The IU Graduate School Indianapolis must receive new graduate and professional degree proposals for review at least five (5) weeks prior to the next regularly scheduled Graduate Affairs Committee meeting. Please check the meeting schedule.
Before You Begin
In order for the process to proceed smoothly and timely, it is important that new graduate or professional degree proposals include information that is required by the Graduate Affairs Committee (GAC), the trustees, and Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The following items will be required:
When a department has decided to propose a new graduate or professional degree, the department should submit a pre-proposal document to academic affairs before fully developing their degree. Once the pre-proposal is approved, the department may continue in the process of the development of a proposal.
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Complete all sections and appendices of the New Program Proposal Form. Additionally, include the addendum "Review of Degree Enrollment and Effectiveness" with your submission.
All new degree programs must be approved at the Board of Trustees before advancing to ICHE. The BOT Cover Sheet is the sole document presented. Therefore, the proposing campus should prepare this document and include it with the program proposal
Required Items:
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Academic Leadership Council approval process and required documentation
New Program Proposal Form
Review of Degree Enrollment and Effectiveness
Board of Trustees Coversheet
All IU degrees and programs with 50 percent or more of the content taught online must also request approval from the IU Online program. If you haven't done so already, contact the IU Office of Online Education to begin the online approval process.
The Graduate Affairs Committee will not review a proposal until IU Online gives its approval.
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IU Office of Online Education
IU Online Proposal
Online vs Hybrid
There is additional information the IU Graduate School Indianapolis and the Graduate Affairs Committee require that is not included in the proposal. This information, along with the proposal, is requested via the online GAC Proposal Submission Form.
Please have the following information ready when submitting the online GAC Proposal Submission Form:
*The GAC requires that all new master, Ph.D., and professional degrees be reviewed by their academic peers chosen from outside universities or institutions, or from the professional or business sector related to their field.
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Email Dezra Despain for information on submitting a new degree proposal
The Graduate Affairs Committee meets on the 4th Tuesday of the month between the months of August through May with the exceptions of September and December. In order for the proposal to be reviewed by the GAC, it must be received by the IU Graduate School Indianapolis no later than five (5) weeks prior to the GAC meeting. This allows outside reviewers to be contacted with sufficient time for them to complete their review and return it to the IU Graduate School Indianapolis.
Any questions about the GAC can be directed to Dezra Despain or Dr. Janice Blum
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After the GAC approves the new program proposal and final documents are received, degree proposals will be entered into the APPEAR system by the IU Graduate School Indianapolis and forwarded to the Academic Leadership Council. Following approval at this stage, proposals are presented to the IU trustees, after which it will go to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education for final approval.
Once final approval has been given, the chief academic officer will send notification of approval to the dean of the originating unit, the Office of Communications and Marketing, the IU Indianapolis registrar, the director of Student Financial Services, and the director of graduate admissions where the major will be coded for inclusion in the master inventory.
School representatives can review the status using APPEAR after a proposal has been submitted to the APPEAR system.
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Academic Leadership Council
Board of Trustees Meeting Dates
Indiana Commission for Higher Education Meeting Dates
Learn About APPEAR
Review Status in APPEAR