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Office of Accreditation, Assessment, Curriculum, and Compliance
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Submission Cycle

Academic Program Submission Cycle

Overview 

All academic program requests for new or changed programs and for moratoria or discontinuations are submitted to University Curriculum and Catalog using the Office of the Registrar (RO) Online Forms Menu. Curricular changes may be effective for any semester - fall, spring, or summer session. The average number of months it takes for academic program requests to be approved are listed below. 

Category Months* 

New 4.5 

Changes 2.5 

Deletes 3.5 

Moratoria 2 

*Excludes months when academic governance is not in session (i.e. December and May through August). 


For a spring or summer session effective date, colleges must submit program requests to University Curriculum and Catalog by September 1. 

If consultation and action require additional time, a spring effective date may not be possible although the request was received by September 1. See Getting Started below for more information.  

For a fall effective date and availability for enrollment, colleges must submit program requests to University Curriculum and Catalog by January 1. 

Enrollment for Fall begins in late March. Enrollment for Spring begins in mid-Fall. 

If consultation and action require additional time, a fall effective date may not be possible although the request was received by January 1. See Getting Started below for more information. 

Note: Approximately 10% of new programs require Statewide Academic Program Review (pdf). See below for submission deadlines.  
  

Statewide Academic Program Review 

The Presidents Council of State Universities of Michigan (PCSUM) provides us with an opportunity to review academic programs initiated by other institutions. It requires Michigan State University to submit new programs for review by other institutions; spin-off and phased-out programs must be submitted as information items. The Office of the Provost determines which programs must be reviewed in accordance with the Presidents Council Policy and Procedures for Reviewing Academic Program Proposals (pdf). New programs that fit the Statewide Academic Programs Review criteria must be approved by the Academic Affairs Officers Committee before the initial effective semester of offering at Michigan State University. 

Submission Deadlines: These program requests must be submitted to University Curriculum and Catalog by the preceding January 1 to be effective the following spring and by September 1 to be effective the following fall semester. 

Higher Learning Commission (HLC) 

MSU’s university accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), must approve all substantive changes in academic programs. Notify the Director of Accreditation, Program Review, and Assessment, Dr. Moroski-Rigney LINK to Stacia Staff Page, with any program changes as the unit BEGINS conversations about these changes. Depending on the type of notification and review needed, this could delay implementation of your proposed changes; notification to Dr. Moroski-Rigney can and should happen before formal approvals from the university. 

Getting Started 

Minimizing the amount of time curricular items spend in academic governance takes careful planning. Straightforward academic program changes that require only University Committee on Curriculum and Faculty Senate approval take two months or less to be approved. New academic programs take longer because additional consultation is required. 

As shown in the Path of Academic Programs Requests Diagram, the type of request impacts the amount of time it takes for consultation and action. 

When planning an effective date, the following questions should be considered: 

  • Does the request have funding implications? If so, the request requires unit reflection for budget projections and planning, and must follow normal administrative channels. 
  • Are there any academic policy implications? 
  • Does the request involve teacher certification? 
  • Are approvals/signoffs required? 
  • If submitting a new academic program, is Statewide Academic Program Review required? 

Note: the Office of the Provost is required to submit materials to the Presidents Council Office six weeks prior to the meeting at which the proposal is considered; the Academic Affairs Officers Committee meets four times a year. 

Checklist 

Become familiar with MSU's curricular approval process. 

Review University graduation requirements. 

Review policies and procedures for certificates, minors, and specializations (if applicable). See below

  • Policy and Procedures for Graduate Certification Programs
  • Policy and Procedures for Minors
  • Policy and Procedures for Specializations

Start communicating with other units affected by the request as soon as possible. 


Request a courtesy review from University Curriculum and Catalog prior to submitting the request form (before department/college approvals and official signoffs occur). Contact Joy Davis, University Curriculum Administrator, at jlspeas@msu.edu. 

Policies and procedures for certificates, minors, and specializations

POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS | June 2015

Michigan State University
In recent years at Michigan State University, the interest in and demand for graduate certificate programs has increased. These graduate certificate programs are constructed in selected fields as complements to degree programs or as distinct offerings. The issuance of a graduate certificate signifies that the certificate holder has completed a set of course work or specified professional training or possesses specified skills or competency levels. The unit defines these courses, professional training, specific skills, or competency levels and how they are met and/or assessed.

