Handbook (PCAH) provides an example of certificates that are subject to the program recommendation process (see PCAH, page 95).
Developing a Program
The development of programs should always be informed by labor market information (LMI reports), industry input (advisory committees), and regional priorities (LARC Regional Plan).
Labor Market Information
A program should never be fully developed before you request, receive, and review the LMI report that is issued by the LA Center of Excellence to your college. The LMI report includes, but is not limited to, the following critical information necessary for the college to determine if, and how, the program should be developed:
- Target Occupations
- Occupational Demand
- Wages
- Educational Supply (community colleges and other postsecondary)
Industry Input
Additionally, the programs should be developed based on industry input that is received from an advisory committee. These committees inform colleges regarding the actual needs of the industry and the preparation required to ensure that students are hireable when pursuing employment in the program’s target occupations. These committees are also a requirement of the California Ed Code, and advisory minutes are a required attachment for any CTE program applications submitted to LARC and to the Chancellor's Office (see the "Advisory Committee Minutes" section).
Regional Priorities
Eight priority sectors that offer promising career opportunities for community college students were identified by LARC using an analysis of regional labor market needs. These priority sectors are data-informed to produce high-wage, high-growth occupations over the next four years. Colleges are encouraged to focus on developing programs within these priority sectors.
The priority sectors may be accessed in the LARC Regional Plan 2024-2027 and are as follows: Advanced Manufacturing; Advanced Transportation & Logistics; Business & Entrepreneurship/Global Trade; Energy, Construction, & Utilities; Health; Information & Communication Technologies (ICT)/Digital Media; Life Sciences & Biotechnology; and Retail, Hospitality & Tourism.
Other Reminders
Please always follow your local curriculum development and approval processes. We recommend working closely with your LA Workforce Council (LAWC) voting member when developing your program to ensure alignment with all requirements and regional priorities. The LAWC voting members are always available on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
Yes. An application must be submitted in Regional CTE for any program, whether new or modified, for which regional program recommendation is requested.
The Regional CTE website includes a “Browse” feature, through which anyone may search for programs that have already been submitted for regional program recommendation. As the website is utilized by all community colleges in the state of California, any program that has gone through the program recommendation process will be found on the site.
When browsing, programs may be located by program name, college, region, application status, and TOP Code. Please note that any programs that went through the program recommendation process prior to the founding of the Los Angeles Regional Consortium (LARC) (January 2022) will be accessible under the "Los Angeles/Orange County (Archived)" filter.
Labor Market Information (LMI) Reports
The Los Angeles Center of Excellence (LA COE) issues all LMI reports for the LA region.
To receive an LMI report, a formal request must be submitted through the California Community Colleges: Request for Labor Market Information Form. Once submitted, a member of the LA COE team will follow up with the requester if additional information is required prior to issuing a report.
The following are possible reasons for requesting an LMI report that are included on the form:
District or College Program Review: For the required review of programs every two years by the governing board of the district to ensure that the program meets the documented labor market demand (EDC 78016).
Existing Low-unit, Local Certificate(s) for State Chaptering: For an existing certificate that is being increased to 16+ semester units (or 24+ quarter units) or for a set/sequence of certificates that meet the following criteria: single 4-digit TOP Code; lower level certificate(s) required for higher level certificate(s); and set or sequence that, as a whole, meets 16+ semester units (or 24+ quarter units).
New Certificate or Degree Development: For any new CTE certificate or degree program.
Program Modification (Substantial Change): For an existing CTE certificate or degree that is undergoing substantial change.
Noncredit Program Development: For any noncredit short-term vocational and/or workforce preparation courses that, when sequenced, lead to a Chancellor's Office approved certificate of completion or certificate of competency.
Undecided - Exploratory Purposes: For a potential program a college/district is considering, but for which they first want to establish labor market need.
Self-Sufficiency Standard wage data is pulled from The Self-Sufficiency Standard Tool for California. As of 2024, the Self-Sufficiency Standard wage for Los Angeles County is $24.03 per hour for a single adult with no children.
