Academic Approvals & Notifications
Submission Portal
All requests should be submitted to the Academic Proposals Smartsheet portal. This portal requires Provost permission to access. Prior to August 12, 2024, academic requests were submitted via a SharePoint portal. The portal is accessible via Smartsheet for any institution needing to access historic requests.
New Programs
The creation of new degrees/majors is a Board approval item while the create of new certificates is an administrative approval item. Note that once a program is approved, it will be given an “Authorized, Not Yet Active” status to allow time for the institution to set up a program webpage, obtain necessary resources, and update campus systems to allow for new students. Once an institution is ready to begin admitting students, a “New Authorized Program Activation” request must be submitted via Smartsheet to make a program active.
There are many factor that should be considered in developing new programs. More information, including required forms, is available at the following sites:
New Program Proposal Forms and Resources
Log of Recent New Programs Approved or Pending Review (includes timeline)
Program Modifications
Program modifications may fall under any category of board approval, administrative approval, or notification, depending on how substantive the request is. More information on the types of modifications and whether approval or notification is required is available at the following site:
Types of Changes/Program Modifications
Deactivation/Termination of Programs
Program Deactivation is an administrative approval item, while program termination is a Board approval item. More information about these processes is available at the following site:
Program Deactivation and Termination Process
Additional Program Requirements
Credit Hours and Degree Waivers
Please review the Program Length guidelines and Section 2.3.5 Exceptions to Program Length Requirements of the Academic and Student Affairs Handbook.
Degree Waivers Approved by the Board
Comprehensive Program Reviews
Institutions are required to complete Comprehensive Program Reviews for all degree programs in accordance with Academic and Student Affairs Handbook Section 2.3.6. Institutions are encourage to develop their own review tool, but may find the following example helpful: Comprehensive Program Review Example Tool (Word)
Council on General Education Items
Institutions are required to seek approval through the Council on General Education for:
- Adding courses to their Core IMPACTS curriculum, including if it is a common or templated course used at other institutions and/or through eCore.
- Modifying any of the following items regarding a course: prefix/number, course title, credit/lecture/laboratory hours, course description, prerequisites/corequisites, course learning outcomes.
Institutions are required to notify the Council on General Education for:
- Removing courses from their Core IMPACTS curriculum
- Modifying the structure/requirements of their Core IMPACTS curriculum, including credit hour requirements and institution-specific learning outcomes
More information on the submission process for each of the above is available on the Council on General Education website.
Other Administrative Approval Items
Institutions looking to update the list of STEM courses approved for a .5 point boost in GPA calculations through HB 801 may submit requests once per year to the system office for consideration of an HB801 state committee approval through Smartsheet.
CAO Advisory Groups or Teams (CAGs/CATs) are required to seek system office approval to update field of study guidelines (e.g., learning outcomes or course requirements) through this form.
Institutions are not required to submit system-level notification or request system-level approval for courses in a Field of Study, as long as the course requirements align with the system-approved Field of Study Guidelines.
For questions regarding general education, please contact Dr. Melanie Largin, Assistant Vice Chancellor for General Education and Student Pathways, at 404-962-3059 or melanie.largin@usg.edu.
Institutional Mission Statements
Modifying an institution's Mission Statement and reaffirming an institution's Mission Statement are board approval items.
The request must be submitted via Smartsheet.
For more information, please review BOR Policy 2.8 Institutional Missions.
Establishing Off-Campus Instructional Sites (including but not limited to External Sites)
Establishing Off-Campus Instructional Sites may fall under any category of board approval, administrative approval, or notification, depending on whether and how much of an academic program is taught at that location as well as the financial arrangements for the site. For more information in how these sites are classified, how to request approval/notification, and how they should be reported, please review the Off-Campus Instructional Site webpage.
Institutional Agreements
Cooperative Academic Arrangements (e.g., Collaborative Programs), Joint/Dual degree programs, and Articulation Agreements with TCSG institutions are all forms of institutional agreements. Establishing, modifying, or dissolving these agreements are notification items.
Institutional Agreements are considered Program Modifications (See the “Notification Items” section of this page)
Log of Program Modifications involving Institutional Agreements Approved or Pending Review (includes timeline) - Cooperative academic arrangements, articulation agreements, joint/dual degrees
Public Listing of all Active Articulation Agreements (updated automatically within 24 hours of new articulation agreements being submitted through Smartsheet).
Establishing an endowed faculty position, appointing a faculty to an endowed position, and (re-)appointing faculty to Regents' positions are all Board approval items.
Establishing a termed faculty position is an administrative approval item. Note that “termed faculty positions” refer to those positions that are not funded by an endowment, but rather a multiyear funding agreement.
Log of Recent Faculty Requests Approved or Pending Review (includes timeline)
A table comparing the lengths of faculty positions is provided below.
| Lifetime of the position | Length of Time an individual can be appointed to that position | |
Endowed Positions, Regents' Entrepreneurs | Indefinite | Determined by the institution, it may or may not be subject to term length. |
| Termed Positions | Based on the funding agreement. Minimum 3 years, but not indefinite. | Determined by the institution, it may be for all or part of the lifetime of the position. |
Regents' Professorship, Regents' Researcher, Regents' Innovator | 3 years (renewable) | 3 years (renewable) |
For more information, please review BOR Policy 8.3.2.