New Academic Program Development

New academic programs are classified first by level (undergraduate or graduate) and then by specific type of program. Undergraduate programs have four broad categories: certificates, associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, and bachelor's minors. Both associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees may have emphases (a concentrated area of study). Graduate programs have three broad categories: certificates, master's degrees, and doctorate degrees. Both master's degrees and doctoral degrees may have emphases.

The table below lists the types of programs available for SUU students, the minimum and maximum credits allowed by USHE Policy R401, and a link to the SUU General Catalog with more specific information.

* Professional master's degrees over 36 credits may be considered if the higher credit count is needed to meet accreditation standards.

Please note that doctoral programs are considered "out of mission" for SUU and must undergo a more rigorous approval and review process, which is one reason why the requirements are not listed here.

A new program's approval process and timeline is somewhat dependant on the type of program. Each new program is associated with a particular R401 submission type: full, abbreviated, and notification. Only the full R401 needs to undergo USHE review, but all need to be reviewed and/or approved by the SUU Board of Trustees. The following table shows the approvals needed for each type of new program (past the department and college/school):

The Provost's Office maintains a public R401 tracker for all campus constituents so they can follow along as programs go through the approval cycle. Please note that specialized accreditor approvals are not reflected in the above table.

It is anticipated that all new program proposals are as resource-neutral as possible, but there may be times that new programs require a new set of skills, expertise, or instructional capacity to implement. The R401 process allows for such planning. However, if an R401 is approved, it is not a guarantee of future funding of faculty lines. All budget requests for new faculty lines or programs should be submitted through the normal budget cycle.

A full R401 requires the submission of projected student enrollment and graduates in addition to departmental budget data. Departments must work with the Director of Academic Budget in the Provost's Office to identify and project this information and complete the appropriate sections of the R401 form.

General Education

Provost Anderson strongly believes that General Education should be considered a distinct portion of a student's baccalaureate degree and be an opportunity for exploration. If programs require specific courses that also happen to be General Education, those courses must be counted in the major's credit total. (Students are still encouraged to plan their course of study to take advantage of "double-dipping" their requirements wherever possible, but the number of students who complete a significant portion of their General Education courses prior to enrolling at SUU continues to increase.)

Total Credits/Length of Program

USHE Policy R401 requires that baccalaureate programs require a minimum of 120 and a maximum of 126 credits. Policy R470 requires a General Education program between 30 and 39 credits. Academic majors must be a minimum of 30 credits, and ideally should be few enough credits that students would be able to complete an additional minor or certificate (16+ credits) without going over 120 credits. (For example, 120 credits - 30 General Education credits - 51 major credits = 39 "free elective" credits for students to fill outside the major requirements.)

Program Course Sequencing

Ideally, upper-division courses should not be required in the first two years of the major to align with USHE expectations, and to better serve transfer students from two-year institutions. USHE also expects all General Education to be completed within the first two years of baccalaureate study (within the first two years/60 credits, our 30-35 credit GE program requirements can be intermixed with other courses, including some lower-division major requirements). Except in situations that warrant a different approach (highly sequenced majors, accreditation-driven majors, and majors that require students to perform in their Junior and Senior years, such as music and theatre), it's generally expected within USHE that GE is completed in the first two years.

In some majors and for some students, the major's math requirements can be the sticking point for progressing in the program. Other courses can create "bottlenecks" that hinder progress, in that either not enough seats are offered each term and/or there is a high enough DFW rate that course repeats take up time and seats.

Course Level

Generally speaking, undergraduate programs will require undergraduate courses and graduate programs will require graduate courses. However, there are some rules and exceptions that place additional restrictions and opportunities on programs:

Associate's Programs

• Courses in associate's degrees must be at the 1000 and/or 2000 levels. No upper-division coursework (3000-4999) is allowed per USHE policy.

Bachelor's Programs

• Students must complete a minimum of 40 upper-division (3000-4999) credits for a bachelor's degree. However, only a minimum of 10 of those 40 credits must be specifically within the student's major requirements.
• Baccalaureate minors do not have a minimum number of required upper-division credits, but its generally recommended that minors require at least 1/3 of their program in upper-division coursework.

Graduate Programs

• A minimum of 2/3 of a master's degree coursework must be at the 6000 level or above. Example: For a 36-credit degree, as many as 12 credits could be at the undergraduate or continuing education level if needed. Keep in mind that this applies to both the overall program requirements and individual students. In other words, if a 36-credit program already lists 9 credits of sub-6000-level courses as requirements, only an additional 3 credits of sub-6000-level credits could be substituted for other requirements for individual students.

