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)
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Forms
New Program Proposal Templates
- USG_Academic_Degree_Program_Application_form.docx
- USG New Program Proposal Budget Forms (updated 7/1/22) (Excel)
- Budget Forms Instructions (updated 7/1/22) (Word)
- Signature Attachment (updated 2/5/2025) (Fillable PDF)
- Signature Attachment (updated 2/5/2025) (Word)
New Program Proposal Question Resources
- Resource Mapping for Select Questions, designed to aid proposal authors in identifying data sources for proposal questions. Created by Brad Sturz for Georgia Southern University and shared here with permission.
Program Proposal Document Change History
- 9/30/2025: Formatting changes, Links updated, added "None" as an option on #34, changed #18 to have % growth over ten years instead of five years (in alignment with published occupational data)
- 2/24/2025: Updated one reference
- 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 interpreted. (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.
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General Resources
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.
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Curricular Resources
Policies
- Academic and Student Affairs Handbook Section 2.3 Academic Programs
- Academic and Student Affairs Handbook Section 2.4 General Education Core Curriculum: The IMPACTS Core
- Field of Study Guidelines
- Program Length Guidelines
- Certificate Guidelines
- Microcredentials Guide
- Nexus Degree Guidelines
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 and shared here with permission from UWG.
- 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!
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Program/Graduate Supply Resources
USG Research and Policy Analysis Data Dashboards
- Of particular interest, check out the “Academic Program Analytics” section for information on program enrollments and number of degrees awarded for specific programs across the USG.
Carl Vinson Institute of Government's IPEDS Dashboard
- Includes data on degrees awarded over time by degree level and 2/4/6-digit CIP Code.
- Helpful tip: For Georgia data on the “Degrees Awarded Table” tab
- navigate to “State” and select “Georgia” to filter Georgia only data
- navigate to “Award level corrected” and select the appropriate award level (e.g., “Bachelor's Degree”) for data specific that level
- navigate to “6-Digit CIP Code and Description” in order to see historic trends for a particular major field
- When looking at any SOC Code, navigate to the “Training & Credentials” section and choose Georgia to see related programs at Georgia institutions along with numbers on recent graduates. For example, here's the page for Data Scientists.
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Workforce 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
- USG's Workforce Demand Tools webpage
- Includes USG tools along with state and national workforce data sources
- USG's High Demand Careers webpage
- MEDLI tool for identifying employment gaps within your service area.
- Statewide High Demand Careers
- Resource Mapping for Select Program Proposal Questions, designed to aid proposal authors in identifying data sources for proposal questions. Created by Brad Sturz for Georgia Southern University and shared here with permission.
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 outcome.
- Georgia State University, Economic Forecasting Center
- University of Georgia, Selig Center for Economic Growth
State of Georgia Resources
- Georgia Department of Labor for information on Occupation Trends, Industry Data, Occupational Wages, Economic Information, and Workforce Information
- Georgia Chamber of Commerce
- Georgia Trend Magazine
- Discipline Specific Areas
- Governor's Office of Student Achievement: Georgia K-12 Teacher and Leader Workforce Report
- Georgia Department of Education's Educator Pipeline Data Dashboards
- Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
- Georgia Healthcare Workforce Commission Executive Summary (December 2022)
- Georgia Bio, Life Sciences Partnership
National Resources
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Trainings
New trainings coming soon!
USG PAR Process Overview Presentation (Nov. 30, 2020)
Program Authorization and Review Overview (Nov. 30, 2020)USG Academic Program Proposal - Need Section (Dec. 2, 2020)
USG Webinar: Academic Program Proposal- Need Section (Dec. 2, 2020,1:30 - 3:00 p.m.USG Annual Academic Forecast and Monitoring Report (Dec. 2,2020)
USG Webinar: Academic Program Proposal- Need Section (Dec. 2, 2020, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.Curriculum Section - USG Academic Program Application (Dec. 4, 2020)
USG Webinar Academic Program Proposal - Curriculum Section (Dec. 4, 2020)USG Academic Program Proposal - Faculty and Staff Plan (Dec. 4, 2020)
USG Webinar Academic Program Proposal - Faculty and Staff Plan (Dec. 4, 2020)USG Academic Program Proposal - Facilities and Technology (Dec. 16, 2020)
USG Webinar: Academic Program Proposal- Facilities and Technology (Dec. 16, 2020)USG Webinar: Academic Program Proposal- Office Hours/Application Form Walk- through (Dec. 16, 2020)
USG Academic Program Proposal - Budget Section (Dec. 18, 2020)
USG Webinar: Academic Program Proposal- Budget Section (Dec. 18, 2020)