Table of Contents

Fields

Following are the questions/fields in this section, details on each field, and tips and guidance for completing the question/field. The questions/fields are listed in the order they appear on the form. Each will display, be hidden, or be disabled depending on the nature of the proposal. 

Program state

The program state gives information on whether the program is active (i.e., open for enrollment) or in another state related to enrollment. If revising the program state, revise the drop-down before answering any further questions.

If changing the status from Active, see the Procedures: Suspending, Discontinuing, or Reactivating Programs Kb.

Type of program

Select the type of program. Do not answer questions further down on the form until this is filled out; the form questions/fields adjust based on this answer.

Program definitions

Upload the Approved Notice of Intent and UW System Approval Memo:

This field is available when proposing a new degree/major program. It is meant to hold the documents associated with the Notice of Intent (also known as the Approval to Plan). The NOI is the first step in the planning/approval process for new degrees/majors. Programs use the UW System Notice of Intent template to initially propose the program and upload it into a new Lumen Structures proposal. Once the NOI is approved and the program moves onto the full Request for Authorization, proposers initiate a new Lumen Program proposal for the new program. Upon doing so, the previously approved NOI document and the associated UW System approval memo are uploaded to this field.

Upload completed draft of the full Board of Regents Authorization Proposal for this program

The proposer should upload a Word version of the New Program Request for Authorization document to this field. This document must use the UW System template. Most of the questions that follow on the Lumen Program form mirror the sections of the authorization narrative template. 

Who is the audience?

This question is available for new program proposals, except if the proposal is for a named option or track. The proposer should indicate who the program is intended to serve, be it undergraduates, graduate or professional students, or Special students. The answer will drive subsequent questions on the form (i.e., what appears or does not), so accurately responding is very important. 

Home department:

For new program proposals, this is where the proposer indicates the intended home department for the proposed program. For change proposals, this question only displays when the Header section's greater-than or less-than question was selected to indicate the change is greater than 50%. If the proposal seeks to change the academic home of the program, the proposer can indicate the new home department with this question. This question is hidden when the proposal is for a named option or a track, which cannot have different home departments than their associated parent plans. 

The program will be governed by the home department/academic unit as specified. Will an additional coordinating or oversight committee be established for the program?

The answer to this question defaults to No as most programs are governed by their home department. However, some academic programs utilize an additional committee to oversee the program, especially interdisciplinary programs. This question gives the proposer the opportunity to indicate an oversight committee will be utilized. 

Describe procedures under which the coordinating/oversight committee will operate, including how the committee chair is appointed, to whom the chair reports, how participating faculty and staff are identified, provisions for transitions in the committee, and processes for interaction with the home department.

This question is only available when the answer to the previous question (i.e., Will an additional coordinating or oversight committee...) is Yes. Provide details on how the oversight committee will be formed, operated, etc.

Is this in the Graduate School?

The proposer should use this question to indicate whether or not the program will be governed by the Graduate School. 

Award:

This question is available on proposals for new degree/majors. Proposers use this question to indicate the degree type that will be awarded upon completion of the program. If the proposal is to award a new degree type, select Other and respond to the subsequent question.

Other Award Name:

This question only appears if Other is selected on the previous question, indicating the proposal is for a new degree type. This is very rare. 

SIS Code:

This is an administrative-only field completed by Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research (DAPIR) upon completion of the proposal process. An example SIS Code is 848MSBBANA. Codes, once assigned, will not change.

Code assignment logic

Transcript Title: 

Enter the text that will print on a student's transcript.

The only non-alpha numeric terms permitted:

• apostrophes (")
• colons (:)
• commas (,)
• hyphen (-)
• semicolons (;)
• spaces ( )
• stroke (/) 
• ampersand (&) (not recommended)

Tips for filling in the form:

• do not duplicate the degree; this is articulated elsewhere in the proposal.
• Certificate programs should be named as follows, so the certificate designation always precedes the content focus of the program:
  • Certificate in...
  • Certificate of...
  • Capstone Certificate in...
  • Capstone Certificate of...

