Program Proposal Processes

New Programs and Changes to Existing Programs

Please keep in mind that program changes (including additions and discontinuations) are effective for a future catalog year, so students currently enrolled when program changes are made will continue to use their catalog year's program. Students must consult with the college's Academic Advising office to inquire about changing the catalog year for their declared programs. 

Academic Affairs Curriculum Office Program Proposal Deadlines

The following deadline dates are the dates proposals and changes are due to the Academic Affairs (AA) curriculum office ([email protected]). Proposal requests received after the deadline date will be reviewed for the following effective date as appropriate. Please note: changes to programs may only have a fall effective date. 

Please check with your department and college for internal deadline dates to ensure your collegiate approval process is completed in time to meet the campus deadlines. 

Catalog Effective TermAcademic Affairs Deadline Date
Fall 2025November 1, 2024 
Fall 2026April 1, 2025 for programs to be added or removed from the F26 admissions application
November 1, 2025 for all other program changes

 

Undergraduate Program Design Guidance

Please apply the Undergraduate Program Design Guidance when developing new undergraduate programs or revising existing undergraduate programs. This guidance is provided to help ensure information submitted in program proposals facilitates an efficient process from proposal submission and catalog data entry through APAS programming, and to foster consistency between the catalog and APAS. The guidance includes best practices as informed by the UMN Coursedog Best Practices Workgroup and establishes common UMD practices to benefit students. The file was created by the UMD Curriculum Management Steering Committee, which endorsed the file on October 26, 2023. 

New Programs

New programs require completion of the New Program Proposal Form (below). New program proposals require the Dean's signature or documented approval. The Dean's office will submit an electronic file with signatures to [email protected]. The college Administrative Director must compile Section 5. If the program being proposed involves online delivery of program and/or courses, the information must be noted clearly ,and questions related to online program criteria must be addressed in the proposal. 

Proposals are entered into the University System's curriculum management system by the AA curriculum office prior to being forwarded to and approved by the University of Minnesota Executive Vice President and Provost and the Board of Regents. After Board of Regents approval, new programs are programmed into APAS by the Office of the Registrar, and only then can they be marketed. Resource: UMD New Program Proposal Forms Help Guide

UMD New Program Proposal Form (PDF preview)

Program Changes

Changes in programs are submitted to [email protected] with department and college approvals. To clearly show catalog deletions and additions, copy the current program text from the online catalog and paste the copy to a Word document, using track changes to make proposed revisions, or paste the copy into the Program Change Form (below) and turn on the “Suggesting” mode. Sample plan updates are also required for undergraduate programs. 

All program change requests must include a note confirming the department has notified and discussed the changes with any other departments directly affected by the proposed changes; documentation is added to the curriculum management system. Changes to existing programs are only made with a fall effective date. Please submit ALL changes for a program at the same time. For additional details and guidance, please refer to Program Change Procedures

The Program Change Form is required for the following types of changes and may also be used for other changes:

  • Adding a new sub-plan to an existing program
  • Adding a new integrated degree option to existing programs (e.g., 4+1 Bachelors to Masters program)
  • Changing a program or sub-plan name
  • Changing the academic home of a program
  • Adding or changing a program's delivery modality
  • Adding or changing a program's partnerships/collaborations with an external entity
  • Changing an undergraduate program's admission requirements to include a GPA greater than 2.0
  • Increasing total program credits for undergraduate programs that are or will be greater than 120 credits


Program Change Form (PDF preview)

Discontinuing a Program

Discontinuing a program requires submission of the Discontinue Program Proposal form (including the Dean's signature) to [email protected]

Discontinue Program Proposal (PDF preview)