New Program Approval Process and Timeline

New Program Template

• Overall sufficiency of planning
• Academic integrity of the program
• Demand for such a program by students and/or employers
• Adequacy or availability of required resources

The program proposal review process requires a fully developed narrative of the objectives, design, and delivery system of the proposed program. Additional salient features specific to the program are provided as appropriate, so that the document represents a complete articulation of the proposal.

Note: The narrative executive summary should be attached as a separate document and should be no longer than two pages. The executive summary will be provided to USNH Trustees. The remaining sections generally should not exceed 10 pages. Surveys, syllabi, external review analyses, and other supporting information can be attached as appendices.

1. Executive Summary (please provide as a separate document)
   Provide an executive summary of the proposed academic program to include a description of the program design, objectives, student learning outcomes, supporting data, available resources, evaluation, and long-term implications. Length should be limited to two to three pages.
2. General Information
   • Institution name
   • Date of proposal
   • Degree and program name
   • Name of proposing Academic Unit
   • 2010 CIP code and CIP title http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/Default.aspx?y=55
   •  Proposed date of program implementation (effective term/year)
   • Primary contact person
3. Program Demand/Current Offerings
   Provide a summary addressing the following issues of student and community demand:
   • Evidence of indicators of student demand, employer or community-based demand
   • Detailed explanation of other reasons or circumstances indicating demand
   • Attach survey results as appendix, if applicable
   • Comment on the comparability of the new program curriculum with other programs:
4. Program Characteristics
   • Appropriateness of the program to the institution’s mission and goals
   • Student Learning Outcomes
   • Description of knowledge and/or skills students will be expected to demonstrate during the course of their participation in the program and at the completion of the program
   • Anticipated/planned transfer and articulation agreements or arrangements
   • Certification, licensing, or accreditation requirements associated with program
5. Program Design
   • Admission standards and criteria if any beyond regular PSU Admissions criteria
   • Interdisciplinary program collaborations (if applicable)
   • Degree requirements (list of required and elective courses) and sequential outline of the new program
   • Procedures and criteria for assessing student learning outcomes beyond grading in courses, identifying:
     • when, during the course of their participation in the program, students will be assessed;
     • the assessment methods that will be used; and
     • the criteria for determining success
6. Program Delivery System
   • Physical location(s) of course offerings; describe online or plans for any locations off main campus
   • If program is product of inter-institutional planning, specify partner institutions and their locations
7. Enrollment Impact
   • Provide new student enrollment estimates by year for the next four years
   • Will this enrollment represent an increase in total FTE for the institution? If yes, describe estimated impact.
8. Institutional Resources
   • What are the resource implications for the new program?
   • What new expenses are required for the program?
   • If no new resources are required, provide rationale
9. Course Syllabi
   • Attach all course syllabi
10. External Review and Response
    • Reports of external reviewers and/or consultants
    • Academic Unit’s response to reviewer issues and concerns
    • If no external review is conducted, provide rationale
11. Factors to consider when reviewing and voting on new undergraduate major programs or undergraduate major overhauls (for traditional 120 credit Bachelor’s degrees):

1) The total degree requirements should be 120 (NECHE Standard 4.33)
2) The program must include a minimum of 40 credits of General Education (this is just to check that programs are accounting for the existing requirements in the calculation of major requirements, free electives, and total credits) (NECHE Standard 4.18)
3) A major consists of a minimum of 30 credits (Curriculum Handbook)
4) A minimum of half the credits in a major must be upper level (Curriculum Handbook)
5) Any new program or major program revision must include program outcomes (NECHE Standard 4.19), and these outcomes must be clearly connected to the program requirements
6) Every program must include a minimum of 15 free elective credits (Faculty Handbook p. 97)
7) Options: Defined in the Curriculum Handbook as follows:
An option is a set of at least 12 semester hours of related courses within a particular major. An option should constitute no more than half of the major requirements. The term “option” is reserved for baccalaureate degree programs. Options are either:
a) required choice within a major, or
b) elective, and not required by the major.
If a student chooses to pursue a second or subsequent option, at least 12 credits must be different from the first option. To complete an option a student uses the same Catalog as the major
8) For programs bringing significant curricular revisions, consideration should also be given to whether proposers have adequately outlined provisions for current students