• SUNY’s Guide to Academic Program Planning provides an overview for planning new academic programs or revising existing programs. More specific directions are provided on the corresponding SUNY academic program planning forms.

    • All new academic programs and revisions of existing programs must be approved before being published. Please allow at least 30 days for online publication; additional information may be required.
    • Small program revisions should be proposed and approved in the fall semester (for the following fall semester) to be ready for advance registration in April.
    • For new academic programs and program revisions that require SUNY or state approval, allow additional time. Please contact the associate provost’s office for assistance in completing the necessary forms.

    Revisions of Existing Programs

      Campus Approval: Program Chair >  School Director > Associate Provost (G. Taylor) and, if necessary: > Academic Council(s) > Educational Policies Committee (EPC).

    Many program revisions require only campus approval. These revisions are approved by the chair/director and submitted to the Associate Provost’s office, using an internal program revision form and sample program schedule.

      External Approval: Associate Provost/Provost > SUNY > New York State Education Department (NYSED)

    After campus approval, the following program revisions must also be approved by SUNY and the New York State Education Department (NYSED), and require the SUNY program revision form (Form 3A):

    1. Cumulative change from the last state/SUNY approval of the registered program of one-third or more of the minimum credits required for the award (e.g., 40 credits in a bachelor’s degree program). In counting credits, eliminating one 3-credit course and replacing it with a new 3-credit course is counted as a 3-credit change.
    2. Changes in the program’s focus or design (e.g., eliminating management courses in a business administration program), including a change in the program’s major disciplinary area.
    3. Adding or eliminating one or more options, concentrations, or tracks.
    4. Adding or eliminating a requirement for completion, including an internship, clinical placement, cooperative education, or other work- or field-based experience.
    5. Altering the liberal arts and sciences (LAS) content in a way that changes the degree classification as defined in Section 3.47(c)(1-4) of the Rules of the Board of Regents.
    6. Changes in:
      • Program title
      • Program award (e.g., change in degree from BA to BS)
      • Mode of delivery (e.g., to distance education)
      • A format change that alters the program’s financial aid eligibility
      • A change in the total number of credits of an undergraduate certificate or a graduate advanced program
    7. Any change to a registered program leading to professional licensure, or the addition of licensure qualification to an existing program, except that changes to courses or credits that do not satisfy one of the required content areas in the profession do not need SUNY approval and NYSED registration unless required by one of the other categories above.

    New Academic Programs

    New certificate (Form 2C), undergraduate (Forms 1A, 2A), and graduate (Form 1B, 2B) programs also use the appropriate SUNY forms and follow the approval processes outlined above. Helpful information for new program/major proposals is available in SUNY’s Guide to Academic Program Planning and on SUNY’s Links to Online Resources site.

    Proposals for new minors are not submitted to SUNY for approval but must be approved by faculty governance and Academic Affairs. The process of approval requires the completion of a minor proposal form. Consult with the Associate Provost to obtain the form.