program development
academic programs
Bring your program to life.
Looking to create a new academic program or change an existing one? Before you do so, your unit will need to get approval from the vice chancellor for Academic Affairs by submitting a request for preapproval. In letter format, address the vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and copy the associate vice chancellor for Academic Programs. Your letter should provide the following information:
- Name of proposed new program
- Title of degree to be conferred
- Field of study, department, and school involved
- Student learning outcomes for the proposed program
- Proposed date of initiation of program
- Description need for the program
- Rotation for staffing the program for two to three years
Along with this letter, you will need to follow your departmental and college processes and get preapproval from the chair and dean of your academic unit.
Send the preapproval letter to Terri Swim, associate vice chancellor for Academic Programs, at [email protected]. Preapprovals are honored for two years.
Locate the type of proposal you are creating on our SharePoint site (university username and password required) to determine which documents you will need. Please note that all new courses required for the program proposal need to have been previously approved.
The Approval Process
Proposal submissions and more.
The approval process can take time, as boards and committees must review proposals and make revisions. But proposals may be sent to the vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at any time. To get an idea of when your proposal will be processed, take a look at the Working Timeline for Program and Degree Approvals.
Get to know the specific approvals required for changing and creating new program proposals with our General Matrix for the Administrative Approval Process for New Academic Programs.
The following steps are for the approval process for new academic degrees:
- Department notifies VCAA of intention to create new program
- Department completes undergraduate preapproval form and sends to VCAA
- VCAA signs off on preapproval proposal
- Department creates full proposal with all required forms
- Department and college review proposal
- Department and college curriculum committee approves proposal
- Department sends final proposal to VCAA
- VCAA sends to PFW Curriculum Subcommittee
- Curriculum Subcommittee approves proposal
- Curriculum Subcommittee adds to Faculty Senate agenda for approval
- VCAA and Chancellor review proposal
- VCAA enters proposal into Curriculog
Approvals are not automatic or guaranteed. For more information on how the process works when approvals are not obtained, see the Undergraduate Program Processing Flowchart.
The following steps are for the approval process for new graduate academic degrees:
- Department notifies VCAA of intention to create new program
- Department completes graduate preapproval form and sends to VCAA
- VCAA signs off on preapproval proposal
- Department creates full proposal with all required forms
- Department and college review proposal
- Department and college curriculum committee approves proposal
- Department sends final proposal to VCAA
- VCAA sends to PFW Curriculum Subcommittee and enters into Curriculog
- Graduate Studies approves proposal
- Graduate Studies adds to Faculty Senate agenda for approval
- VCAA and Chancellor review the proposal
- VCAA enters proposal into Curriculog
Approvals are not automatic or guaranteed. For more information on how the process works when approvals are not obtained, see the Graduate Program Processing Flowchart.
proposal approval tracking
Know where your program is in the approval process.
The associate vice chancellor for Academic Programs enters all program proposals into the Purdue Curriculog system. Curriculog is an online course and curriculum management system used for submitting, reviewing, and approving course and curriculum proposals.
For proposals that require approval by the Purdue Board of Trustees, select “Passed Meetings” and then the desired meeting date for the minutes.
Indiana Commission for Higher Education Approval
The ICHE Agenda Archive provides information for the following items:
- Proposals that need “routine staff action” approval
- Status of proposals pending state approval
- Status of proposals reviewed at meetings
Program Remonstrance
and Academic Program Inventory
Program Remonstrance and Academic Program Inventory
Prior to August 1, 2023, program proposals went through a PFW remonstrance process. These proposals can be found in SharePoint.
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) has the final authority when it comes to approving academic degrees and programs. Its Academic Program Inventory has a comprehensive listing of all active and inactive certificate and degree programs at all levels offered by Indiana public universities and community colleges. The programs are listed by national Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) fields using the CIP-assigned codes.
When a change is required, notify the vice chancellor for Academic Affairs by completing an API Change Request.
HEA 1001
Graduation Thresholds
As of 2025, the state legislature passed HEA 1001 which provided a set of graduation metrics for degree levels. The Commission for Higher Education (CHE) provided a one-time opportunity to use Routine Staff Action processes to respond when a threshold was not met for a specific degree program. Universities could suspend the program, eliminate the program, or merge/consolidate the program with another program. The provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs worked with deans and chairs to best respond to this situation and preserve as many programs as possible through Routine Staff Actions.
FAQ
Download a printable PDF of the HEA 1001 FAQ.
The new state law, HEA 1001–2025, clearly outlined the consequences of not meeting the established thresholds—CHE would determine if the program would be eliminated, suspended, or merged/consolidated. We decided that we wanted to be in control of outcomes for our programs. By taking early action, we were able to make decisions that best meet our students’ needs.
As mentioned previously, not taking early action meant that the CHE would determine program outcomes. Members of the commission have stated publicly that there are too many programs in the state and too much duplication across institutions. Thus, it seems clear that they would enact their statutory right to eliminate or suspend programs.
The state law did not allow for such a period. HEA 1001–2025 was passed on the last day of the legislative session and the thresholds were enforced beginning on July 1, 2025.
Current programs were consolidated under broader categories to simplify our degree offerings and create greater curricular efficiencies for units. All currently existing majors remain, reflecting our commitment to meeting the needs of Northeast Indiana and our students.
All changes will be implemented beginning in fall 2026.
We eliminated one program, Master of Public Administration, which did not have any enrolled students.
Students can stay on their current degree plan. To provide equitable treatment of students, timelines for completing the program will be communicated. This practice parallels what we’ve done in the past with other similar curriculum/program changes.
Of course, students can choose to change their program of study to a newly consolidated degree program, if desired. They will want to investigate all other changes that might impact this decision (e.g., General Education program for 2025).
Per PFW Admission policies, if a student stops out of their current plan of study, they can apply for reentry to the university and will be automatically placed in the catalog at time of reentry.
Students admitted from fall 2026 forward will be admitted into a new consolidated degree program where they will pick a major. As mentioned above, all prior majors remain available to students; they were just consolidated under broader categories to simplify our degree offerings and create greater curricular efficiencies for units.
It depends. In most cases, the diploma will not change. For example, programs that were Bachelor of Arts and remain a Bachelor of Arts will not change. In other cases, a named degree (e.g., B.S. in Electrical Engineering, B.S.E.E.) will change to a B.S. in Engineering (i.e., B.S.E.).
Yes. Transcripts will continue to list the degree (e.g., Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Engineering) and the major (e.g., English, Physics, Computer Engineering). Other program options such as certificates or minors will be listed as appropriate.