Overview of New Major Process

Phase I – Letter of Intent (LOI)

1. Campus: Completes the LOI/Phase I template, including forms A-D, and submits it to UMPO via the online form.
   • The full list of documents and downloadable forms for the Phase I LOI can be found on the Phase I page.
2. UMPO: Reviews the Phase I documents for corrections and completeness. Once verified, UMPO circulates to UMass campus Provosts and Chancellors for input. The diagram indicates a 21-day maximum for their feedback. 
   • If campus feedback requires response or revisions to the Phase I documents, the submitting campus is notified.
3. BHE: After the campus-input period, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) reviews the Phase I documents. If there are no issues to address, the DC posts the proposal for public comment. The public-comment period is 20 days, as required by law.
   • If public comments require response or revisions to the Phase I documents, the submitting campus is notified by UMPO.
   • Campus: any necessary responses or revisions to the Phase I documents are returned to BHE, via UMPO, to address the Deputy Commissioner's feedback and public comments.
4. BHE: After the Phase I documents are considered complete and all feedback has been addressed, the proposal is added to an upcoming BHE meeting agenda. The diagram notes a six-week lead time for addition to a BHE meeting agenda.
5. BHE: A vote by the BHE will decide if the LOI/Phase I proposal is approved to move to Phase II.
6. If approved, UMPO relays approval to the campus to begin Phase II.

Phase II – Full Proposal

Phase II contains two sub-processes (A and B) that can proceed concurrently: A is the preparation of the Phase II proposal forms and B is the external review process.

• The full list of documents and downloadable forms for the Phase II proposal can be found on the Phase II page.

A. Phase II proposal materials

The campus prepares the Phase II forms and supporting documents, including:

• Program Proposal
• Form A: Curriculum Outline
• Form B: Goals, Objectives, and Assessments
• Form C: Projected Enrollments
• Form D: Program Budget
• Form E: Faculty
• Faculty abridged CVs
• Course syllabi or summaries

B. External review

1. Campus: Identifies external reviewers and provides to UMPO:
   • A list of at least two reviewers.
   • Abridged CVs for reviewers, approximately five pages each.
2. UMPO: Receives the reviewer list and abridged CVs, reviews them, and sends them to BHE for approval.
3. BHE: Reviews the list of external reviewers. They may approve the selected reviewers or request changes, via UMPO.
4. Campus: Requests review reports from the approved external reviewers, using the questions on Form F.
5. Campus: Prepares a response to the external review reports. The external review reports and the campus response will become part of the full Phase II proposal packet.

Final Phase II Proposal

1. Campus: Submits all finalized Phase II materials, including forms, appendices, external reviews and campus response, to UMPO.
2. UMPO: After reviewing the Phase II documents for corrections and completeness, the proposal is added to upcoming Committee for Academic and Student Affairs (CASA) and full Board of Trustees meeting agendas (simultaneously). The diagram notes a six-week lead time for addition to the meeting agendas.
   • The campus Provost will be asked to present the proposal at the CASA meeting where the vote will take place.  The Provost may choose to invite an additional campus representative to speak about the proposal.
3. A vote by CASA to approve will lead to a vote by the full Board. 
4. If the Phase II proposal is approved by these votes, UMPO will submit the Phase II proposal to the DHE for their approval.

(Note: a vote by the full BHE is not required for Phase II, unless the proposal was not granted Fast Track status during the Phase I vote.)  Approval by DHE in this phase finalizes the proposal approval process.

Planning and Scheduling

Campuses should plan for the dates of BHE and Board of Trustees meetings to ensure the proposals are submitted well in advance of the scheduled meetings and the review process can happen well within the time period the campus is aiming for. BHE and BOT meeting schedules cannot be altered to accommodate academic program proposal review deadlines.

Meeting schedules can be found at:

• Board of Higher Education
• UMass Board of Trustees

Note: There are four UMass Board of Trustees meetings per year.  Each of these is preceded shortly before by Board committee meetings, CASA being one of those. Therefore, the CASA and full BoT meetings for the final proposal vote will be in the same meeting cycle.