At Michigan State University, there are FOUR types of graduate certificate programs.

Those that are:

  • directly related to a degree program and are transcriptable;
  • distinct entities, not related to a degree program and are transcriptable;
  • distinct entities, not related to a degree program but are not transcriptable;
  • distinct entities at the University level not related to a degree program, and are transcriptable.

Type 1

If a graduate certificate program is directly related to a degree program as part of the degree program’s requirements, then:

  • it includes course work, or specified professional training, skills, or competency levels;
  • it is “transcriptable” (eligible to be listed on a student’s transcript);
  • it appears as “Certification for…” on the transcript;
  • it must be approved via the academic governance system using the Request for a New Academic Program or Request for Changes in an Academic Program form.

See the University Curriculum and Catalog web page for information.

Type 2

If a graduate certificate program is a distinct entity not related to a degree program, and is transcriptable then:

  • it includes course work, or specified professional training, skills, or competency levels;
  • it must be approved via the academic governance system using the Request for a New Academic Program or Request for Changes in an Academic Program form. See the University Curriculum and Catalog web page for information: http://www.reg.msu.edu/ucc/ucc.asp;
  • it appears as “Graduate Certificate Program”, followed by the name of the program on the transcript;
  • its students are enrolled at the Graduate Certification (GC) level or in a graduate degree program;
  • the minimum number of credits required is 9; more than half of the credits of the total required for a graduate certificate must be taken in courses at the 500 and 600 levels or 800 and 900 levels.
  • a maximum of 9 credits earned in transfer at the Graduate Certification (GC) level may be applied toward a graduate degree, with the exception for College of Education students who may apply a maximum of 12;
  • Some colleges with programs that require more than 30 credits for the master’s degree may apply more than 9 credits toward the master’s degree but not more than 30% of the total number of credits required for the master’s degree. Credits applied to a master’s degree are not eligible to be applied to any other graduate degree program.
  • Each program may decide how many credits of graduate course work taken at the Graduate Certification (GC) level (up to 9 semester credits or for the College of Education 12 semester credits) may be transferred from institutions external to Michigan State University and may be applied to a Graduate Certificate.
  • There is no limit to the number of credits taken at the Graduate Certification (GC) level at MSU that can be applied to graduate degree programs.

Type 3

If a graduate certificate program is a distinct entity not related to a degree program, but is not transcriptable, then:

  • it includes course work, or specified professional training, skills, or competency levels;
  • it must be approved by the unit responsible for its administration, but does not require University-level approval;
  • only its individual courses, if they are approved MSU courses, are transcriptable;
  • its students are enrolled in the Lifelong Education (LE) enrollment status or in a graduate degree program;
  • a maximum of 9 credits earned in transfer at the Graduate Certification (GC) level may be applied toward a graduate degree, with the exception in the College of Education where a maximum of 12 credits may be applied;
  • Some colleges with programs that require more than 30 credits for the master’s degree may apply more than 9 credits toward the master’s degree but not more than 30% of the total number of credits required for the master’s degree. Credits applied to a master’s degree are not eligible to be applied to any other graduate degree program.
  • Each program may decide how many credits transferred from institutions external to MSU may be applied to a graduate certificate program that is part of the master's degree.

Type 4

If a graduate certificate program is a distinct entity at the University level not related to a degree program then it:

  • requires specified professional training, skills, or competency levels;
  • is transcriptable as a graduate certificate program;
  • appears on the transcript as “University Graduate Certification in…”
  • must be approved by the academic unit offering the certificate and by The Graduate School. An example is the “University Graduate Certification in College Teaching.”

POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR MINORS | May 2013 | Policy Effective Fall 2013

Michigan State University

Definition:

“A secondary field of study at the undergraduate level . . . .” – Selecting a Minor - Academic Programs catalog

A Minor:

  • is a coherent set of courses that provides students with an understanding of the central concepts of the field of inquiry;
  • is an introduction to the breadth and in-depth knowledge of a field of inquiry;
  • is supplementary to the student’s major.