The following are the standard processing time frames for LMI reports:
- Standard Reports: 3-5 weeks
- Baccalaureate Reports: 90 days
LMI reports are considered valid for one (1) calendar year from their issue date, which may be found on the first page of the report.
If you have questions regarding an LMI report, please reach out to the LA COE team. The contact information for the LA COE Regional Director and Assistant Director may be found on the COE website.
An LMI report is required for all Regional CTE applications, whether new or modified.
Exception: If LA COE determines that they are unable to issue an LMI report for the respective program, the Chancellor’s Office will review other documentation that provides evidence of labor market need. A statement from LA COE must then be provided with the Regional CTE application, as well as other documentation deemed acceptable by the Chancellor's Office for providing evidence of labor market need. The full list of acceptable documentation if LA COE determines that an LMI report cannot be issued is available in the PCAH (pp. 26-27):
- Statistical projections of growth in specific jobs by county (or labor market area) from the Employment Development Department’s (EDD) Labor Market Information (LMI) system
- Recent employer surveys
- Industry studies
- Regional economic studies
- Letters from employers
- Minutes of industry advisory committee meetings (when offered in conjunction with other evidence)
- Job advertisements for positions in the individual college’s service area
- Newspaper or magazine articles on industry or employment trends
- Studies or data from licensing agencies or professional associations
Yes, you may still submit a Regional CTE application if the LA COE report does not include the typical endorsement criteria due to limited availability of labor market information. The issued LMI report must still be uploaded with the application. For these emerging programs, the LARC Business Meeting agenda item for LA Workforce Council recommendation will indicate LA COE’s omission of endorsement for the program with a link to additional information. LA COE will typically provide additional background regarding the decision not to issue an endorsement during the respective business meeting.
Yes, you may still submit a Regional CTE application if LA COE does not endorse the program based on the analysis of relevant labor market information (LMI).
LMI is one component used to inform the program recommendation process. The LA Workforce Council will review all available information when determining whether the program will be recommended. LA COE will typically provide additional background regarding the decision not to endorse the program during the respective business meeting. Please note that LAWC recommendation does not guarantee approval from the Chancellor's Office.
It is recommended that other proof of labor market need be included with the Regional CTE application. The full list of acceptable secondary labor market need documentation is available in the PCAH (pp. 26-27):
- Statistical projections of growth in specific jobs by county (or labor market area) from the Employment Development Department’s (EDD) Labor Market Information (LMI) system
- Recent employer surveys
- Industry studies
- Regional economic studies
- Letters from employers
- Minutes of industry advisory committee meetings (when offered in conjunction with other evidence)
- Job advertisements for positions in the individual college’s service area
- Newspaper or magazine articles on industry or employment trends
- Studies or data from licensing agencies or professional associations
The month after an LMI report request has been submitted to LA COE, the LARC team receives a list of requests for inclusion as informational items on the respective LARC Business Meeting agenda. As part of the approved LARC Program Recommendation Process, any new programs must appear as an informational item on a LARC Business Meeting agenda prior to appearing as an action item. The program may not appear as both an informational item and an action item on the same agenda. All meeting agendas are available in the meeting archives of the LARC website or at the bottom of the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
Please note the following:
- Inclusion of a program on the agenda as an information item serves as notice to the region of the college’s intent to explore a program, and it is not considered LA Workforce Council (LAWC) recommendation. An application must be submitted in Regional CTE for the program to be considered for recommendation.
- Submission of an LMI report request under any of the reasons provided on the COE request form will meet the new program informational agenda item requirement once it has appeared on an agenda. For example, an LMI report request could be identified as "Undecided - exploratory purposes," rather than "New certificate or degree development (for credit)," and still meet the requirement when a Regional CTE application is submitted for a new program.
- The award type does not need to be identified for certificates and associate degrees in order for the new program informational agenda item requirement to be met. However, the award type does need to be identified for baccalaureate degrees.
- For baccalaureate degree programs, it is required that the LMI report request is submitted as soon as possible to ensure adequate time for the generation of the report and sufficient notice to the region.
