Developing a Proposal

1. Intent to Develop
   • Identify need.
   • Communicate with departmental/school leadership to address enrollment, resources, and current availabilities.
2. Proposal Development
   • Always use the most recent forms and documentation resources. (Please do not just modify an old proposal.) Most recent forms are available in the Document Store.
   • Depending on the type of proposal, there may be Contingent Approvals and/or Contingent Process. These are to be completed as part of the proposal development and prior to submission into APPEAR. See below for additional information.
3. Campus Approval
   • Approval at the appropriate campus curriculum committee must be completed prior to final review and submission by the campus chief academic officer.

• Enrollment, degree, and budget projections. 
  For all new degree programs, campuses must contact the Assistant Vice President for Administration (Philemon Yebei, pyebei@iu.edu) to initiate this process early in the proposal development phase and prior to campus approvals.
• Demand Analysis.
  For all new degree programs and stand-alone certificates seeking eligibility for financial aid, the staff of University Academic Programs will complete a brief analysis of demand, employment, and competition. This will be completed concurrent to the enrollment, degree, and budget projections, or prior to proposal review at the ALC Technical Committee. Any questions may be sent to approval@iu.edu. 
• 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. (Click the above link for instructions, forms, and additional information.) This is to be developed by the campus prior to campus approvals and should be shared for preliminary review at the University Transfer Operations (uto@iu.edu), which will facilitate the review and signature process with the 2-year institutions.
• 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), and in the context of existing programs at IU and across the State of Indiana. This will be completed concurrent to the enrollment, degree, and budget projections, or prior to proposal review at the ALC Technical Committee. Any questions may be sent to approval@iu.edu. 

• Office of Online Education (OOE).
  All online, hybrid, and collaborative programming must first be approved at the IU Office of Online Education. This must be done early in the proposal development process and prior to campus approval and submission in APPEAR. Request for OOE review and approval is initiated with the Office of Online Education Online Academic Program Initial Request Form.
• University Graduate School.
  All graduate level proposals must be approved prior to campus approval and submission in APPEAR. 
  • Click here for information from the Graduate School Bloomington. 
    • Certain Regional Campus programs must also be approved through the University Graduate School. To identify these areas for the Regional Campuses, please consult the most recent Bulletin of the University Graduate School, and select "programs by campus."

  • At IUPUI, the Graduate Affairs Committee (GAC) oversees the approval of new graduate and professional degree programs, and changes to existing degrees. Click here for additional information.

• Education Abroad.
  All academic programs offered through partnerships outside US must be approved through Education Abroad prior to campus approval and submission in APPEAR. Click the above link for additional information.

• All forms and documentation are available directly from the Document Store.
• Refer to Proposal Types and Required Documentation for detailed information for each type of proposal.

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

Approvals

• Required approvals are noted within the Proposal Types and Required Documentation page, and as guided by the Matrix of Required Approvals.
• Upon approval, University Academic Programs sends out the notice of approval to the campus.
  • Approval notification for items that reach final approval through IU-internal approvals, including Academic Leadership Council (ALC) approval or notification, and Board of Trustees (BOT) approval via Administrative Action Report (AAR), is sent after the 5th of each month (following the close the the ALC Consent Agenda and the posting of the Trustees' AAR).
  • Items requiring approval from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) are approved upon receipt of the letter of approval. This letter is forwarded to campuses as it is received.
  • For certain academic programs (including new degrees and certificates, and substantive changes to such programs), approval from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) must be received prior to implementation.

Implementation

• Upon final approval, campuses and their registrars coordinate with University Student Systems and Services to generate the plan codes for programs to assign students.
• For stand-alone certificates for which financial aid eligibility is sought, campus and university financial aid directors will facilitate the addition of the certificate to the Program Participation agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid. Detailed information to aid in this process is prepared as part of the financial aid proposal development.