Meeting Dates and Associated Deadlines

Policy and Review Council Meeting Dates

Policy and Review Council meetings for the 2008 fall semester have been scheduled as follows (all meetings are scheduled from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.):

• Policy and Review Council Assembly:  Wednesday, October 22
• Health Sciences P&R Council:  Wednesday, October 29
• Language, Literature and Arts P&R Council:  Tuesday, November 4
• Education and Psychology P&R Council:  Wednesday, November 5
• Biological Sciences P&R Council:  Tuesday, November 11
• Engineering, Physical and Mathematical Sciences P&R Council:  Wednesday, November 12
• Social Sciences P&R Council:  Tuesday, November 18

Submission Dates for 8xxx-Level Course Review

Programs that plan to propose new or substantially modified 8xxx-level courses for offering in the 2009 spring semester should submit their courses in ECAS (the University's Electronic Course Authorization System, accessible on the Web at http://onestop.umn.edu/onestop/faculty/ECAS.html) by no later than Wednesday, October 1, to ensure Council review this fall. Programs should also submit by this date their proposals for new or modified 8xxx-level courses that they wish to offer in fall 2009, in order to ensure timely course approval for fall registration.  (New 8xxx-level courses and course changes that require budgetary college review and approval will need college authorization in ECAS by the October 1 deadline.) To avoid potential delays in course approval due to incomplete information, programs should provide thorough documentation in ECAS to support their submissions.

The submission deadline for 8xxx-level course review in spring 2009 is February 13, 2009.  For review in summer 2009 the deadline is May 15, 2009.

Please contact facstaff@tc.umn.edu if you have any questions about ECAS or aspects of 8xxx-level course review.

Submission Dates and Review Timetable for Proposals for New or Modified Academic Programs

Faculty who are developing proposals for new academic programs, or for major modifications in existing programs, for review in the 2009 spring semester should submit a preliminary draft of their proposal to the Graduate School no later than December 1, 2008.  Final versions of academic program proposals are due in the Graduate School by February 2, 2009, for the Policy and Review Councils and Graduate School Executive Committee to consider in April. According to this timetable, review by the Board of Regents would follow in July 2009.

The corresponding deadlines for proposal review in fall 2009 are submission of a preliminary draft by May 1, 2009, and of a final proposal by September 1, 2009, for P&R Council and Executive Committee review in November and consideration by the Board of Regents in February 2010). 

Before beginning to develop a proposal, faculty are encouraged to schedule an appointment to discuss it with Associate Dean Shirley Nelson Garner, at 612-625-4858. Draft or final proposals received after the stated deadlines will normally be held for review until the next semester. To assure that all proposals receive the careful attention and review they deserve, the Graduate School will not rush a review to accommodate drafts or final proposals received after the published deadlines.

Faculty may find the following Graduate School documents useful in developing proposals (all of these documents may be found on this Web site):

• Developing New Academic Programs and Formal Tracks under the Aegis of the Graduate School  (http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/governance/policies/new_programs.html)
  (see also “University Criteria and Instructions for Academic Program Review and Approval," http://academic.umn.edu/provost/reviews/apr/index.html)
• Guidelines for the Formal Identification of Tracks within Degree Programs (http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/governance/policies/tracks.html)
• Graduate School Policy Governing Post-baccalaureate Certificate Programs (http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/governance/policies/post_baccalaureate.html) (see also “Details of Post-baccalaureate Certificate Program Administration in the Graduate School,” http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/governance/policies/postbac_administration.html)
• Report of the Graduate School Ad Hoc Committee on Distance Learning (http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/governance/policies/distance_learning.html)
• Preliminary Guidelines for the Delivery of Graduate School International Degree Programs (http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/governance/policies/international_degrees.html)
• Operational Guidelines for the Establishment and Delivery of All-University Graduate Programs (http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/governance/policies/all_university_programs.html)
• Best Practices in Coursework Master’s Degrees Offered Via the Graduate School (http://www.grad.umn.edu/dgs/governance/CourseworkMasters.pdf)
• Content of Letters to Support New or Changed Graduate School Academic Programs (http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/governance/policies/support_letters.html)