Advisory Committee Minutes
The California Ed Code (8070) provides the following information regarding the required local advisory committees for CTE programs:
The governing board of each school district participating in a career technical education program shall appoint a career technical education advisory committee to develop recommendations on the program and to provide liaison between the district and potential employers.
The committee shall consist of one or more representatives of the general public knowledgeable about the disadvantaged, students, teachers, business, industry, school administration, and the field office of the Department of Employment Development.
Yes, advisory minutes are required for all Regional CTE applications, whether new or modified.
Advisory committee minutes submitted with a Regional CTE application must meet the following requirements:
- Dated within two (2) calendar years
- Reference the respective program
- Preferred: Highlight the relevant sections of the minutes that note the discussion and approval of the respective program
Additional Information:
- Minutes that indicate that the advisory committee was opposed to the program will not be accepted.
- The college may utilize a variety of formats for the minutes as long as the above requirements are met.
Collegial Consultation
The LA Workforce Council (LAWC), which is the recommending body of the Los Angeles Regional Consortium (LARC), requires that collegial consultation take place for all new programs prior to an application being submitted in Regional CTE. Collegial consultation is not required for modified programs.
Collegial consultation involves contacting all LA-19 community colleges with similar programs to discuss any potential concerns or recommendations for the respective program. The voting members at these colleges with similar programs must be included in the communication. Contact information for the LAWC voting members is always available on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
For collegial consultation, all LA-19 community colleges with similar programs (per the issued LMI report) must be contacted for any new program applications. The LA Workforce Council (LAWC) voting members at these colleges must be included in the communication. Voting member contact information may be found on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
Additional Information:
- Collegial consultation may take place through your preferred communication method (e.g. email, phone, in-person meeting), as long as the above requirements are met.
- The issued LMI report includes information regarding colleges with similar programs. The submitting college should determine which LA-19 colleges have similar programs and should consequently be contacted.
- The LAWC voting members must be part of the collegial consultation process. It is recommended that the respective faculty be included in the communication, if they are known. However, the LAWC voting member will be able to assist in facilitating the communication with their faculty members.
The documentation submitted with the Regional CTE application must list the colleges that were contacted for collegial consultation. It is preferred that the documentation submitted includes the communication sent to the colleges if completed by email (e.g. PDF of email thread), as well as any feedback or responses from the colleges.
If the documentation does not include confirmation that the LA Workforce Council voting members at colleges with similar programs were contacted, a reminder of this requirement will be included in the comments section of the Regional CTE application.
It is expected that the respective LAWC voting members will discuss together any concerns regarding a program (e.g. proximity to an existing program with insufficient demand). The submitting college should provide any requested information.
Additional Information:
- A college voicing concern regarding the program may not hold up application submission through failing to respond once the requested information is provided. The submitting college may proceed with submitting an application if no response has been received within a reasonable amount of time.
- If mediation is required, please reach out to the LARC AVP/Chair, Dr. Narineh Makijan (nmakijan@pasadena.edu), and the LARC Grant Project Coordinator, Gray Rakow (grakow@pasadena.edu). They will assist in determining how to move forward.
Submitting an Application in Regional CTE for Program Recommendation
It is up to the college to determine who will submit applications in Regional CTE. Frequent submitters of applications include college faculty, staff, and deans. The submitter should ensure that they are familiar with all program recommendation requirements and procedures. The respective LAWC voting member should be involved in the process as they are responsible for ensuring that applications meet all requirements established by the CCCCO, LARC, and the respective college.
The deadline for submitting an application in Regional CTE is the last business day of the month prior to the respective business meeting. Program Recommendation Calendars with all dates relating to the LARC Program Recommendation Process are available on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
The Regional CTE website has an FAQ page for general troubleshooting.
If you have any technical issues when submitting your application in Regional CTE that cannot be resolved through reviewing the Regional CTE FAQ page, please reach out to the Regional CTE web support team via the following email: support@regionalcte.org. Please ensure that you allow adequate time for troubleshooting.
