New Course and Program Proposals

1. New academic programs (major, minor, certificate, degree program)

Any new major, minor, academic for-credit certificate, diploma or degree program, must be approved by all of the following bodies, in the following order, before being offered:

  1. The appropriate Dedman College Curriculum Council (i.e. the Undergraduate Council or the Graduate Council)
  2. The Educational Programs Committee (EPC) of the Provost
  3. The SMU Board of Trustees
  4. SACSCOC (accrediting body)

Use these forms for submitting proposals for new programs:

  • (found on the EPC website; also see below for instructions on cooperative agreements*)

or

  • (found on the EPC website; also see below for instructions on cooperative agreements*); and
  •  (see below for instructions on completing the form**)

Once the proposal has been approved by the college’s council, the college will forward it to the EPC for approval at its next meeting. The EPC office will notify the proposer of the time and date of the EPC meeting at which the proposal is to be reviewed. The proposer and the Dedman College Associate Dean for Academic Affairs should attend the EPC meeting to answer any questions the EPC has about the proposal.

Deadlines: Meeting times and deadlines for proposal submissions to the college councils are posted on the academic affairs section of the Dedman College website. Please note that, in order for the institution to meet SACSCOC submission deadlines for new programs (i.e. by January 1), all new programs must receive institutional approval from the EPC and Board of Trustees by the fall semester prior to the fall of the academic year in which the program is to be offered. Thus, proposals for new programs should be submitted to the college council early in the fall semester for implementation in the following fall semester.

* Instructions for Cooperative Agreements: Any program that relies on resources from another department must obtain an agreement from that department (and their Dean's Office if not Dedman College) to provide what is necessary to support the proposed program. Specifics must be provided. For example, faculty to teach courses, agreements to teach specific courses with a specified regularity, agreements for availability of seats, etc. Please include these agreements as part of the appendices for the relevant EPC forms.

** Instructions for Completing the Faculty Roster Form: One of the more rigorous SACSCOC requirements for institutional accreditation is that every instructor be competent and well-qualified for each of the courses they are assigned to teach. Teaching a university course that is outside of one’s academic degree preparation and that is not adequately justified with alternate and compelling evidence of the instructor’s competence and expertise in the content of that course is grounds for a finding of noncompliance with accreditation standards. Please complete the as follows:

  • Column One: Name followed by "(F)" if full time and "(P)" if part-time (e.g. adjunct).
  • Column Two: Courses (prefix: number. title) taught in the last academic year. (Please ignore the coding for D, UN, UT, G.)
  • Column Three: Degree information (degree, institution, year and subject matter of the degree).
  • Column Four: If the degree subject matter is different than the course subject matter, please describe the instructors expertise in the field, e.g., years of research in "course subject", hours of graduate work in subject, previously employed doing directly related work.

The official SACSCOC instructions are and provide an example of a completed roster.

2. Substantive revisions to existing academic programs

Any substantive change (25% or greater) to an existing major, minor, academic for-credit certificate, diploma or degree program, must be approved by all of the following bodies, in the following order, before being offered:

  1. The appropriate Dedman College Curriculum Council (i.e. the Undergraduate Council or the Graduate Council)
  2. The Educational Programs Committee (EPC) of the Provost
  3. The SMU Board of Trustees
  4. SACSCOC (accrediting body)

Use this form for submitting proposals to modify existing academic programs:

  • (found on the EPC website; also see below for instructions on cooperative agreements*)

or

  • (i.e. change to academic calendar, change to policy, creation of a department, etc.) (found on the EPC website; also see below for instructions on cooperative agreements*)

Once the proposal has been approved by the college’s council, the college will forward it to the EPC for approval at its next meeting. The EPC office will notify the proposer of the time and date of the EPC meeting at which the proposal is to be reviewed. The proposer and the Dedman College Associate Dean for Academic Affairs should attend the EPC meeting to answer any questions the EPC has about the proposal.

Deadlines: Meeting times and deadlines for proposal submissions to the college councils are posted on the academic affairs section of the Dedman College website. Please note that, in order for the institution to meet SACSCOC submission deadlines for new programs (i.e. by January 1), all new programs must receive institutional approval from the EPC and Board of Trustees by the fall semester prior to the fall of the academic year in which the program is to be offered. Thus, proposals for substantive program changes should be submitted to the college council early in the fall semester for implementation in the following fall semester.

* Instructions for Cooperative Agreements: Any program that relies on resources from another department must obtain an agreement from that department (and their Dean's Office if not Dedman College) to provide what is necessary to support the proposed program. Specifics must be provided. For example, faculty to teach courses, agreements to teach specific courses with a specified regularity, agreements for availability of seats, etc. Please include these agreements as part of the appendices for the relevant EPC forms.

 

3. Non-substantive revisions to existing academic programs

Proposals to make non-substantive revisions (less than 25% change) to existing majors, minors, academic for-credit certificate programs, diploma or degree programs, require approval by the appropriate college curricular committee. Once approved, they are then submitted by the college to the EPC as informational items. Please note that an increase or decrease in the number of credit hours required to fulfill a major is considered a substantive program change; proposals that involve such changes must be submitted following the procedure outlined in point 1, above.

To submit a proposal involving non-substantive revisions to an existing major, minor, academic for-credit certificate program, diploma or degree program, simply submit a memo to the appropriate council outlining the nature of the proposed change, the justification or rationale for the change, and any changes in program assessment related to the change. When there are numerous changes, please submit a “before and after” table summarizing the existing and proposed program requirements. This simplifies the council’s task of reviewing the proposal.

* Instructions for Cooperative Agreements: Any program that relies on resources from another department must obtain an agreement from that department (and their Dean's Office if not Dedman College) to provide what is necessary to support the proposed program. Specifics must be provided. For example, faculty to teach courses, agreements to teach specific courses with a specified regularity, agreements for availability of seats, etc. Please include these agreements as part of the appendices for this memo.

Undergraduate and Graduate Council Meeting Schedule

Last updated on April 29, 2024.