Guidance on Proposals and their Approval

All contingent processes are part of the proposal development. Please email approval@iu.edu for any assistance.

• Enrollment, degree, and budget projections. 
  For all new degree programs, campuses must develop student enrollment and budget projections that will accompany the new degree proposal through IU and ICHE approvals. If you need assistance, please contact approval@iu.edu to discuss what aid UAP may be able to provide. 
• Demand Analysis.
  For all new degree programs and stand-alone certificates, UAP staff can run a Lightcast report with supplemental information to support the proposal requirements. Please reach out early to approval@iu.edu so that this information may be available during proposal development.
• Articulation Plans for New Baccalaureate Degrees.
  Campuses are to develop articulation plans with both Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University to demonstrate and provide a pathway for transferring students. This is to be developed by the campus prior to campus approvals. Please contact us at approval@iu.edu if you need assistance.
• CIP Code Review.
  For all new degree programs and stand-alone certificates, Institutional Analytics will conduct a review of available coding within the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). Any questions may be sent to approval@iu.edu. 

• IU Online.
  All online, hybrid, and collaborative programming must first be vetted by IU Online. This must be done prior to campus approval and submission in APPEAR. Request for review is initiated with the Office of Online Education Online Academic Program Initial Request Form.
• University Graduate School.
  All graduate level proposals must be reviewed prior to campus approval and submission in APPEAR. 
  • Graduate Schools: Bloomington, Indianapolis
• Education Abroad.
  All academic programs offered through partnerships outside the U.S. must be vetted through Education Abroad prior to campus approval and submission in APPEAR. Click the above link for additional information.

• Detailed information on APPEAR, including access, instructions, and proposal status, is available on the APPEAR System page.

Approvals

• Required approvals are noted from the action type tiles on the main page and as guided by the Matrix of Required Approvals.
• Upon approval, University Academic Planning sends out the notice of approval to the campus to allow implementation to begin.
  • Approval notification for items that reach final approval through IU-internal approvals, including ALC, is sent upon completion on a monthly basis.
  • Items requiring approval from ICHE are approved upon receipt of the letter of approval. This letter is forwarded to campuses as it is received.

The Academic Leadership Council (ALC) approves all proposals either as the final action or for advancement following review by the ALC Technical Committee.

Items for ALC approval:

• New majors (including grad concentrations and licensure programs)
• New area certificates

Items for subsequent approvals at the IU Board of Trustees and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) are advanced following ALC approval. 

Meeting schedules:

• ALC Technical Committee - monthly (recommends to ALC)
• ALC Approvals - monthly via electronic form

Items for ICHE approval via RSA:

• New stand-alone certificates (<13 Credits)
• Changes to existing degrees or certificates:
  * Additional degree in same discipline
  * Existing degree/cert at a new location
  * Elimination, suspension or reinstatement of
      any degrees or stand-alone certificates
  * CIP Code changes
  * Credit hour changes
  * Name changes
  * Distance education changes
  * Merge or consolidate degree programs

Meeting schedules:

• ALC Technical Committee - monthly (recommends to ALC)
• ALC Approvals - monthly via electronic form
• ICHE Academic Affairs & Quality (AA&Q) Committee

The above items are presented at the ICHE Academic Affairs & Quality Committee meeting and are final upon receipt of the ICHE letter of approval.

Items for ICHE approval (after approval at the IU Board of Trustees):

• All new degrees
• New stand-alone certificates of 13 or more credits

Meeting schedules:

• ALC Technical Committee - monthly (recommends to ALC)
• ALC Approvals - monthly via electronic form
• IU Board of Trustees
• ICHE Academic Affairs & Quality (AA&Q) Committee
• ICHE Commission Meetings

Items are reviewed at the AA&Q Committee and recommended for action at the full Commission meeting. Approved programs are final upon receipt of the ICHE letter of approval.