Policy

Role of the Academic/Administrative Home

When new academic programs (degree/majors, named options, certificates, minors) or subject listings are established, the original approval documents associate the academic program with an academic unit. This link between the academic program or subject listing and the department/academic unit is critical to linking the academic activity back to the department that supports and oversees the academic activity. The academic unit serves as the academic and administrative home of the program. For example the department/academic unit typically fills the following roles:

• Originates all program and curricular changes through faculty governance
• Assures that the curriculum is appropriate for the program, fulfills the learning goals, and is sufficiently robust with courses offered regularly so as not to hinder student progress to degree
• Provides student support services such as advising and accurate communication about the program or subject listing
• Prepares all content for the Guide and assures that the program or subject is represented accurately in communications about the program
• Oversees the course evaluation process for courses, where applicable
• Completes assessment and program review activities for academic programs
• Serve as the department/academic unit to which academic activity (e.g., program enrollments, degrees, certificate awards, credits) are allocated in the information systems

Because of the importance of the roles played by the academic/administrative home, records of any changes must be documented and approved through governance.

Proposal to Change the Academic/Administrative Home

A proposal to change an academic/administrative home can be originated by the sending or receiving unit. Documents that illustrate faculty governance votes at the department level and school/college level accompany the proposal or can be included in the approval notes in Lumen Programs. Any change to a plan or subplan will need to be done through Lumen Programs. Any changes to subject listings of departments will need to be done through Lumen Structures.

The proposal includes the following information (prompted by questions in the proposal form):

• Sending department (including UDDS), and school/college, and primary contact person/people
• Receiving department (including UDDS), and school/college, and primary contact person/people
• A timeline for the transition; note that academic changes usually take place the fall term after approval and some changes, for example those associated with Subject listings, require a long lead time
• A rationale for the change
• Information that shows the receiving unit has the capacity to serve as the academic/ administrative home
• Information about any special considerations for students enrolled in the academic program

If a change-of-academic-home is embedded in a larger restructuring proposal, information should be provided that covers these same points. In such cases, the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee (GFEC) will approve graduate program change-of-academic-home in the context of the restructuring proposal.

Proposal Approval Process

• The faculty of the sending and the receiving unit will formally approve the proposal and forward the proposal to the dean’s offices via the Lumen system.
• Both the sending and the receiving dean’s offices will approve the proposal, using standard processes, usually by consideration at the school/college academic planning council
• The dean/dean’s designee forwards the proposal to the Provost’s Office with the assembled documentation. The Graduate School should be copied for graduate programs. Leadership usually comes from the receiving dean’s office.
• The Provost’s Office/Academic Planning and Institutional Research (APIR), and the Graduate School when graduate programs are involved, will review the materials and schedule actions for consideration at GFEC for graduate programs and University Academic Planning Council for all programs and Subjects.
• The Office of the Provost will distribute a formal notice to interested campus individuals involved in implementation.