Additional Information:
- If technical issues may cause you to miss the submission deadline, please reach out to LARC Grant Project Coordinator, Gray Rakow (grakow@pasadena.edu), to determine how to proceed. Please ensure that the Regional CTE web support team receives your request for assistance first.
- If you have any recommendations for the Regional CTE website, feel free to reach out to LARC Grant Project Coordinator, Gray Rakow (grakow@pasadena.edu), who can work with the Regional CTE support team to determine if it is a viable change for the site.
The Regional CTE website attributes an application to the college identified in the "Submitter Information" section of the application, which is automatically pulled from your profile.
Regional CTE now allows user to identify multiple colleges in the account setting. To add or update colleges, complete the following steps:
- Go to Account Settings.
- If selecting one college, simply click it.
- If selecting multiple colleges, hold down the Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac) key while clicking each option.
- Save your changes.
Once you have multiple colleges selected, you'll be required to choose a college each time you submit a program. This selection is made in the Submitter Information section of the submit page.
Please note that once the application has been submitted, the identified college is no longer editable by the submitter or LARC program recommendation lead.
The college should determine if one application for multiple award types or if multiple applications for each award type will be submitted based on their knowledge of the programs. Baccalaureate program applications may not be submitted with other award types identified in the application.
Additional Information:
- Certificate of Achievement selections will be compiled on the LARC Business Meeting minutes. All other award types will be included as separate approval line items for combined applications.
- The Noncredit, A.A.-T Degree, and A.S.-T Degree award types may not be selected as these programs do not go through the consortium for recommendation.
The program title included in the Regional CTE application must match the award name that will be included in your college's catalog once approved by the Chancellor's Office. The Chancellor's Office requires alignment between the program title in your Chancellor's Office application and the program title included in the approved program recommendation minutes released by LARC.
Additional Information:
- The program recommendation minutes will reflect the structure of PROGRAM TYPE: PROGRAM NAME for program titles, utilizing the Program Title and Program Award Type(s) sections of the Regional CTE application.
- Please ensure that there are no errors in the submitted program name as all updates to program recommendation minutes must be approved by the LA Workforce Council, which will cause significant delays in receiving an updated set of minutes.
- Program titles and other information must be reviewed by colleges when the preliminary business meeting agenda is released on the fifth business day of the month. Any edits to the agenda may be submitted no later than the Monday prior to the respective business meeting per the program recommendation calendars available on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
Submission Type:
- New Program: New credit CTE programs OR existing low-unit, local certificate(s) for state chaptering
- Program Modifications (formerly substantial changes): Modified programs
Reason for Program Recommendation Request:
- New Program: New credit CTE programs
- Program Modification: Modified programs
- Locally Approved: Existing low-unit, local certificate(s) for state chaptering
The industry sector that aligns with the respective program must be identified in the application.
The eight (8) priority sectors identified by LARC may be accessed in the LARC Regional Plan 2024-2027: Advanced Manufacturing; Advanced Transportation & Logistics; Business & Entrepreneurship/Global Trade; Energy, Construction & Utilities; Health; Information & Communication Technologies (ICT)/Digital Media; Life Sciences & Biotechnology; and Retail, Hospitality & Tourism. These priority sectors are data-informed to produce high-wage, high-growth occupations over the next four years.
If the application is for a modified program, a description of changes to the program must be included. A bulleted list of key changes is acceptable.
If the application is not for a modified program, “Not applicable” may be included in the space provided.
Users may share a "draft preview" of their programs with other RegionalCTE.org users in their region. Current instructions for utilizing the draft preview may be found on the Regional CTE FAQ webpage. Initial instructions are included below.
What is a shared draft preview?
A draft preview is an unpublished copy of your program that you can share with other users. It does not need to be complete—only a Program Title is required to share it.
When you share a draft preview:
- Selected users can view and comment on your draft.
- The draft is not publicly listed, but you can share the link with anyone who has an account.
- As you make updates to your draft, the preview will automatically reflect those changes.
How to Share a Draft Preview
1. Enter information for your program on the "Submit" page.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the Submit page and click the "Share Draft" button.
