In accordance with Binghamton University Faculty Senate bylaws, proposals for new degree programs and modifications of existing programs are the responsibility of academic units. Proposals for new degree programs are then reviewed by the Faculty Senate, which makes recommendations to the President. In addition, the Senate must also review proposals to discontinue or deactivate a degree-granting program. Proposals for modifications of existing programs may need to be reviewed by the Faculty Senate's Educational Policy and Priorities Committee (EPPC); please see below for details.
Proposals for new undergraduate degree programs must first be approved by the department, then the school/college, then the Faculty Senate.
After campus approvals have been secured, SUNY System's review of proposals for new undergraduate programs involves two steps: the submission of a Program Announcement and a Program Proposal. The Program Announcement is designed to inform other SUNY campuses and to allow those campuses and SUNY Administration to comment on the proposal. New baccalaureate programs typically require external review by two experts in the discipline, chosen from a list of four or five proposed reviewers. The Program Proposal is the formal request for a new undergraduate academic program. New programs must be approved and registered by the New York State Education Department before they may be advertised or before students may be admitted.
Following are the steps in the approval process for new undergraduate degree programs:
The procedures for changes to existing undergraduate programs differ depending on the extent of the changes.
SUNY and the State Education Department must approve and re-register a program in which significant changes are made. Please see the SUNY document "Change or Adapt a Registered Program" (.pdf, 156KB) for information on what constitutes a significant change.
Proposals to significantly modify existing undergraduate degree programs or to change the name of existing undergraduate degree programs must first be approved by the department, then the school/college, then the Faculty Senate. The request must then be transmitted to SUNY System for approval.
Following are the steps in the approval process for a request to change an existing undergraduate program:
Minor changes (i.e., changes that do not meet the guidelines in the document "Change or Adapt a Registered Program" linked above) are approved by the school/college. Routine changes to existing degree programs do not require notification of or review by the Faculty Senate EPPC. However, if an undergraduate program's changes over time involve one-third or more of the minimum credits required for the degree program, we are required to submit SUNY Appendix E (see above) for those aggregated changes.
In order to enable the Provost's Office and the deans' offices to track minor changes over time and monitor the total credits involved, we ask that any department which makes any changes to their undergraduate programs please submit the form Record of Changes to the Undergraduate Major, either in hard copy or via e-mail.
Deactivation is the decision not to admit any more students to a program but to maintain the program registration with SUNY System and the New York State Education Department. The date of deactivation is the first regular admission date as of which new students will not be permitted to enroll in the program.
Discontinuance is the decision to remove a program from the list of registered programs so that a degree will no longer be granted at completion. The date of discontinuance is the last date for which a degree will be awarded.
Proposals to deactivate or discontinue existing undergraduate degree programs must first be approved by the department, then the school/college, then the Faculty Senate. The request must then be transmitted to SUNY System for approval in the form of a letter from the President.
Following are the steps in the approval process for a request to deactivate or discontinue an existing undergraduate program:
For information on procedures for creating a new undergraduate minor or modifying an existing minor in one of the schools (Harpur College, Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Management, the Graduate School of Education, the Decker School of Nursing, the College of Community and Public Affairs, and the Graduate School), please contact your dean's office.
All proposals for majors, minors or any other form of curricular program that do not go through curricular review at the school level (Harpur College, the Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Management, the Graduate School of Education, the Decker School of Nursing, the College of Community and Public Affairs, the Graduate School) must be reviewed by the Faculty Senate EPPC. This EPPC review may apply to interdisciplinary programs or programs under the auspices of the Provost's Office when there is no review by the appropriate school or college listed above. In these cases, the EPPC will act as the curriculum committee reviewing and approving these proposals.
With regard to new program proposals, please see the section How to submit new program proposals above for information on the additional steps required to submit a new program proposal.
