- Academic Calendar
- _
- Access and Equity
- _
- Administration
- _
- Calendars
- _
- Campus Life
- _
- Controller's Office
- _
- Email Search
- _
- Emergency Preparedness
- _
- Employers
- _
- Employment
- _
- Financial Aid
- _
- Human Resources
- _
- Human Rights
- _
- Information Technology
- _
- Libraries
- _
- Maps
- _
- Meadows Museum
- _
- News
- _
- Public Affairs
- _
- Registrar
- _
- Saving for College
- _
- Site Index
- _
- Student Accounts
- _
- Substance Abuse Prevention
- _
- Visit SMU
- _
- Webmail
- _
- Academic Calendar
- _
- _
- _
- Career Center
- _
- Health Center
- _
- Leadership & Community Involvement
- _
- New Student Programs
- _
- Parent & Family Programs
- _
- Recreational Sports
- _
- Residence Life & Student Housing
- _
- Services for Students with Disabilities
- _
- Student Activities & Multicultural Student Affairs
- _
- Student Center
- _
- Student Conduct and Community Standards Office
- _
- Student Life
- _
- University Chaplain
- _
- Women’s Center
- _
- Vice President of Student Affairs
- _
- _
Educational Programs Committee/
New Educational Programs
Educational Programs Committee
New Educational Programs
(e.g., a new Master's, major, Ph.D., certificate, etc.)
Forms
Educational Programs Committee
The Educational Programs Committee is a standing Advisory Committee with the following charge:
“To advise the Provost on matters involving curricular change, program initiation, program discontinuance, and attendant issues. In addition, the committee will assure that appropriate notifications, approvals, licensures, etc., are in place before programs begin operation.”
Membership includes:
-
Chair: Associate Provost Ellen S. Pryor
-
Members: Faculty appointed by Office of the Provost in consultation
with Deans of the schools they represent;
one faculty representative from each School
and two from Dedman College. -
Ex officio: Associate Provost Ellen F. Jackofsky
-
Ex officio: Dean of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School
of Education and Human Development -
Ex officio: Director of Institutional Research, John Kalb
-
Ex officio: Deputy Director of Central University Libraries
-
Ex officio: University Registrar
New Educational Programs
(e.g., a new Master's, major, Ph.D., certificate, etc.)
If you are a faculty member or a representative of a School thinking about initiating a new educational program—such as a Master's, a new major, a Ph.D., a certificate, etc.—then you will need to be in touch with the Educational Programs Committee. Why?
Given its charge, the Educational Programs Committee (EPC) has both a consultative role (input and advice to the Provost), and also serves a role necessary for both internal and external accreditation processes (“assure that appropriate notifications, approvals, licensures, etc., are in place…")
Specifically, one of the main roles of the EPC is to help evaluate and then to obtain necessary approval for any “substantive change” that any School within the University, or that SMU as a whole, proposes to institute. The phrase “substantive change” has an important meaning within the structure of accreditation. SMU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award Baccalaureate, Masters, Professional, and Doctoral Degrees.
SACS defines a substantive change as: “[A] significant modification or expansion of the nature and scope of an accredited institution.” If a proposed program, or change to existing program, is deemed a “substantive change,” then it may require either prior notification to SACS, or prior notification and approval. Because SACS also includes certain reporting time lines, it is important to contact the Educational Programs Committee in enough time to get the process started. (Contact information appears below.)
Some “substantive changes” require only notification to SACS prior to implementation. Other substantive changes require approval by, and notification to, SACS prior to implementation.
Examples of substantive changes that require only notification include: initiating an off-campus site at which a student may earn more than 25 percent and less than 50 percent of credits toward a program; initiating significant changes in existing technology-based delivery in distance learning.
Examples of substantive changes that require prior approval by SACS include: expanding at the current degree level if this is a significant departure from current programs; initiating programs at a lower degree level if significantly different from current degrees; changing significantly the length of a program; adding programs or courses that represent a significant departure, either in content or method of delivery, than those offered when SACS last evaluated the program.
To see more on SACS definitions and explanations of substantive changes, click here.
If you are considering a change in an educational program, or have a question about a proposed change, feel free to contact Ellen S. Pryor, who is the Associate Provost who chairs the Educational Programs Committee. Her contact information is below.
If your School is considering a new Major, a new Degree, or a new Certificate Program, then please consult the form for Approval of a New Degree, Major, or Certificate Program. This form basically sets out the types of information and supporting data that is required for approval by SACS.
Timing is important. According to SACS, the “chief executive officer of an institution undergoing substantive change requiring prior approval must provide written notice of the change to the President of the Commission [SACS] six months in advance of implementation of the substantive change.” This means that your School’s gathering of information and proposal must be complete well before this time, because the Educational Programs Committee will review the proposal, gather additional information if necessary, and advise the Provost on it.
The following links give you the forms setting out the data and information that SACS requires. If you have questions about these forms or how to provide information, then please feel free to contact us via email or phone.
Forms
New degree program proposals should follow procedures outlined in the form:
Proposal for a New Degree, Major, or Certificate Program
Additional Resources for new degree program proposals:
Faculty Roster
Instructions
Faculty Roster Form
Questions? Contact us
Rose Torres, Coordinator
(214) 768-4984
Ellen Pryor, Associate Provost
(214) 768-2580
