Academic Affairs

Minors, Emphases, and New Programs

Approval by the Office of the Chancellor is not necessary for minors. The office agrees to list minors in its program inventory upon request of an institution when it does not have a major or degree-program in the field.

The process for approving a "new" program/major depends on how new the proposed program actually is (or whether it is a program by the definition of the Office of Chancellor).

Sometimes a department or college will call a proposal a new program when all it is doing is adding an emphasis within an existing program.  Examples would be proposals to add an emphasis in finance to a BS in Business Administration or to add an emphasis in art history to a BA in Art. Those cases would require approval as program redesigns using the application form for program redesigns. The required information and documentation is stated on the application form.

Sometimes a department or college will propose a new degree program that is closely related in content to an existing degree program and has over 50 percent of its required credits in courses required for the existing program. Examples would be proposals to offer a BS in Finance when over 50 percent of the credits for the major are in courses required for the BS in Business Administration or a BA in Art History when over 50 percent of the credits for the major are in courses required for the BA in Art. These cases would require approval as a redesign using the application form for program redesigns. The required information and documentation is stated on the application form.  Redesigns also require posting of a notice of intent on a system-wide listserv before approval of the application can occur.

Sometimes a department or college will propose a degree program that is not closely related to an existing degree program [minors do not count] or does not have over 50 percent of required credits in courses required for an existing, related program. These cases would require approval as a new program using the application form for new programs. The required information and documentation is stated on the application form and is much more extensive than the requirements for the redesigns. New programs also require posting of a notice of intent on a system-wide listserv before approval of the application can occur.

Notices of intent give other institutions 21 days to respond to a specific proposal. Approval can proceed after the proposing institution satisfactorily addresses any responses.

One other point: The university's internal process for approval and the Office of the Chancellor's evaluation of a proposal can proceed simultaneously so that when an application is ready for submission the Office of the Chancellor is ready for approval.

You may contact Jeanette Daines to ask how to proceed with a specific proposal as early in the process as possible to identify and address problems. She will be happy to work with you directly.

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Jeanette Daines, Ph.D.
Director of Academic Programs
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Office of the Chancellor
Wells Fargo Place
30 East Seventh Street, Suite 350
St. Paul, MN 55104-7804
jeanette.daines@so.mnscu.edu
651-632-5029 (phone)
651-296-3214 (fax)