When changing a program's name, there are numerous considerations and requirements. Refer to the Considerations for Department, Academic Program, and Subject Listing Name Changes KB document for full details. 

Describe the process of soliciting feedback from and notification to students already declared in this program.

Will this name change apply to all enrolled students in the same term (turn-key)?

This question relates to proposed changes to a program's name. It is available when the change proposal is indicated to be greater than 50% and a change is made to the Transcript Title field. The default is Yes. Please refer to the Considerations for Department, Academic Program, and Subject Listing Name Changes KB document for guidance on the requirements and considerations for program name changes. 

Named Options:

This is a display-only field on degree/major proposals. If named options are associated with the degree/major, they are automatically display here. Any red/green markup indicates changes made by other proposals.

Will this be offered as an additional major as well?

Some students, depending on their school/college and major program of study, are eligible to complete an additional (or second) major. This field is available/editable when a new program is being proposed or for a greater than 50% change proposal. If the proposer desires that the program can be completed as a second/additional/double major, they should indicate Yes on this question. 

Will a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate be required?

This question is only available when the Award is a PhD. If a doctoral minor or certificate will be required for the program, related details should be provided in the Guide Requirements section. 

Describe how you will inform current students in the program about this change. Also describe your plan for advising future students who are interested in completing a minor or graduate/professional certificate in addition to the major requirements.

This question is only available when the answer to the prior question (i.e., Will a doctoral minor or grad/pro certificate be required?) is No. 

Is this a non-admitting master's degree?

This question is only available when the Award is MA or MS. To learn more about non-admitting master's level degree/majors, refer to the Change of Application/Admitting Status for Master's Level Degree/Major KB document. 

Is this a non-admitting named option for a master's degree?

This question is only available on named option proposals when the Award is MA or MS. To learn more about non-admitting master's level degree/majors, refer to the Change of Application/Admitting Status for Master's Level Degree/Major KB document. 

Roles by Responsibility: List one person for each role in the drop down list. Use the green + to create additional boxes.

Proposers are asked to complete the table indicating the key individuals associated with the proposed program. The four required roles are: Department Chair, Faculty Director, Primary Contact, and Primary Dean's Office Contact. Select the role from the Role Type dropdown list, and then use the Name field functionality to search for the correct individual. That search functionality pulls from the university's directory. 

List the departments (other than the home department listed above) that have vested interest in the proposal.

Guidance

Proposers should carefully consider which departments/schools/colleges to include. The expectation is that each entity listed will provide its comment, support, or concurrence. The proposer should include departments/schools/colleges that are viewed to have substantial overlap with the proposed program, which might include:

1. A related field of study or similar curricular content,
2. A similar name,
3. Likely appeal to students in the existing program, and/or
4. Departments owning subjects where courses are used in the proposed curriculum.

Proposers are strongly encouraged to reach out to the department chairs of the listed a vested interests to discuss the proposal in advance of submitting the proposal to workflow. If vested interests are added after the proposal is in workflow, the proposer must reach out to the vested interest department/school/college outside of the proposal system or roll back the proposal completely out of workflow (to the original submitter) and re-submit after adding vested interests. 

Notes

• An omission of interested parties may cause delay until appropriate consultation has been done.
• Streamlining the support/concurrence communication process by provides a venue for discussion and revealing any concerns sooner rather than later.

Expectations of departments listed in the vested interest section

Departments listed in the vested interest section should add a comment in the proposal to indicate their acknowledgment and support/concurrence with the proposal.

• Adding comments to a proposal is designed to eliminate the need for formal letters or memos of support.
• Comments are visible to anyone with access to Lumen. Be cordial as these are utilized in the approval process.
• Governance bodies (GFEC, UAPC) review comments as a part of the proposal process.

Form help

• Include in the drop-down, departments other than your own, who should be notified about the proposal. The drop-down includes all departments, department-like entities, schools, and colleges.
• Click the green plus button to add additional rows to the form.
• Click the red x button to remove an individual line.
• Departments included in this field are notified of the proposal via email once submitted to workflow. If departments are added after the proposal is submitted to workflow, they will not be automatically notified. This communication is not a substitute for a more substantive discussion about the proposal.
• If there are many departments (more than 3)  in a specific school or college, you may list that school/college instead of individual departments.
• List the school/college of any departments identified. Consult the Academic Structure visualization for school/college ownership (requires UW login).

