Collegiate Requirements for Undergraduate Programs
Creating New Academic Programs
Significant Changes in Existing Programs (including name changes)
Small Changes in Existing Programs
Discontinuance of Academic Programs
Assessment of Student Outcomes in the Major

Collegiate Requirements for Undergraduate Programs

Departmental programs are the joint responsibility of the departmental faculty and the College. Departments plan the curricula and establish requirements for majors and minors, and develop courses within the general requirements for graduation that apply to all undergraduate major, minor, or certificate programs. The requirements for graduation have been approved by the College's Educational Policy Committee and Faculty Assembly. They are detailed in the Student Academic Handbook.

The requirements for graduation for undergraduates include completion of the General Education Program; completion of a major (unless the student is seeking the Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree); satisfaction of the "residence" requirement; completion of at least 120 semester hours of credit; and achievement of satisfactory grade point averages, including attaining a 2.00 GPA overall.

Requirements to complete a major should comprise a reasonable proportion of course work taken in residence at this University. Within the College's requirements for graduation, the department may set its own restrictions on the total number of hours of transfer credit and credit by examination that are applicable toward a major or minor. The department may also restrict the use of the pass/nonpass grading option in courses required for a major from other departments.

The Graduate Council determines the requirements for graduate degrees; these are published in the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College.

Creating New Academic Programs

A new undergraduate major, minor, or certificate program must be approved by the College's Educational Policy Committee and Faculty Assembly, and by the Provost. New programs must also be approval by the Board of Regents. The process of approval for a new program proposal takes six months or longer.

Departments are encouraged to consult the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum early in the process of developing any new program. The proposal must

• conform to the general design of College programs. Note: the College has established specific procedures for proposing interdisciplinary certificate programs and requirements that proposed certificate programs must meet;
• specify the required and elective courses for the program and the frequency with which the department expects to offer them;
• assess the impact of the new program on the curricula of other departments (e.g., those which offer required courses), on other academic programs in the College and University, and on the University Libraries, Information Technology Services, the Office of the Registrar, and other central offices that may be affected;
• If the program is a new undergraduate major or graduate program, specific answers to a Regents questionnaire, including an estimate of all costs associated with implementing the program, and discussion of possible duplication across the Regents institutions. The Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum will provide help in creating the needed materials.
• Finally, if the proposal is for a new interdisciplinary program, the DEO of each participating department, school, or college must supply a letter specifying the courses the unit will contribute and the schedule on which they will be offered.

When the proposal is complete, the department sends it to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum, who places the request on the agenda of the Educational Policy Committee, and on the agenda of the Executive Committee if the proposed program has resource implications for the College. If the committee(s) approve the proposal, it goes to the Faculty Assembly for discussion and a vote to recommend that it be forwarded to the Provost's Office for possible approval. The Dean determines when to forward proposals to the Provost. The Regents make the final determination on new major and minor programs, and they review programs five years after implementation.

Significant Changes in Existing Programs

When a department proposes a significant change that alters the basic character of a program, the DEO follows the procedures described above for new programs. The Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum can advise on whether a particular change requires approval. Ordinarily, the deadline for approval of these changes is February 15 for changes to take place at the beginning of the fall semester.

Name Changes

A change in the name of a major program requires the approval of the EPC, the Faculty Assembly, the Provost, and the Board of Regents.  The DEO submits the request to the associate dean for academic programs.

A change in the department's name requires the approval of the Executive Committee, the Faculty Assembly, the Provost, and the Board of Regents.  The DEO submits the request to the dean of the college.

Small Changes in Existing Programs

Curricular changes that do not alter the basic character of an academic program do not require approval by the EPC or higher authority, for example, the addition or deletion of tracks or options within a major program or small changes in requirements for a major, minor, or certificate. These changes can be made only once a year, to take effect at the beginning of a new academic year (that is, for students entering or declaring a major in fall semester). The DEO should inform the CLAS Academic Programs & Services office of the change, and any needed Course Approval Forms to must be submitted to meet the February 15 deadline for curricular changes to take effect during the fall semester.

Students are not held to requirements adopted after they enrolled in a major, minor, or certificate program, although they may choose to meet the new requirements. The department must decide upon a reasonable date after which degrees will no longer be granted under the old requirements (usually four years from the beginning of the changes).

Discontinuance of Academic Programs

Requests to discontinue a major, minor, or certificate program require the same approval process as proposals for new programs, above. Such requests must contain reasons for discontinuance and equitable provisions for students currently in the program, including a date after which the program will no longer be available.

Assessment of Student Outcomes in the Major

To comply with the Regents' Policy on Student Outcomes Assessment, each department has established a method of assessing the level of achievement of students completing the departmental major. The assessment is conducted each year, and the results are used when the department evaluates and revises its academic programs. A report on assessment activities is required whenever a unit is reviewed.