Types of Program Changes

There are three types of program changes: minor change; change; and significant change. The Senate Rules describe these in detail, but below is a summary.

Minor Program Change

A minor program change involves adjustments to a program’s electives (or required courses, but only in specific circumstances) due to clerical changes elsewhere (courses being renumbered, swapping out one elective for another with no net change in credit hours or available courses, etc.). There is an implicit assumption that a minor program change is somewhat clerical in nature and does not affect the academic nature of the program.

The Senate Rules describe in detail the approval process for minor program changes, summarized below.

1. Approval by program faculty;
2. Approval by college-level representative body;
3. Review by Senate Council office staff; and 
4. Approval by the Senate Council chair.

Regular Program Change

This category may be best defined by what it is not, specifically, if it’s not a minor change or a significant change, it’s a program change. Types of program changes include: changing required courses, changing electives, changing the GCCR (only applicable for undergraduate degrees); and changing the name of a major or track, concentration, or specialization.

The Senate Rules describe in detail the approval process for program changes, summarized below.

1. Approval by program faculty;
2. Approval by college-level representative body;
3. Recommendation for approval by academic council(s);
4. Review by Senate Council office staff; and 
5. Placement on a 10-day post for final Senate approval via lack of objections from senators (passive activity).

Significant Change

Significant changes are defined by the Senate as involving one or both of the following: proposal carries a significant impact (e.g., curricula) on the home unit or another educational unit; or proposal has a significant impact on the character or the purpose of the program. The most common types of significant changes are proposals to add distance learning delivery to a portion of a program or an entire program; add a new track, concentration, or specialization to an existing program; proposals to change requirements for admissions, progression, and graduation (including total number of credit hours required for completion); and proposals to suspend admissions and/or close a program. NOTE: Any type of proposal involving an academic unit, including name changes, and any type of proposal involving a Senate Rule change is also categorized as a significant change.

Significant changes require approval by the program faculty and college-level faculty, a recommendation for approval from an academic council (s), review by Senate Council office staff, recommendation for approval by a Senate committee(s), recommendation for approval by the Senate Council, and approval by the University Senate.

The Senate Rules describe in detail the approval process for significant changes, summarized below.

1. Approval by program faculty;
2. Approval by college-level representative body;
3. Recommendation for approval by academic council(s);
4. Review by Senate Council office staff; 
5. Recommendation for approval by a Senate committee(s); 
6. Recommendation for approval by the Senate Council; and 
7. Approval by the University Senate.

NOTE: Other types of significant changes involve new degree programs and changes to educational units. Some of these types of significant changes must also be approved by the Board of Trustees, Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).