Guidelines for New Academic Programs

Guidelines for New Academic Programs

The following links are offered as resources for faculty planning on submitting program proposals.

Please note that guidelines for creating New Academic Certificate programs have changed:

All faculty and administrators involved in the submission of new program proposals are advised that, effective July 1, 2011, new guidelines have been implemented by the U.S. Department of Education.  

The University must notify the U.S. Department of Education at least 90 days prior to the first day of class for any new program that we plan to offer.  Any such notification must include the following:

1.   A description of how the University has determined the need for the program and how it was designed to meet local market needs—or, in the case of an online program, regional and/or national market needs. This must also contain any wage analysis that might have been performed, including any consideration of the Bureau of Labor Statistics data related to the program.

2.  A description of how the program was reviewed or approved by, or developed in conjunction with, business advisory committees, program integrity boards, public or private oversight or regulatory agencies, and businesses that would likely employ graduates of the program.

3.   Documentation that the program has been approved by the University’s accrediting agency or otherwise included in its accreditation.

4.  The date of the first day of class of the new program