New Program Proposal Resources

The process for proposing new degrees and programs typically begins at the institutional level when an identified need aligns with the institution's overall mission and strategic priorities. The new degree program process can take months or sometimes years to establish the appropriate direction, identify potential partners (e.g., industry, K-12, other institutions of higher education), develop, seek the necessary campus approvals, university system approvals, as well as all applicable accreditation approvals. Institutions are strongly encouraged to engage the University System Office early on in the development process to discuss potential program viability, supply/demand, and overall mission fit. The information below is also provided to aid institutions through this process.

Log of Recent New Programs Approved or Pending Review (includes timeline)

Forms

New Program Proposal Templates

Program Proposal Document Change History

2/5/2025: Changes Made:
- Significant reordering of questions for improved logical flow
- Non-Substantive Wording Changes to numerous questions to clarify expectation.
- Moved some questions to a final checklist of things to be included separate from this document.(e.g., SACSCOC Roster, reviewers for PhD programs)
- Removed nine questions that were redundant or not used, added questions that often come up during review, and substantively changed several questions where practices have changed or where the intent did not match how the questions were being interpretted. (For more details, contact the Office of Academic Affairs.)
- Updated Signature page to remove signatures that were meant for notification (those are now part of the routing in Smartsheet) and specify what each person's signature is certifying.
7/31/2023: Changes Made:
- Overview: Added Degree Acronym and Changed 6-Digit CIP Code to 8_Digit CIP Code
- Chart #28 deleted to reduce redundancy.
- Minor grammatical edits for clarity
- Prompt #30 – Delivery Mode chart changed to match DMA
12/1/2022: Changes Made:
- Updated column title in Table 25 from “Experienced Salary” to “Future Potential Earnings”
- Corrected numbering and Corrected footnote dates
8/19/2022: Changes Made:
- Attach as a WORD document only – no PDFs.
- Use Times New Roman 12pt. font.
- All questions are required for ALL degree levels.
- Some charts have been modified/deleted for consistency and to reduce redundancy.
- Signature page must be fully completed. Any addendums must be signed off by CBO.
- External Reviews for Doctoral Degrees are the responsibility of the Institution. See Prompt 30 for more information.

General Resources

Board of Regents Meeting Dates
Catalog of Authorized Academic Programs across the University System of Georgia

University System Office Points of Contact

Looking for guidance (at any point in the development process)?
- Laura Lynch is the primary point of contact in the system office for all new degree proposals.
Will the new program be part of a consortium?
- There are a number of sections of the new proposal proposal form, including the budget, that are more nuanced and require broader participation in the proposal development process.
- If your new collaborative program will be part of the Georgia Film Academy, you should confer with Jon Sizemore and Wendy Guttin before submitting the proposal.
- For all other collaborative programs (such as eMajor), you should confer with Jon Sizemore and Sarah Kuck before submitting the proposal.
For questions specific to...
- general education/field of study guidelines, contact Melanie Largin.
- healthcare-related programs, contact Shawn Little.
  - Note: The Nursing RAC reviews all new nursing programs and provides recommendations to the system office.
- microcredentials (including certificates, certifications, badges tied to high demand careers), contact Jill Lane.
- workforce need, contact Laura Lynch and/or Jill Lane.
  - We can provide labor market data and feedback, including reports from JobsEQ's labor market tools, as well as training for things like how to use ONet and/or the MEDLI tool listed in the Resources section of this page.

Curricular Resources

Policies

Templates and Samples

Sample Curriculum Map, to demonstrate and review alignment between program learning outcomes and courses within the program of study. Created by Amanda Thomas for University of West Georgia.
Course Credit Hour Workbook, designed to help institutions (1) determine the appropriate number of credit hours for new courses and (2) determine the appropriate amount of instructional time for existing courses.

Pedagogy

More coming soon!

Workforce Demand Resources

CIP and SOC Code Information

National Center for Education Statistics Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) site for codes associated with instructional programs
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Codes
- NCES 2020 CIP to 2018 SOC Crosswalk for the connection of program codes to occupational codes
- O*NET Education CIP to SOC Crosswalk Search Tool
Guidelines for Academic Program Proposal questions related to CIPs and SOCs

Outlooks, Employment Trends, and Wage Details

MEDLI tool for identifying employment gaps within your service area.
- by local workforce development area
- for the state of Georgia
Statewide High Demand Careers
- Institutional Analyzer of Academic Programs aligned to Statewide High Demand Careers
- Official List of Statewide High Demand Careers
Qlik site for labor and occupation projections. Select Georgia Data, County Guide Labor, and Occupation Projections for Georgia. Search by SOC code and Local Workforce Development Area (LWDA).
Georgia Department of Labor for information on Occupation Trends, Industry Data, Occupational Wages, Economic Information, and Workforce Information

USG Resources

University System Office: For questions related to workforce need, please contact Laura Lynch and/or Jill Lane.
- We can provide labor market data and feedback, including reports from JobsEQ's labor market tools, as well as training for things like how to use ONet and/or the MEDLI tool listed in the Resources section of this page.
Carl Vinson Institute of Government can assist institutions in assessing programs, understanding local workforce trends, and developing institutional strategies to maximize service effectiveness, serve students, meet regional workforce needs, and achieve measurable outcomes.
Georgia State University, Economic Forecasting Center
University of Georgia, Selig Center for Economic Growth