CAP Program Approval Process

The completed proposal and MOAs are submitted to all participating campuses to undergo their processes for review and approval.
1. For new academic programs, program proposers
  1. write the proposal using the format prescribed by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE),
  2. complete the Office of Online Education Online Academic Program Initial Request Form.
2. For the addition of a distance delivery format for an existing program, proposer will complete
3. the Office of Online Education Online Academic Program Initial Request Form.
Once approved by the campuses, the completed proposal, including MOAs and the OOE form, is submitted to the VPRCOE via APPEAR.
The OOE Director, or designee, will use the following criteria to ensure the following steps have been completed following appropriate process and relevant guidelines:
1. There is a clear market demand (student and/or employer demand).
2. Campuses have been consulted and any objections have been cleared.
3. Program meets the “no duplication without distinction” standard as mandated by the IU Board of Trustees.
4. Program meets the “no internal competition” standard as mandated by the IU Board of Trustees.
To expedite the process as much as possible, proposers are strongly encouraged to submit proposals for a graduate-level CAP to VPRCOE at the same time they are submitted to the Graduate School. This will permit OOE to conduct its review concurrently with the Graduate School review.
If the program proposal is approved by OOE (and graduate school, if applicable), it will be referred to ALC via the ALC Technical Committee. The ALC Technical Committee places the proposal either on the ALC consent agenda or on the ALC meeting agenda as a discussion/voting item.
If approved by ALC, the proposal is submitted to the Board of Trustees.
1. Existing programs to be offered online are submitted as Administrative Action Report (AAR) items.
2. New programs are submitted as action items.
Once approved by the Board of Trustees, the VPRCOE takes the proposal to ICHE.
1. For existing programs to be offered online, VPRCOE completes and submits the Academic Program Inventory (API) change form to ICHE.
2. Entirely new degrees are submitted to ICHE as action items with full documentation.
For a new CAP, a substantive change request for a consortial arrangement must be submitted to the Higher Learning Commission. The AVP will assist with this. In many cases, this process can begin while the proposal is still under discussion at ICHE. However, ICHE approval must be obtained before the change request documents can be submitted to HLC.
Following ICHE approval, VPRCOE notifies:
1. OOE (for records archive and website update)
2. Campus EVCAA,
3. University Student Services and Systems, and
4. University Institutional Research and Reporting.