250 Program Development, Revision, and Elimination

250.01 College Procedures for Approval of New Undergraduate Programs

Departments develop full program proposals for review by the following (in order):

The departmental curriculum committee.
The department or unit chair.
The appropriate dean.
The appropriate curriculum review committee of the Faculty Senate.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs.
The President.
The Provost, SUNY System Administration.
The New York state Education Department.

The following outlines the required content for the full proposal.

A description of the rationale for the program.
A clear description of the requirements in the program.
A description of the procedures that will be used to implement the requirements.
An explanation of student requirements.
Course descriptions for courses, which are not included in the current Catalog.
An explanation of the procedure a student will follow to select electives (including written approval, if any).
For a new program using courses taught by other curricular units, or for a revision in an approved program that will affect courses taught in another curricular unit, evidence that consultation with the other curricular unit has taken place.
A statement of the degree to which the curricular unit will have flexibility to make minor changes within the program without further Senate action (such changes may include only those revisions necessary for the proper functioning of the program).

The proposal must be in accord with College and state regulations. The Faculty Senate approval process is as follows:

The curricular unit prepares and sends the proposal to the President of the Faculty Senate with sufficient copies for the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.
The committee meets with a representative of the curricular unit to discuss the proposal. This may lead to modifications in the document.
The committee votes on whether to recommend approval or non-approval and submits its recommendation to the Executive Committee of the Senate.
The Executive Committee submits to the Senate for action all proposals recommended for approval. At the request of the curricular unit, it will submit to the Senate a proposal, which the committee has recommended for non-approval.
If the proposal is to be submitted to the Senate for approval, the curricular unit provides sufficient copies for distribution with the agenda of the meeting. If the Senate recommends approval, the proposal is submitted to the President for review.

250.02 Format of Full Proposal to SUNY to Develop New Degree Programs

The guidelines for developing new degree programs are kept on file by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and are available upon request.

250.03 College Procedures for Approval of Program Revision

Any major or minor change in an existing program requires approval from the following: (a) departmental or unit curriculum committee, (b) department or unit chair, (c) appropriate dean, (d) Faculty Senate, (e) Vice President for Academic Affairs, and (f) the President. These procedures should be followed for new program proposals:

Major changes: Including changes in the number of credits required for completion of a major, changes in the courses required for a major, and changes that alter significantly the mission of the major require approval by the New York state Education Department before they may go into effect.
Minor changes: Including additions of courses to the major; deletions of courses from the major, that do not change the core requirement; and changes in the core level, credit hours allocated, and prerequisites for existing courses.

250.04 SUNY Procedures for Elimination of Academic Programs

The President proposes elimination or significant curtailment of an approved academic program by Letter of Intent to the Provost, SUNY System Administration. The letter should contain the following information:
1. The program name and degree designation.
2. A brief description or explanation of the reason for requesting the deactivation or elimination of the program.
3. When appropriate, a statement of how current enrollment in the program, and future degrees granted to continuing students, would be accommodated and reported.
4. The proposed effective termination date. A minimum of 30 days lead time will permit appropriate SUNY System Administration review for possible University-wide implications.
The College should determine the schedule of elimination in order to honor the University's intention to give enrolled students the opportunity to complete their programs unless policy, fiscal, or legal considerations make it impossible.
Appropriate offices of the SUNY System Administration staff will review the impact of the proposal on University-wide program offerings, the campus mission, the campus budget, the campus staff and students, and desirable state and public services.
The Chancellor will review recommendations and submit them to the Board of Trustees for approval. The President will be notified promptly of the Board's action.

250.05 Guidelines for Credit-Bearing Off-Campus Instructional Activities

If a SUNY unit plans to offer an off-campus credit-bearing activity in a geographic region where other SUNY units are located, the initiating campus must inform the President of all other SUNY units within this geographic area of its proposed activity. This written notification must take place even if the other SUNY units cannot offer this proposed off-campus activity. If the proposed off-campus activity is one that the other SUNY units have the capacity to offer and would be willing to offer, the SUNY unit proposing the activity must obtain the approval of its plans from the other SUNY units prior to scheduling the activity. If an agreement cannot be reached between two SUNY units about the offering of an off-campus activity, the conflict should be submitted to the appropriate Vice Chancellor for final resolution.

An off-campus credit-bearing instructional activity refers to credit-bearing courses and programs, which are, taught off-campus. It does not refer to field trips, internships, student teaching, cooperative education, international programs, or the like, which are supervised by on-campus faculty for students enrolled primarily in on-campus programs.

250.06 Regulation Concerning Place of Minors Within a Curriculum

Where minors are required within a baccalaureate degree curriculum, conditions for fulfilling such requirements should be specified. Ordinarily, such a minor should consist of 18 to 24 credits.

250.07 Resolution on Special Programs

Any new academic program for the recruitment of special categories of students must first be submitted to the appropriate Faculty Senate committee before its enactment.

250.08 SUNY Guidelines for the Assessment of Masters Degree Programs

SUNY has developed a set of detailed guidelines for the assessment of academic and professional master's degree programs. The guidelines provide criteria for judging the quality of a program's faculty, curriculum, resources, students, administration, and evaluation, as well as providing standards for consultant evaluation reports.

These guidelines are available in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Return to Policies-Related Directly to Teaching and Academic Work Instructor Responsibility