Program Development : Indiana University Southeast

Program Development

The approval process for programs. For this document, “programs” refer to degrees, certificates, minors, tracks, concentrations, and specializations. This process applies to:

New programs
New online versions of programs
Name changes to programs
Terminations of programs

When changes leave our campus, they follow the processes of Indiana University, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and the Higher Learning Commission, as applicable. These processes are summarized on the University Academic Affairs site.

When this document refers to “the faculty member,” this refers to the faculty member responsible for guiding the proposal through the approval process. This may be a faculty member with no administrative duties, or it may be a faculty administrator, such as a program coordinator.

If faculty need help with this process, they should contact their dean or the Office of Academic Affairs at IU Southeast.

Step One: Draft the Document

Program changes come from the faculty and begin at the academic department level. First, the faculty member must write a proposal, as follows:

New degrees and certificates should follow the format mandated by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. New degrees must include articulations with Ivy Tech and Vincennes University. Consult the Associate Vice President for Administration in the Office of the Executive Vice President for University Academic Affairs (EVPUAA), to develop consistent approaches to estimating costs and identifying sources of revenue for new programs. This contact should be made before the proposal has been routed through campus approval steps.
The Dean should consult with the Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs regarding the development of the proposal.
New collaborative programs between campuses follow a drafting process guided by IU Online. While the drafting process is different, the proposal must follow the same approval process outlined below in this document. If you are working on a collaborative program, please notify Academic Affairs as soon as you begin drafting it.
Name changes should take the form of a letter of request and justification.
New minors, tracks, concentrations, and specializations should take the form of brief report, providing a rationale for the new program and detailing the program requirements.
Program terminations should take the form of a letter of request and justification.

Step Two: School Approval

The proposal must be approved by their school. If the school has department-level procedures, these must be followed as well. Once the proposal is approved at the school level, the dean should provide a copy of the notes indicating approval at the School level with the proposal as it goes on to APC.

Step Three: Faculty Senate Approval

The faculty member should submit the document to the chair of Faculty Senate Academic Policies Committee (APC). The faculty senate committee decides whether to approve the proposal, and whether it also needs approval from the full faculty senate.

Step Four: Additional Approvals

Academic Affairs submits into APPEAR system.

From this point on, the proposal will follow the processes summarized on the University Academic Affairs site. Consult with the Associate Vice Chancellor if you need assistance. The next step is approval by the EVCAA and Chancellor, and then submission to the Academic Leadership Council.

Please check periodically with the Executive Administrative Assistant for Academic Affairs on the progress of the proposal. Academic Affairs is not always notified when a proposal is approved off campus, so we may need to check on its status.

Post Approval Activities

Once a program is approved, the faculty member must do the following:

Inform the Registrar, making sure changes are in systems, such as degree maps and AAR (Academic Advising Report)
Inform the Director of Advising and other relevant advisors
Update the department website
Update SIS if changes are being made to prerequisites or course descriptions
Make arrangements to make sure the proper person will update the Bulletin during the Bulletin revision period

Academic Program Inventory

The academic Program Inventory is the official list of programs by campus, CIP code and Degree level approved to be offered by Indiana University and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.