AAUs considering new program proposals should contact the Office of Quality Assurance for guidance before they start the process.
All new undergraduate or graduate new degree program proposals begins with the Notice of Intent (NOI).
Once the NOI has been submitted, a meeting with the New Program Steering Committee will be arranged by the IQAP Office. The meeting notes and any action items generated by the NPSC meeting will be forwarded to the applicant with the PDC Form A following approval by the Associate Vice-President, Academic (AVPA). We will work continuously with you to complete the Form A. The Provost receives the NOI and NPSC meeting notes for their information.
Timelines for New Degree Program
A New Degree Program (undergraduate or graduate) takes approximately 18 months to work through the processes to final approval by the Quality Council.
These are sample approval timelines for submission dates:
- sample approval timeline - January submission
- sample approval timeline - May submission
- sample approval timeline - September submission
Components of a New Degree Program Proposal
The Components of a New Degree Program Proposal differ from other New Program proposals in that External Review is required.
- Notice of Intent
- PDC Form A (will be emailed after Provost Approval)
- Faculty CVs
- Non eCV User's Template
- Suggested Reviewers Tempate
Please note: For all PDC Form A proposals: the proposals and all external review and response processes will be finalized by the IQAP Office before the PDC Form A moves through the remaining PDC Workflow Approval Processes. If you are submitting PDC Form D (New Course) proposals, they must be submitted with the PDC Form A to the IQAP Office. This is to ensure that the new course proposals are approved at the same time as the new program proposal.
Approval Process
The Office of Quality Assurance will review the proposal brief documentation draft(s) and work with the AAU to finalize the required documents before proceeding to schedule the site visit.
Under the new Quality Assurance process, proposals for new degrees must undergo external review before formal approval at the departmental and faculty council levels. The Department Head, in consultation with the AAU council, forwards a list of 6 to 8 external reviewer candidates to the Quality Assurance Office. The Dean of Graduate Studies and Quality Assurance who will select 2 external reviewers for the proposed graduate programs or 1 for undergraduate programs. The reviewers will be provided with a copy of the finalized proposal brief (PDC Form A) and the faculty CVs, as well as a template for the reviewers' report and any other supporting documentation at least 4 weeks in advance of the site visit. The reviewers conduct a 2-day site visit (see note below) and submit a joint report within 6 weeks after the site visit, focusing on specific program quality criteria and identifying recommendations, if applicable.
Note: a site visit is required for all new graduate program proposals. Undergraduate program proposals are normally conducted on site but the Quality Assurance Framework allows for undergraduate program proposal review to be conducted by desk audit or video conference if the external reviewer is satisfied that the off-site option is sufficient.
Both the AAU submitting the proposal and the relevant Faculty Dean or designate will respond to the Reviewer’s Report and recommendations. The proposal can be revised before going forward for institutional approval based on these recommendations.
Note that a confirmation is also required of consultation made with other Departments or areas that will be affected by the proposed program, as well as an endorsement by the Faculty Dean that s/he supports the proposal and is committed to seeking to provide the necessary resources (per section #5 on page 2 of the proposal Brief/PDC Form A).
Review of all documentation created for the proposal to determine whether the proposal meets the quality assurance standards: the institutional approval includes approval by the AAU council, faculty coordinating council, Graduate Faculty Council (for graduate programs), the Provost, PDC and finally, Senate.
Subject to approval by the Provost an announcement of the intention to offer a new undergraduate or graduate program can be made in advance of approval by the Quality Council. When such announcements are made in advance of Quality Council approval, they must contain the following statement: “Prospective students are advised that offers of admission to a new program may be made only after the university’s own quality assurance processes have been completed and the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance has approved the program.”