NEW PROGRAM PROPOSAL PROCEDURES

BOR Reference: USG/BOR Policy Manual: 3.6 http://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section3/

USG Academic Affairs Handbook: 2.03.02 http://www.usg.edu/academic_affairs_handbook/section2/

USG Office of Academic Programs: http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/changes/credit_hour_requirements

GCSU Procedures: New degree programs must be approved by the Board of Regents of the University System. To justify a new program careful study of need, coherence and funding is needed.

Proposals for new major programs shall be reviewed by the appropriate college committee first and then referred by the College dean to the Curriculum, Assessment, and Policy Committee with a copy to the chair of the Executive Committee of University Senate and the Chief Academic Officer. Following statutory procedures and approval by the President, the Chief Academic Officer shall forward the proposal to the Chancellor in accordance with the Statutes and the policies of the Board of Regents. (Please note, the GCSU Office of Academic Affairs will correspond directly with the University System of Georgia Board of Regents Office.)

Exploratory Discussions

In the early planning stages, prior to the submission of a proposal, the dean and/or department chair shall discuss the proposed new program with the Chief Academic Officer. Fundamental criteria central to the process of program development shall include:

(a) Is the program congruent with the purposes of the institution?
(b) Is there now and will there continue to be a critical need for the program? How completely is this need identified and documented?
(c) Can the program be securely funded through the institution's current levels of funding? If not, what areas would have to be either contracted, consolidated or eliminated to provide the institutional resources to finance the new program?
(d) Can the institution develop a program of excellence in this area?
Once it is determined that the program under discussion is appropriate and viable, the Department Chair shall work with the faculty to develop a Full Formal Proposal as described by Board of Regents policy.

Formal Proposal

The department prepares a full Formal Proposal following the outline requested by the Board of Regents (http://www.usg.edu/academic_affairs_handbook/section2/2.03/2.03.02.phtml).

Once the draft full Formal Proposal is completed, it is reviewed by College Curriculum and Instruction Committee, who then forwards it to the Dean of the College. If approved, the Dean forwards a copy of the Full Proposal for the new program to the chair of the Curriculum, Assessment and Policy Committee with a copy to the Chief Academic Officer (with copies to the Academic Affairs Office Staff) and a copy to the chair of the Executive Committee of University Senate (ECUS). The letter of intent should be made available in electronic format. (NOTE: Graduate programs must be reviewed by the graduate faculty prior to submitting the letter to CAPC, see below).

Following governance review through University Senate, and if approved at all levels, the Formal Proposal for the new program will be forwarded to the Board of Regents staff for consideration. If approval is granted by BOR staff the Office of Academic Affairs will notify the Dean who in turn will coordinate the necessary changes:

Registrar’s Office (catalog & degree audit)
Admissions Office
POUNCE
Departmental/school websites
Program of study
University Profile System
University Library.

Graduate Program Proposals

The procedures described for undergraduate programs shall be followed, with the additional stipulation that full formal proposals for new graduate programs shall be reviewed by the graduate faculty within the College prior to submission to the College’s curriculum and instruction committee. Full Formal Proposals shall then be sent to the dean, and if approved, the dean will submit it to the Curriculum, Assessment, and Policy Committee, with a copy to the Chief Academic Officer (including the Academic Affairs Office Staff) and to the chair of the Executive Committee of the University Senate.

Credit Hour Requirements

Bachelor’s Degrees

A baccalaureate degree must contain a minimum of 120 semester hours and may not exceed the minimum exclusive of physical education activity, basic health, or orientation courses that the institution may require. A baccalaureate degree program must require at least 21 semester hours of upper division courses in the major field and at least 39 semester hours of upper division work overall. Exceptions to the 120 semester-hour baccalaureate rule must be made in the form of a request for Board approval to increase credit hours in the program and must be submitted to the Dean and Provost at time of proposal.

Master’s Degrees

A master’s degree may not exceed a maximum of 36 semester hours. The minimum requirement for a master’s degree is 30 semester hours. Exceptions to the 36 semester-hour master’s rule must be made in the form of a request for Board approval to increase credit hours in the program and must be submitted to the Dean and Provost at time of proposal.

Forms/Materials:

Link to Handbook Forms Page

FACULTY INFORMATION (UPS)

COURSE DELETIONS