Are all program reviews in the home academic unit up to date?

By UAPC policy, all program reviews for academic programs associated with an academic unit are to be up to date before the department or academic unit can have additional proposals considered for approval. To assist units in responding to this question and staying current on the status of program reviews by program, Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research (DAPIR) created the Program Review Status Tracker. The tracker is a Google Sheet that is viewable by all users. Use the Status tab to search by School/College, Department, and/or Transcript Description to determine the program review status for a program. 

At UW–Madison, every academic program (undergraduate, graduate, certificate, and general education) must have an active assessment plan. This question gives the proposer the opportunity to attest to whether or not the department offering the proposed program is up to date with their assessment plans. 

Please explain.

Every academic program is expected to have active assessment plans in place, conduct at least one assessment activity each year, and report annually to the Office of the Provost, including plans for improvement. This question gives the proposer the opportunity to attest to whether or not the department offering the proposed program is up to date with their assessment reports. 

Please explain.

Mode of Delivery:

Proposers should use this field to indicate the mode of delivery for the proposed new program or to change the mode of delivery for an existing program.

When moving the enrollment to named options only (primarily graduate programs), change this to be "Set at the Named Option Level" even if all programs are one of the other modalities.

The available options match the UW System definitions of mode of delivery:

1. Face to Face (majority face-to-face courses)
2. Distance Education (>50%-99%)
3. Distance Education (100% online)
4. Set at the Named Option Level (Parent Plans Only)

Provide information on how any lab courses required for the degree will be handled?

This question is only available when the answer to the prior question on Mode of Delivery indicates the program will feature Distance Education. Proposers should use the space to indicate how lab courses will be offered online so as to meet the course learning goals. 

Will instruction take place at a location geographically separate from UW-Madison?

UW–Madison delivers some academic programs and courses at additional locations that are geographically separate from the UW–Madison campus. Academic programs for which students can complete 50% or more of the courses leading to the degree or certificate require additional approvals with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). If the proposed program falls into this threshold, answer this question Yes, which will trigger DAPIR to facilitate additional reporting to both UW System and the HLC.

Upload proposal:

When the answer to the prior question indicates instruction will take place at an additional location, additional documentation will be necessary. DAPIR academic planners will work with the program/proposer to complete the notification process and upload relevant forms to this field. 

Will this program have outside accreditation?

Some programs carry specialized accreditation at UW-Madison. Typical examples include programs in business, engineering, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law, and veterinary medicine. If the proposed program will have specialized accreditation, answer Yes to this question. If the proposer is unsure, contact your Dean's Office or an academic planner in DAPIR. 

Guide Accreditation tab:

This is a Guide integration point, meaning the information presented in this field will display directly into the Guide. Refer to the Lumen/Guide: University Guidelines for Specific Tabs KB document for detailed instructions on how to supply information and format this content. 

Will graduates of this program seek licensure or certification after graduation?

This question is used to determine if the Guide Certification/Licensure tab will be populated for this program. The general guidance is if students can or must seek certification or licensure to practice in their field, the answer should be Yes to this question. 

Guide Certification/Licensure tab:

This is a Guide integration point, meaning the information presented in this field will display directly into the Guide. Refer to the Lumen/Guide: University Guidelines for Specific Tabs KB document for detailed instructions on how to supply information and format this content. 

First term of student enrollment:

The options in the dropdown list are future term/year combinations (e.g., Fall 2024). Proposers should indicate the first term students will be able to enroll in the program. This must be for a future term.

Academic planning guidance

• New programs must start in a fall term, to coincide with the start of an academic year, with exception to summer start cohort programs.
• Cohort programs that start in the summer, may have a first term of enrollment of summer. Consult with DAPIR.

If this proposal is approved, describe the implementation plan and timeline.

Proposers should use this space to indicate how the new program or the change to an existing program will be initiated and implemented.