A CIP (Classification of Instructional Program) code is a 6-digit code within a taxonomic scheme used by the U.S. Department of Education. Its purpose is to support accurate tracking and reporting of academic fields of study. CIP codes have been revisited every 10 years since 1990, with the latest revision in 2020.

Why Are CIP Codes Important?

1. CIP codes allow institutions across the country to compare data points like completion rates, time to graduation, curriculum similarities, etc., through annual IPEDS reporting. USHE also uses CIP codes to compare programs across the state schools along those same metrics. When USHE uses that comparison data, it's often tied into how they calculate our annual funding through performance based-metrics.
2. Some accreditors also use CIP codes to classify programs, courses, and faculty (as Provost Anderson had us do when he first came on board) to ensure that faculty are teaching subjects that they're qualified in and there's not a mismatch.
3. There's also something called a SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code that the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses. Several years ago the BLS and the National Center for Educational Statistics (the group that runs IPEDS) started a crosswalk that aligns occupation codes (SOCs) with program codes (CIPs) as part of an effort to try to ensure that people receive the requisite knowledge and skills for their job from their educational program. Additionally, this crosswalk can help provide a better estimate of expected annual income for students who pursue a career in specific fields (e.g., studying accounting to become an accountant).
4. Some federal funding (like Perkins) is tied to specific CIP& codes that the feds want to see more graduates in, like Engineering and Computer Science.
5. Federal financial aid may also be tied to CIP codes for aid programs like the Pell Grant, Direct Loans, and TEACH Grants.

Program learning outcomes (PLOs) are student learning outcomes that outline specific skills, knowledge, and competencies that the department expects a graduate of that program will develop. PLOs should be concise, specific, and measurable/assessable declarative statements. When developing PLOs, ask these types of questions:

1. What do we want students who graduate from our program to know?
2. What do we want students who graduate from our program to be able to do?
3. How will students demonstrate what they know or can do? What evidence will we use to prove this?

PLOs should be aligned with department and college/school goals, with individual course learning outcomes aligned with the program(s). Programs with specialized accreditation are encouraged to use resources from their accreditor to develop and assess PLOs. Curriculum mapping is a valuable tool once PLOs are identified and program assessment begins.

Degree maps were approved by the State Board of Regents on July 17, 2014, as a degree-completion measure. Degree maps or graduation plans are a suggested semester-by-semester class schedule that includes prefix, number, title, and semester/credit hours.

When proposing a new associate degree program, only one (1) degree map is required. When proposing a new bachelor's degree program, one (1) degree map is required for each modality (on-campus vs. online) and program length (four-year vs. three-year). Program maps do not need to be submitted for graduate degrees, certificates, or minors.

Degree maps should be created in consultation with the program's Student Success Advisor(s). Keep these guidelines in mind:

1. These are "idealized" plans. Each student's individualized plan will likely be different from the actual plan shown on this map, and they should work with their Student Success Advisor to create their particular plan. However, these plans are still helpful to show prospective students how programs can be completed in four (and/or three, if applicable) years and in what order courses should be taken.
2. Assume that an entering student has no prior credits. Although many students do enter SUU with prior earned credits, it would be impossible for the department to create plans that take into account every contingency. It is the Student Success Advisor's responsibility to create personalized graduation plans based on the student's prior credits. Again, this is an idealized plan.
3. Assume that the entering student is math-ready. For example, if the major requires students to start in MATH 1210 Calculus I, then create the plan with students starting in MATH 1210. If, however, the department has found that the majority of students only come in ready to start in MATH 1050/1060, they should seriously consider adjusting the major math requirements.
4. Keep the map as generic as possible. For example, use the phrase "COMM Major Elective" instead of listing seven course options. If more specificity is needed, use the "Notes" section in each applicable map.

Institutional certificates do not require proposal and approval through the University curriculum process as outlined in SUU Policy 6.8. Any University department, organization, or division may offer a non-credit-bearing institutional certificate, but any credit-bearing institutional certificate must be sponsored by an academic college/school. (Each college/school is responsible for developing its own process for approving institutional certificates.)

Non-credit-bearing institutional certificates should require an investment of time and effort by the participant appropriate to the subject matter but should not exceed more than 900 clock hours' worth of work.

Institutional certificates will appear on a student's Continuing Education transcript upon completion of the certificate. The department, organization, or division that offers the institutional certificate is responsible for tracking students' enrollment in the certificate and for notifying the Registrar's Office when students have completed the requirements.

Please note that institutional certificates are not eligible for Federal financial aid as a stand-alone credential.