Degree programs usually are initiated by faculty from a department. The first step in the process is for the head of the academic unit (e.g., dean of the school) to notify the campus chief academic officer of intentions to proceed with development of a proposal. (See particular campus process for further details.)
When appropriate, campus development of degree program proposals should be coordinated with deans of systemwide schools. Systemwide and core school development of degree program proposals must be coordinated with affected campuses. In the instance of a degree or certificate that has multiple sites, one campus should be designated as the host or responsible party. That campus should present the proposal on behalf of the systemwide or core school or the affected campuses to subsequent levels of review. In all such cases, documented written approval should be made part of the proposal before continuing with the process. This may take place in parallel with the campus process, but must be done before the proposal goes to the Academic Leadership Council (ALC).
The chancellor or designated academic officer of the campus where the program is to be offered must submit one copy of the program proposal to the University Budget Office (UBO), using the standard reporting format for financial and enrollment data. The UBO works with the academic unit in developing consistent approaches to estimating cost and identifying income sources for the program budget.
The campus originating a proposal is responsible for soliciting campus-level reviews and Graduate School approval (when needed) before proposals are presented to the ALC..
Review by the Campus Curriculum Committee is required.
Review by the Graduate School is required for all graduate certificate and degree programs represented by disciplines within the Graduate School.
(When in doubt, be inclusive and assume Graduate School approval is needed.)
Note that Graduate Affairs Committees exist on each campus:
Professional degrees (e.g., nursing, social work, etc.) do not require Graduate School approval.
Proposals must have UBO signoff before review can begin.
Allow 6-8 weeks’ time for external reviews.
Allow an additional two weeks for revisions.
Process Breakdown
The campus chief academic officer submits the degree program proposal to the Academic Leadership Council at least 10 days prior to its next scheduled meeting. (Use the ALC’s OnCourse site to post documents.) The purpose of this review is to assure conformity with university policy and quality standards as well as presentation of approved programs in a manner that will ease passage through subsequent university bodies, the trustees, and state agencies. The ALC may approve as is, return to the initiating campus with suggested alterations, table or defer for later decision, or disapprove.
The Office of the Executive Vice President for University Regional Affairs, Planning, and Policy (OVPURAPP) reports actions taken by the ALC as soon as possible to the IU President, Executive Assistant to the President, and University Registrar.
The OVPURAPP forwards new degree program proposals to the IU Board of Trustees Secretary for inclusion on the agenda of its Academic Affairs and University Policy Committee for presentation to the full board.
The OVPURAPP also submits Administrative Action Report items. See matrix for guidance on “agenda” vs. “report” items.
NOTE: Certificates of less than 30 credit hours and other programs not requiring ICHE action may be implemented following their presentation to and acceptance by the Board of Trustees (as either an action or report item), if required, at their regularly scheduled meeting.
The OVPURAPP will notify campus of progress of degree proposal.
Following trustee approval, the OEVP sends the new degree program proposals to the ICHE Commissioner. (The ICHE requires submission of proposals at least five weeks before a particular meeting.)
The ICHE notifies all state institutions of higher education of the proposal and provides an opportunity for comment and remonstration.
The OVPURAPP responds on behalf of the university to all requests from other institutions for copies of new degree program proposals and alerts the appropriate campus officer of the request in case additional information is requested.
Under the following conditions, the ICHE may expedite action by consent (however, all requests must continue to be accompanied by a full degree program proposal)
Adding a second degree designation to an existing program (e.g. A.S. to an A.A.S.)
Delivering an on-campus program to an off-campus site through faculty available on-site or traveling to the site
Adding a degree elsewhere in a multicampus system to a new campus within the system.
The following factors require full consideration before action is taken by the ICHE:
Consistency with the mission of the campus or institution
Transfer of credit
New program area
New degree level for a campus
Accreditation
Unnecessary duplication of resources
Significant investment of state resources
Certain actions taken by the university require only that the ICHE be informed (see attached matrix for guidance on “agenda” vs. “report” items). Normally, information-only items are conveyed by letter from the OVPURAPP to ICHE staff.
Full review and presentation by the staff to the ICHE on new degree program proposals occurs at regular monthly meetings. The ICHE staff will direct questions to academic units about proposals through the OVPURAPP.
During the ICHE remonstrance process, the OVPURAPP will inform campus academic officers of inquiries from other institutions about new degree proposals.
Once decisions are made by the ICHE, the OVPURAPP informs the campus chief academic officer, University Registrar, dean and department chair of units in which degree is to be offered, and authors of the proposal—among others requesting notifications (contact lists maintained by OVPURAPP).
Notes
Certificates need campus approval, ALC approval, and AAR reporting, but will only need to be submitted to the ICHE if the certificate requires 30 or more hours (units) of instruction. (See Guidelines for the Development of Certificate Programs at Indiana University, Approved: April 7, 2006.)
On the IUPUI campus, the Graduate Office has responsibility for routing all courses numbered 500 or higher through the approval process, and the Registrar’s Office has responsibility for all courses with numbers up to 499.
Distance education options for already-existing degrees do not need to have trustee approval. They are reviewed by the ALC and go directly to the ICHE.
Degree “name changes” (unlike new degrees) can be encoded in SIS (i.e., receive CIP codes) as soon as the name change is approved by ALC (and subsequently reported to the trustees on the AAR). The name change needs to be reported to the ICHE if it is in their inventory so that the ICHE inventory is updated.
If there should be a change in CIP code, it would have to be agreed upon with the ICHE. The University Registrar and University Budget Office would need to be informed since those offices maintain the institutional tables and systems that translate degree programs to CIP codes for state and federal reporting.
The Degree Program Review Process can also be viewed as a PDF | Doc
or as a flowchart PDF | Xls
