Services
Contact Information
Senate Webmaster

IX. The Preliminary Review

A. The SCAA will forward a proposal to the VPAA who will establish a specific period for preliminary review and notify the SCAA, faculty and academic administrators under whose purview the program exists as to the date of the end of the period.

1. Proposals can be submitted at any time.

2. The period for preliminary review will be scheduled to be consistent with the calendar of critical deadlines (Section VIII).

B. The SCAA will conduct a preliminary review of a proposal and then report on it to the Senate.

1. In support of the Senate's responsibility to advise and comment, the SCAA and its Academic Committees may, prior to submission of the proposal to the Senate, conduct inquiry among those faculty members and academic administrators associated with the program to:

a. assure that all faculty members and academic administrators in the program are aware of the proposal;

b. ascertain the degree of acceptance of the proposed program changes among faculty members and academic administrators.

2. The SCAA may refer a proposal to the appropriate Academic Committee which will conduct the preliminary review and report its findings in writing to the SCAA recommending either revision of the proposal or forwarding for formal review.

3. The SCAA will review a proposal in light of the recommendations of the Academic Committee, make further inquiries if it deems necessary, and produce a written review report to the Senate, recommending revision of the proposal or the SCAA will forward it for formal review.

4. If the report recommends formal review, it will state whether or not an external panel of reviewers should be appointed.

C. The Senate shall submit its advice and recommendations to the VPAA.

1. The Senate has the option to adopt the SCAA review report as its own. However, if deemed necessary, the Senate could undertake other means of review for the purpose of augmenting or supplanting the SCAA review.

2. The Senate may recommend formal review (including the necessary level of review), revision or rejection of the proposal at this point.

D. The VPAA will make a preliminary assessment of the merit of the proposal after receiving the Senate's preliminary review and after conducting any other preliminary inquiry that may be deemed appropriate.

E. If necessary the VPAA will return the proposal for revision based on the preliminary review and simultaneously notify the SCAA of the action by means of a copy of the preliminary review file.

1. The proposal may be rejected** at this stage with the concurrence of both the VPAA and the SCAA acting on behalf of the Senate and in agreement with the Senate's Preliminary Review Report.

2. Approval of the proposal for formal review requires that either the 'VPAA or the SCAA approve it based on the following considerations:

a. academic excellence and desirability;

b. appropriateness to University's goals;

c. fiscal soundness.

3. The VPAA will include the reasons for the revision request in the review file.

4. Written statements of the reasons for approval for formal review or disapproval of the proposal will be made by the VPAA and the SCAA.

---

** In the case of Periodic Review of an Existing Program the proposal cannot be rejected at this stage, but can be returned for revision.