Overview of Approval Levels and Types
All academic program approvals are guided by the General Matrix for the Administrative Approval Process for New Academic Programs. The Matrix, as a policy document, defines the final level of approval necessary for each type of academic program which must be completed prior to its implementation.
Proposal Types and Required Documentation
Please refer to the following pages for definitions, approval pathways, and required documentation for the various types of academic programming at Indiana University.
Levels of Approval
Approving levels include:
Contingent → Campus → ALC → BOT → ICHE→ HLC
- Contingent Approvals. These are completed in the context of proposal development and include:
- Office of Online Education
- University Graduate School
- Office of Overseas Programs
- Campus. Items approved at the campus level become final upon notice to the Academic Leadership Council. This facilitates the consistent notification for adding programs such as minors and area certificates into the Univeristy system resources.
- Academic Leadership Council (ALC). Items final at the ALC are typically reflective of notification from the campuses of their final approval.
- Board of Trustees (BOT). Items presented for BOT approval are done so either through administrative action or formal action of the Trustees. Administrative Action Reports (AAR) are submitted on the 5th of each month and include items that are either final at the BOT (e.g., majors) or will be forwarded for staff action at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) (e.g., new certificates or changes to existing degrees or certificates). All new degree programs require formal action of the Trustees at a regular meeting prior to being forwarded to ICHE for similar action at their regular meeting.
- Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE). All academic programming and related changes that are reflected on the official Academic Program Inventory (API), as maintained by ICHE and each institution, requires ICHE approval. New stand-alone certificates and changes to existing degrees or certificates, including distance education changes, are submitted for Routine Staff Action (RSA), while new degree programs require formal action of the Commission at a regular meeting.
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Each campus of Indiana University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. After ICHE approval, the HLC must be notified of all new degree or certificate programs as well as all substantive changes.
