General Review Process and Timeline - CG

The type of program request determines the levels of review and approval required for approval.  Table 1 presents the level of approval for each proposal type.  The time to final approval is influenced by the individual levels of review required.  Major revisions or new degree programs can take more than 6 months before final approval depending on the timing of BOT meetings and the timing of ODHE reviews.  Please plan accordingly. Please note that revisions may be requested at each level of approval. Such requests may extend the timeline beyond what is presented below.  For programs that include online courses, please review the Online Program Considerations and ensure compliance with those requirements before submitting your proposal.

General review process workflow

  1. Degree program approval by the unit (e.g., Department Chair, Graduate Studies Curriculum Committee, Curriculum Committee, College Dean or Academic Dean).
  2. Review by relevant college leadership for approval.   A letter of support from the Dean or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs must be included in subsequent reviews.
  3. Submission of the proposal by the program, department or college to the Graduate School for GS/CAA review* by one of the following methods:
    1. Submission using the curriculum portal. 
    2. New degree programs should be submitted to curriculum.osu.edu per OAA guidelines. 
    3. We welcome questions regarding curricular processes.  Please submit those to Grad-SchoolCurriculum@osu.edu. 
  4. Review and approval by the combined Graduate School – Council on Academic Affairs (GS/CAA) subcommittee
    1. Proposals are typically reviewed within 2 weeks of receipt during AU and SP semesters. 
    2. Proposals must be submitted at least one week in advance of meeting dates. Allow at least 1 month for approval to allow for addressing possible revisions. 

Estimated timeframe for reviews

  • Please note that GS/CAA does not meet during SU semesters.
  • Review and approval by the Council on Academic Affairs (CAA)
    • Estimate up to 1 month for review.
  • Review and approval by Senate 
    • Estimate up to 1 month for review. 
  • Review and approval by Board of Trustees 
    • Meets 4 times/year, typically in August, November, February, and May.
  • Review and approval by the Chancellor’s Council on Graduate Studies (CCGS) and ODHE 
    • Meets every other month
    • Estimate 2-3 months for review and approval processing

Once a proposal is fully approved at all required levels, further University processing is required.

  1. University Registrar builds the program in the Student Information System 
  2. Graduate and Professional Admissions builds the admission application.
  • Estimate up to 1-2 months. 
  • Table 1.  Approval levels required for each type of curricular proposal.

Table 1. Approval Level by each type of curricular proposal

New Combined Undergraduate and Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education – Yes *** See Note

Higher Learning Commission - No

New Dual Master’s and PhD Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

New Dual Professional and PhD Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

New Degree Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - Yes

Board of Trustees - Yes

Ohio Department of Higher Education - Yes

Higher Learning Commission - Yes

New Graduate Minor or Specialization

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education – No

Higher Learning Commission - No

New Graduate Certificate

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education – Yes** See Note

Higher Learning Commission - No

New International Cooperative Degree Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Revising a Combined Undergraduate and Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - Yes

Higher Learning Commission - No

Revising a Dual Master’s and PhD Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Revising a Dual Professional and PhD Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Revising a Degree Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - Yes

Board of Trustees - Yes

Ohio Department of Higher Education – Yes**** See Note

Higher Learning Commission - Yes

Revising a Graduate Minor or Specialization

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Revising a Graduate Certificate

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education – Yes** See Note

Higher Learning Commission - No

Revising an International Cooperative Degree Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Information Item

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes* See Note

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Deactivating/Discontinuing a Combined Undergraduate and Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - Yes

Higher Learning Commission - No

Deactivating/Discontinuing a Dual Master’s and PhD Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Deactivating/Discontinuing a Professional and PhD Graduate Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Deactivating/Discontinuing a Degree Program

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - Yes

Higher Learning Commission - No

Deactivating/Discontinuing a Graduate Minor or Specialization

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education - No

Higher Learning Commission - No

Deactivating/Discontinuing a Graduate Certificate

Program - Yes

College - Yes

Combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee- Yes

Council on Academic Affairs - Yes

Faculty Senate - No

Board of Trustees - No

Ohio Department of Higher Education – Yes** See Note

Higher Learning Commission - No

 

Approval Process Additional Notes

X* Reviewed by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs on ad-hoc submission basis                                                                                                                  

"X**  

CCGS review required:

  1. If the certificate requires 21 or more credit hours.
  2. If the certificate is for teacher licensure, endorsement, and teacher preparation-continuing programs, then contact the education dean in EHE who will submit an electronic Initial Inquiry form through the ODHE’s online degree tracking proposal system for educator preparation/teacher licensure requests."                                                                                                         

X*** Submitted as part of annual report submitted by the Graduate School, however no formal review is completed                                                                                                                 

X**** Only required for revisions that are over 50% change          

Table 1. Step by Step Description of Approval levels
  1. For new combined undergraduate and graduate programs, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, Council on Academic Affairs, and the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
  2. For new dual master’s and PhD graduate programs, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined graduate school and council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  3. For new dual professional and PhD graduate programs, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and Council on Academic Affairs. 
  4. For new degree programs, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, Council on Academic Affairs, faculty senate, Board of Trustees, the Ohio Department of Higher Education, and the Higher Learning Commission. 
  5. For new graduate minor or specializations, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  6. For a new graduate certificate, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  7. For new international cooperative degree programs, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  8. For revising a combined undergraduate and graduate program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, Council on Academic Affairs, and the Ohio Department of Higher Education. 
  9. For revising a dual Master’s and PhD graduate program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  10. For revising a dual professional and PhD Graduate program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  11. For revising a degree program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, Council on Academic Affairs, faculty Senate, Board of Trustees, Ohio Department of Higher Education, and the Higher Learning Commission. 
  12. For revising a graduate minor or specialization, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  13. For revising a graduate certificate, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  14. For revising an International Cooperative Degree Program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  15. For revising an information item, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  16. For deactivating/discontinuing a combined undergraduate and graduate program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, Council on Academic Affairs, and the Ohio Department of Higher Education. 
  17. For deactivating/discontinuing a dual Master’s and PhD graduate program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  18. For deactivating/discontinuing a dual professional and PhD Graduate program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs.
  19. For deactivating/discontinuing a degree program, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, Council on Academic Affairs, faculty Senate, Board of Trustees, Ohio Department of Higher Education, and the Higher Learning Commission.
  20. For deactivating/discontinuing a graduate minor or specialization, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, and the Council on Academic Affairs. 
  21. For deactivating/discontinuing a graduate certificate, the proposal will require approvals at the program, college, combined Graduate School and Council on Academic Affairs Subcommittee, Council on Academic Affairs, and the Ohio Department of Higher Education.