Academic Structure

Proposing new and changes to existing academic structures

Academic structure consists of the units formed by groups of faculty (and sanctioned by various administrators and administrative bodies) to which courses and academic programs are attached. Within the College's academic structure exists schools, departments, (structural) programs, centers, and institutes. 

Proposals to create new academic structure as well as change existing structure are subject to various policies, procedures, and levels of review depending on the type of request.

Proposal process

The unit or group of faculty who plan to initiate a proposal should contact their school or divisional associate dean as well as Assistant Dean Justin Grossman to outline the proposal and rationale. 

After this point, the proposal requirements and form will be provided to the proposing party.

The proposing party creates the proposal and secures any necessary supplementary documentation. The proposal draft is submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy and Records. The proposal will be reviewed internally and feedback provided to the proposers.

The proposers consider any initial feedback and make changes to the proposal, as appropriate. The proposal is formally submitted to OUCPR, who forwards it for review by the Executive Dean. The Executive Dean will then review and, if it assessed as ready, forward to the College Policy Committee (CPC) for its review. The CPC returns a recommendation to the Executive Dean who makes the final decision at the College level. 

If additional approvals are required, OUCPR forwards the proposal on to the next level of review.