Guide for Reviewing Program Proposals

Education Standards Checklist for Committees Reviewing Proposals

Designed as a guide for units offering academic programs and members of the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (SCEP). 

  1.  Is the proposal clear in its description and justification for change?
  2.  Does the program content appear appropriate?
  3.  Are the learning outcomes clear and appropriate? Does the program content as proposed/revised appear to contribute to the learning outcomes designed for the program?
  4.  Are the instructional methods (such as online, blended, etc) appropriate?
  5.  Are appropriate program evaluation plans outlined?
  6.  Do the assessment methods appear adequate/effective to measure student achievement of the learning outcomes?
  7.  What is the impact of the changes being made, or are there unintended consequences affecting a student’s progress toward a degree?
  8.  Do market research studies indicate the degree or certificate program will have adequate enrollment?

Technical Checklist for Reviewing Proposals Heading link

Designed as a guide for Academic Programs (AP), this is a comprehensive list of criteria related to all types of proposals that AP might receive.  AP will tailor its review for each proposal and will consider only the criteria listed below that are relevant to that specific proposal.

Policies and procedures

  • Are all campus policies being followed?
    • Degrees (including minimum hours required, concentrations within degrees, thesis/project criteria, and general education criteria)
    • Joint degrees
    • Certificates
    • Undergraduate Minors
    • Courses (including general education criteria, course numbering system, and policies related to the contact/credit hour formula and differential credits)
    • Online Instruction Definitions
  • Is the correct form (template) being used?
  • Is a minority impact statement included?
  • If no impact on library, budget, minority students, etc. is anticipated, how was this determined (if relevant)?
  • Given the proposed effective term, is the timeline for approval realistic?
  • Are all courses mentioned in the proposal approved or in queue for approval in CRS? Are course descriptions included in the proposal and correct?
  • Does the proposal’s current catalog copy reflect what is currently published in the UIC Academic Catalog?

Revisions

  • If it is a revision, is the proposal clear in its description and justification for change?
  • If it is a revision, is the effect on the total credit hours required for the award described (e.g., staying the same, increasing, or decreasing)?
  • If a degree is being eliminated or combined/reorganized, how are the students currently in the program to be handled?
  • Do students need to be recoded in Banner? If so, who will do this?
  • Is academic structure being affected?
    • New/eliminated/changed program codes
    • New/changed/eliminated department codes
    • New/changed/eliminated college codes
    • New/eliminated minor codes
    • New/changed/eliminated subject codes

Related to other units/organizations

  • Has the proposal been approved by the appropriate department/college groups? Is Graduate College review necessary?
  • Are the unit’s accreditation guidelines being taken into consideration (if applicable)?
  • If courses offered by another unit are used, does the proposal include evidence of support from the other unit’s executive officer for their use? If courses offered by another unit are being dropped, the other unit’s executive officer should be notified and evidence of this notification should be attached.
  • Are advising/student mentoring needs being considered?
  • If there is an impact on the budget (revised programs) or for new programs, the proposal needs to be routed to the Office of Budget and Financial Analysis (BFA). Requests for new tuition differentials and Full Cost Recovery (FCR) programs need to be approved by the Board of Trustees.
  • If there is an impact on the library (revised programs) or for new programs, the proposal needs to be routed to the Library.
  • If the program affects Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) certification requirements, the proposal should be routed to the Council on Teacher Education (CTE) in the College of Education for review and verification.
  • If the proposal is to change campus or General Education policy, the proposal should be routed to the colleges for review and approval as necessary.
  • If there is an impact on administrative offices such as Admissions, Office of the Registrar or Financial Aid, new or substantially revised programs often need to be routed to these administrative units, and/or units should contact these offices to discuss impact.