New Program/Course Approval Process
Whenever a new course or certificate, diploma, or associate degree program is being proposed for inclusion in the
curriculum, the following procedures are to be followed by the originator of the proposal:
1. Once a Program Director shows interest in adding a new program (certificate, diploma, degree) to his or her
area AND has already spoken with the division dean, research on the program’s viability can begin.
2. Initial research should be conducted to determine the viability of the program, program costs, instructor
costs, number of employers and number of available jobs (request letters of support), job salaries, etc. The
Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness (OIRE) can help with this research if requested.
3. If the request is unrelated to any current program areas (degree, diploma or certificate) environmental
scanning, job placement statistics, and cost analysis will need to be conducted.
a. Supporting documentation will be evaluated by OIRE, the VPAA and/or the Dean to determine
whether it is in the community, the college, and the students’ best interests to be offered at GTC.
b. Changes may be suggested.
c. Research should be conducted to see if similar programs already exist at another technical college.
d. Follow up will be done with program director for changes, if necessary.
4. Once program viability has been determined, the program director should initiate the new program proposal
by thoroughly completing the new course/program proposal form; a previously completed form should not
be reused, and a section should not be skipped unless it does not apply to the proposed program. Upon
completion, this form should be submitted to Academic Affairs with supporting documentation attached.
5. The Leadership Team will approve or deny the proposal. If the program is approved to proceed, the
proposal will be sent to the Strategic Impact Team’s (SIT) subcommittee for program requests. The
Program Director is responsible for making sure all parts of the proposal are complete and for answering
any additional questions the committee might offer. The program requests committee will meet to review
the proposal and approve or deny it. The proposing program director should plan to be present at the
meeting to answer questions and elaborate if necessary.
6. If the proposal is approved by the SIT subcommittee, the proposal must be sent to the TCSG Board for
final approval. The Academic Affairs Office will verify that the proposal is complete, enter the information
into the electronic state website, and verify that it meets all requirements for submission. The VPAA will
electronically submit the proposal to the state for TCSG Board approval. A verification email will be sent
to the president automatically from the proposal site. TCSG’s approval process can take 6-10 weeks.
7. If the proposal is approved by TCSG, the Academic Affairs Office will collaborate with OIRE to prepare a
notification letter for SACSCOC. Approval from SACS is required before the DOE will consider the new
program for financial aid eligibility. Once SACS responds to the notification, Academic Affairs will notify
the college’s Financial Aid Office. Please note, responses from SACSCOC and DOE can require 3-6
months.
8. The Academic Affairs office will continue to follow-up on the program’s final approval through TCSG
board meeting minutes, SACSCOC correspondence, and official electronic approval notification.
9. Once the program is fully approved, the program director, division dean, OIRE, registrar, financial aid,
advisement, and admissions will be notified of the new major code. The course/program will be available
for advertising to the general public through the catalog and other publications when final approval is
received for financial aid.
Revised 06/20/2016