3. Select a user in your region to share a copy of your draft with.
4. Once shared, the draft preview is saved and can be accessed later.
Please note, once a program is submitted, the draft preview will no longer be available.
Where to View Shared Drafts
You can find your shared drafts in two places:
- Drafts Page: View all your drafts, including shared ones.
- Dashboard: A section titled "My Shared Draft Previews" displays a list of programs you have shared.
Once all information has been added to the application, the submitter must select “Submit Program” for the application to move forward to the LARC team for review. The LARC team is unable to view applications that have not been officially submitted. Once submitted, the application will be viewable via the “Browse” feature on the website or on the submitter's dashboard.
The LARC Grant Project Coordinator is responsible for reviewing and processing all Regional CTE applications. The applications are reviewed to ensure compliance with the Program and Course Approval Handbook (PCAH) and the LARC Program Recommendation Process.
If any additional information is required, the submitter and respective LAWC voting members will be emailed regarding all pending items. The Regional CTE application may be returned to drafts for edits. Any requested edits must be completed by the deadline provided by the LARC Grant Project Coordinator in order for the program to be included as an action item on the next business meeting agenda.
Once all requirements have been met, the application status will be moved to "Under Review," and the program will be included on the next business meeting agenda as an action item for LA Workforce Council (LAWC) review and recommendation.
Submitted: The application has been submitted and is either pending review by the LARC Grant Project Coordinator or if pending action from the college.
Under Review: The application meets all requirements and will be included as an action item on the next LARC Business Meeting agenda.
Recommended: The new program application has been recommended by the LA Workforce Council (LAWC).
Informational: The modified program application has been recommended by the LA Workforce Council (LAWC).
Not Recommended: The LA Workforce Council (LAWC) did not recommend the program.
LA Workforce Council (LAWC) Regional Program Recommendation
All informational and action items being brought to the LA Workforce Council are included on the preliminary agenda, which is sent to the LAWC and uploaded to the LARC website on the fifth (5th) business day of the month. The final agenda is sent to the LAWC and uploaded to the LARC website no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting.
All program recommendation dates are included on the respective Program Recommendation Calendar. The calendars are available on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
Colleges are responsible for monitoring their program submissions. If any edits are required for programs included on the agenda, these requests must be sent to the LARC Grant Project Coordinator, Gray Rakow (grakow@pasadena.edu), no later than end of day on the Monday prior to the respective business meeting.
All program recommendation dates are included on the respective Program Recommendation Calendar. The calendars are available on the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
The LA Workforce Council (LAWC) voting members are responsible for determining if faculty or other staff members at their respective college should attend the LARC Business Meeting when a program is going forward for recommendation. The voting member will forward the calendar invitation to those from their college who will be attending.
Once the final LAWC recommendations have been determined during the respective business meeting, the LARC Program Recommendation Minutes are created, reviewed, and approved in the same meeting. The approved minutes are uploaded to the LARC website and emailed to the LA Workforce Council by the end of the business day. The minutes may be accessed through the Meeting Archives or by selecting the meeting date at the bottom of the LARC Program Recommendation webpage.
The LARC Program Recommendation Minutes serve as the documentation of career technical education regional consortium recommendation of the program, which is a required attachment with the application submitted to the Chancellor’s Office.
Additionally, the Regional CTE application will be updated to one of the following statuses:
- Recommended: The new program application has been recommended by the LA Workforce Council (LAWC).
- Informational: The modified program application has been recommended by the LA Workforce Council (LAWC).
- Not Recommended: The LA Workforce Council (LAWC) did not recommend the program.
If there is an error on previously approved program recommendation minutes, please reach out to the LARC Grant Project Coordinator, Gray Rakow (grakow@pasadena.edu). They will work with you to determine the best means for making the correction. Please note that the LA Workforce Council (LAWC) must approve any modifications to previously approved program recommendation minutes.
If there is an error on a Regional CTE application for a program that was already recommended by the LAWC, please reach out to the LARC Grant Project Coordinator, Gray Rakow (grakow@pasadena.edu). They will work with you to determine what action is needed. Please note that significant changes may require that the program be brought back to the LAWC for recommendation.