New Degree Program Screening Form

Institutions should complete this form for any new degree program to determine if prior HLC approval is required. If the institution is planning a new certificate or diploma program, complete HLC’s certificate program screening form. If it is planning changes to an existing program, complete the screening form for changes to existing academic programs.

Important: In order to complete this form, you will need your institution’s General Stipulation from its Institutional Status and Requirements (ISR) Report. This stipulation provides information on the approved program levels for the institution and indicates whether any program limitations are in place. Institutions must receive approval from HLC to offer programs at a new credential level. The stipulation is not a complete listing of approved programs for the institution.

Questions?

Contact [email protected].

Screening Form

If the person completing this form is not the institution’s CEO or Accreditation Liaison Officer, it is understood that they have consulted with those individuals and are authorized to submit this form on the institution’s behalf.

"*" indicates required fields

Institution name:*

Is the new program being started, in whole or in part, by acquiring an educational program from another institution?*

Yes

Is the new program being started in order to assist with the teach-out of students from another institution that is ceasing operations, closing a location or ending an educational program?*

Yes

Contact your institution’s HLC staff liaison: Additional HLC requirements may apply to this program. Please contact your institution’s HLC staff liaison instead of submitting this screening form.

Contact Information

Name:*

First Last

Title:*

Email:*

Details of Proposed Program

Full program name:*

2020 CIP code and program name:*

Credential level:*

Credential awarded:*

Example: A.A.S., B.A., M.A., M.S., Ed.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., etc.)

Major:*

Other:

Concentrations, specializations, track or emphasis

Credit Hours

Does the number of credit hours required to complete the proposed program conform to the following minimum program lengths specified in HLC’s Assumed Practices?*

Associate’s degree: 60 semester credits
Bachelor’s degree: 120 semester credits
Master’s degree: 30 semester credits beyond the bachelor’s

Yes

Prior HLC approval required. Please submit a Reduced-Credit Bachelor’s Degree Program Application instead of completing this form.

Variations from the minimum accepted program length must be explained and justified. Please contact your institution’s HLC staff liaison.

Total number of credit hours required to complete the program:*

Provide the total required for the full program, not just those required for a specific major.

Please indicate the number of credit hours in each of the following categories. (Note: calculated total must equal the total number of credit hours required for the program.)

Number of credit hours of existing or repackaged curricula:*

Courses from existing inventory of courses at the institution

Percent of total credit hours

Number of credit hours of revised or redesigned curricula:*

Courses for which content has been revised for the new program

Percent of total credit hours

Number of credit hours of new curricula:*

Courses developed for the new program that haven’t been offered at the institution

Percent of total credit hours

Total credit hours

Must match the total number of credit hours required for the program

Total percentage

Error: The credit hours entered above do not add up to 100%.

Modality

See HLC’s Glossary for definitions of distance education and correspondence education.

Is the proposed program a competency-based education (CBE) program?*

Yes

Please select the type of CBE approach the program would use:*

Direct assessment

Hybrid direct assessment

Credit-based

Has HLC approved the institution to offer credit-based CBE programs without seeking prior approval from HLC?*

This information can be found in the Institutional Status and Requirements Report. The institution’s stipulation must be “Approved for credit-based competency-based education.”

Yes

Prior HLC approval is required for this proposed degree program. Click “Submit” to complete this form. HLC will email you a link to the substantive change application for new competency-based education programs.

Modality(ies) in which the program will be offered (select all that apply):*

Correspondence education

Distance education

In-person instruction

Other (please specify)

Please specify the modality:*

Relation to the Institution’s Approved Degree Programs

Is this the first degree program at a new credential level?*

Yes

Is this the first non-Ph.D. doctoral level program at the institution?*

Yes

Is this the first Ph.D. program at the institution?*

Yes

Is this the first nursing program at the institution?*

Yes

Will the proposed program replace a degree program currently offered with the same CIP code?*

Yes

Name of program being replaced:

Degree Programs at the Same Credential Level as the Proposed Program

Does the general stipulation on your institution's ISR Report have any program limitations at the same credential level as the proposed new program?*

Yes

Compare the CIP codes of approved degree programs at the same credential level to the proposed program:

Do any of these degree programs have the same four-digit CIP code (XX.XX) as the proposed program?*

Yes

Provide a list of the program(s) and CIP code(s):*

Do two or more of these degree programs have the same two-digit CIP code (XX.) as the proposed program?*

Yes

Provide a list of the program(s) and CIP code(s):*

Required Faculty and Financial Investment

Will new faculty expertise or new faculty members be needed to launch this program?*

Yes

Please explain new needs:*

Note: Indicate whether the institution will need to hire new faculty members for this program in order to secure appropriately credentialed people or to have enough faculty members to appropriately support the program.

Please explain existing coverage:*

Will the proposed program require a large outlay of additional funds by the institution?*

Yes

Please explain institutional funding for proposed program:*

Prior HLC approval is required for this proposed degree program. Click “Submit” to complete this form. HLC will email you a link to the substantive change application for new degree programs.

HLC notification is required for this proposed degree program. Click “Submit” to complete this form. You will receive an email from HLC indicating that the institution has fulfilled its notification requirement for this program.

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