Target Student Audience:
The targeted audience for a minor:

  • is students who are not majors in the field of study with the same name represented by the minor.
  • may be students from a wide variety of majors.
  • may be limited to students from particular majors or colleges.
  • is students enrolled in undergraduate degree programs.

Credits and Requirements:

  • The minimum number of credits for a minor is 15.
  • The Academic Programs catalog must clearly state if some of these credits for the minor are required to be ‘unique.’ ‘Unique’ credits for a minor are defined as credits that do not count for a course taken to satisfy another university, college, or major requirement.

PROCEDURES

Transcriptability:

A minor is “transcriptable” (eligible to be listed on the student’s transcript).

Certification:

Consistent with other Association of American Universities (AAU) institutions, the Associate Dean of the college responsible for administering the minor will inform the Office of the Registrar when the student has completed the requirements for the degree program. Certification is concurrent with the degree certification process.

Relationship to Other Award Types:
What is the relationship between a major and a minor?

  • A major and a minor are separate components in a student’s undergraduate degree program.
  • All students are required to select a degree program in the major of their choice. A major is a primary field of study with its own set of requirements.
  • A minor is a secondary field of study with its own set of requirements.

How is a minor different from a teaching minor?

  • A disciplinary teaching minor consists of specific courses that fulfill the State Department of Education Standards for content suitable for preparation to teach the subject area and must be approved by the Michigan Department of Education as a program at MSU leading to teacher certification. 

Request to Establish or Change a Minor: 

Minors must be approved and/or changed via the academic governance system using the Request for a New Academic Program or Request for Changes in an Academic Program form.

  • Each unit responsible for any course proposed in the minor must be given the opportunity to approve or not approve that inclusion in the minor.

Departments, schools, and colleges with administrative responsibility for offering degree programs may decide to offer a minor in a particular field.

  • The department, school, or college may specify admission requirements for the minor.

More Information: See the University Curriculum and Catalog web page.

 

POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR GRADUATE SPECIALIZATIONS | Reformatted May 2013

Michigan State University

Definition:

“An interdisciplinary program of thematically related courses” separate from the major.
 – Academic Programs catalog

At Michigan State University graduate specializations:

  • include courses drawn from several department, schools, or colleges.
  • are designed to complement approved departmental or interdepartmental majors or to provide an interdisciplinary perspective on a topic of interest.

Target Student Audience:
The targeted audience for a graduate specialization may be:

  • open to students from a wide variety of majors.
  • limited to students from particular majors or colleges.

Credits and Requirements:

The recommended number of credits for a graduate specialization is a minimum of 9 credits.

  • Credits earned toward a graduate specialization may also be counted toward requirements for a major or degree program, unless indicated otherwise.

PROCEDURES

Transcriptability:
A graduate specialization is “transcriptable” (eligible to be listed on a student’s transcript).

Certification:

  • The Associate Dean of the college responsible for administering the graduate specialization will inform the
    Office of the Registrar when the student has completed the requirements of the specialization.
    Certification is concurrent with the degree certification process.

Relationship to Other Award Types:

What is the relationship between a graduate specialization and a major?

  • A graduate specialization and a major are separate components in a student’s degree program.
  • All students are required to select a degree program in the major of their choice. A major is a primary field of study with its own set of requirements.
  • A graduate specialization is designed to complement approved departmental or interdepartmental majors or to provide an interdisciplinary perspective on a topic of interest.
  • A graduate specialization has its own set of requirements.

Request to Establish or Change a Graduate Specialization:

Graduate Specializations must be approved and/or changed via the academic governance system using the Request for a New Academic Program or Request for Changes in an Academic Program form.

  • Each unit responsible for any course included in the graduate specialization must be given the opportunity
    to approve or not approve the inclusion of said course in the graduate specialization.

Departments, schools, and colleges with administrative responsibility for offering degree programs may decide to offer a graduate specialization.

  • The department, school, or college may specify admission requirements for the specialization.
  • Any approved Michigan State University courses may, with the approval of the unit offering the course, be included in a graduate specialization.

More Information:
See the University Curriculum and Catalog web page.

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