Degree or Major

Pre-proposal approval

When a department decides to propose a new degree or major, the department should submit a pre-proposal document to the senior associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. Once the pre-proposal is approved, the department may continue the process of creating a new degree or major.

Required item

• Send your pre-proposal to the Office of Academic Affairs

Proposal form and supporting materials

Complete all sections and appendices of the proposal form and the cover sheet. Following final school-level approval, send the completed cover sheet and proposal form to the chair of the Undergraduate Affairs Committee, requesting review and approval. All proposals will be reviewed using a rubric, which schools should follow when developing the proposal to avoid delays in the approval process.

Required items

• Cover sheet
• Proposal form
• Supplemental form
• Send your materials to the chair of the Undergraduate Affairs Committee

Undergraduate Affairs Committee (UAC)

After the chair of the Undergraduate Affairs Committee receives the proposal and cover sheet, members of a subcommittee will review the proposal and make recommendations to the full committee regarding approval. After the presentation in Step 4, the full UAC will vote on whether to approve the proposal.

Presentation to the Undergraduate Affairs Committee

The chair of the Undergraduate Affairs Committee will invite the originating unit to present the proposal at a regularly scheduled UAC meeting. These meetings occur once a month during the academic year.

Chief academic officer and trustees

Following approval by the UAC, the proposal will be forwarded by the UAC to the chief academic officer for approval. If approved by the chief academic officer, the proposal will be entered into the APPEAR system by the Office of Academic Affairs and will be forwarded to the Academic Leadership Council to continue in the approval process. Following approval at this stage, the proposal is presented to the IU trustees.

Once a proposal has been entered in the APPEAR system by the Office of Academic Affairs, school representatives can review the status of the proposal by using APPEAR.

Indiana Commission for Higher Education

Unit and campus notifications

Following the final approval, the Office of Academic Affairs will send notification of approval to the originating unit, IU Communications and Marketing, the IU Indianapolis registrar, the director of the Office of Student Financial Services, and the director of undergraduate admissions where the degree or major will be coded for inclusion in the master inventory.