Approvals of New, Revised, and Eliminated Programs

Proposals to establish, revise, or eliminate undergraduate or graduate curricula require Senate approval and may require additional levels of review.

Proposals should be prepared in Senate format and submitted to the appropriate college(s) for review. All academic program proposals are submitted through the CIM Programs system (CIM P).

Temporary Suspension of Admission and Change to Non-Direct Admission requests go through CIM Programs, as a Revision. Once the relevant form is completed, attach it to the Program of Study field.

Helpful CIM P Revision instructions are below.

Find your program in CIM P and click the Edit the Program
Fill in appropriate responses in all red-boxed fields on the CIM P form for a CIM P revision. Some key text to insert in certain fields is provided below.
Proposal Title – Temporary Suspension of Admission (or input Non-Direct Admission if applicable) to the [insert degree name] in [insert program name] in the College of XXXX (Example: Temporary Suspension of Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training in the College of Applied Health Sciences)
Program Justification
“Provide a brief description of what changes are being made to the program” – We are requesting a [temporary suspension of admissions OR non-direct admission] to this program.
“Why are these changes necessary” – Discuss what has led to the [temporary suspension of admissions OR non-direct admission] and the timeline. If it is a current practice, describe how long it has been going on. If temporary suspension of admissions, describe the length of time requested for the suspension and why that length of time is appropriate.
Attach the appropriate Temporary Suspension or Non-Direct Admission Form in the Program of Study
A few questions are not red-boxed but are important for the suspension of admissions in the Admission Requirements section.
Desired Effective Admissions Term – select when you want the suspension to be effective. (This would also be the term you enter in Effective Catalog Term box under Proposal Title.)
Is this revision a change to the admission status of the program? – Mark ‘Yes’ and describe that this is a temporary suspension or non-direct admission.
After you have reviewed and are ready to move the program through the approval process, click on the Start Workflow button at the bottom.

Once revisions are reported to both the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (EPC) and Senate, either the Temporary Suspension of Admission or Change to Non-Direct Admission requests are fully approved.

CIM P ensures all proposals are reviewed for conformity to Senate guidelines and budgetary implications before forwarding them to the EPC for review. The EPC may recommend that the proposal be returned to the sponsor for revision; if so, the proposal will be rolled back to the sponsor in the system.

Upon approval by EPC, the proposal is submitted through CIM P to the Senate for review and consideration. If the Senate approves it, the proposal is sent on to the University Senates Conference for classification as a Type I (affecting this campus only) or Type II (affecting other University of Illinois campuses) item. Type II items must be reviewed and approved by the other affected University of Illinois campuses.

Depending on the nature of the proposal, it may also require notification to or approval of the Board of Trustees and/or the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE).

Once a proposal has been reviewed and approved at all the necessary levels of governance, CIM P auto-generates a formal approval and implementation notice on behalf of the Office of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost, who will issue a formal approval and implementation letter. Please note that the proposed changes are not effective until the approval and implementation notice has been issued. The effective term will be the term subsequent to the approval date (e.g., an implementation notice received in October would have an earliest effective term of Spring unless otherwise indicated by the sponsor.

The Program Approval Process Flowchart is available as a guide for the entire process of review and approval at the university, Board of Trustees, and IBHE levels. Note that not all proposals require all levels of approval indicated on this chart. Units are strongly encouraged to consult with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost early in the process of preparing proposals to determine the level of approval that will be required.

Questions about using the CIM P system should be directed to the Office of the Registrar. Questions about academic program policies should be directed to Brooke Newell in the Office of the Provost.

Updated 02.28.2023