Process for Off-Campus Graduate Degree Program Proposals

An off-campus graduate degree program is any graduate program in which more than one-half of the graduate hours required for completion are offered through Urbana-Champaign off-campus or online courses administered through the Office of Continuing Education. Units intending to offer an off-campus graduate degree program in a new geographic location or online through distance education should complete each section of this program proposal. Once completed, the proposal is to be reviewed and approved by the unit's department, school, and college, the Office of Continuing Education, the Graduate College, and the Illinois Board of Higher Education before the program may be initiated. All proposals will be reviewed by the Graduate College Committee on Extended Education and External Degrees (CEEED). In the case of international programs, the Office of International Programs and Studies must also approve the program.

Assistance in completing the proposal should be sought through the head of the campus Division of Academic Outreach (333-3061; inforequest@talon.outreach.uiuc.edu, 901 West University Avenue, MC-260) early in the development process. The Graduate College "Policy for the Development of Off-Campus Graduate Degree Programs" should also be consulted.

While responding to the Items to be Addressed in the Policy for the Development of Off-Campus Graduate Degree Programs, be sure to also address the following points.

1. Program Identification
   1. Department
   2. Program title
   3. Degree offered (major and level)
   4. Geographic location or delivery format
   5. What is the proposed starting date? Programs may not begin enrolling students until after final approval has been granted. All program materials, regardless of the media used, must include “pending final approval” until that time.
2. Program Purpose
   1. What are the program's objectives and what educational need(s) will the program address? In most cases, the degree program objective is to train graduate students for improved professional practice. However, if the program is to be offered outside Illinois, a strong rationale is particularly important.
3. Program Need
   
   1. How were these needs assessed?
   2. Describe the clientele to be served by the program. Include such characteristics as expected age of enrollees, special academic or vocational experiences, and other appropriate descriptive information.
   3. How many degree candidates are expected to enroll in the program? On what basis is this projection made?
   4. Are there similar programs offered in the same geographic location by other Urbana-Champaign units, other University of Illinois campuses, or other postsecondary institutions? If so, please identify these programs.
   5. If similar programs are offered, why is the proposed program needed? (Highlight clientele or manpower needs currently not being met.)
4. Faculty
   1. How will the academic unit provide orientation to the program to all faculty? Faculty members who are involved in advising or instruction in an off-campus/online degree or certificate program must be oriented to the design and purpose of the program, characteristics of the students, and the unique circumstances of the off-campus teaching/learning setting.
      
      1. Who will be teaching the courses for this program? Anticipated instructors (name and academic rank)and the name(s) of back-up instructors if possible should be listed with each course made available through the program. Please provide a rationale for any planned use of adjunct faculty members, the extent of use, the criteria and process of selection, how they will be evaluated, and attach a copy of their vitae if they have been identified.
      2. Will the courses be taught on an overload or on-load basis?
5. Student Admission
   1. State the criteria for admission to the program. However, this should not necessarily mean that the admission criteria used in all programs offered by a unit must be the same. For the older adult student, those qualities that suggest promise for academic excellence may not be evident in such measures as undergraduate transcripts, standardized aptitude and achievement tests, and estimated quality of the undergraduate institution. For these students, the intervening years since graduation may have meant a considerable increase in knowledge, motivation, maturity, the development of specific career goals, commitment to a profession, and even a distinguished record in that profession. To the extent that these and other factors appear related to successful graduate study, they should be included among the admission information. Often these factors can be measured through reference letters, interviews, or evaluation of job experience and professional writing.
6. Curriculum
   1. State the requirements for the degree.
   2. If the program's curriculum content or instruction be adjusted to meet any special needs of the clientele, please describe.
   3. Include a list of courses that may be offered off-campus as part of the program.
   4. Are there any special accreditation issues related to the proposed program and, if so, how have they been addressed?
   5. Please provide the following information concerning each of the courses to be offered in the proposed off campus location as part of the degree program:
      • Name of academic unit
      • Course number and title
      • Semester to be offered
      • Hours of credit
      • Required or elective
   6. Course Variation: The quality of an off-campus/online degree program cannot be assured by simply teaching the same courses, with the same content, in the same way as on-campus. The design and content of the off-campus program curriculum should certainly be consistent with the academic standards and requirements of the academic unit, but it should also reflect the unique background, culture, and educational needs of the students whom it serves. Nontraditional students often possess far greater professional experience than their traditional counterparts. They are also likely to be more independent more goal-oriented, and consequently have a much different set of expectations related to their degree program.
   7. Mode of Delivery: The Graduate College encourages academic units engaged in off-campus/online graduate education to experiment with different methods and combination of methods of instructional delivery. In addition to the traditional once-a-week-for-fourteen-weeks classroom format, academic units should consider the use of such instructional modes as correspondence study (Guided Individual Study), concentrated periods of study on or off-campus (e.g. Summer Session, Weekend), and available communication and instructional technologies alone or in various combinations. There is no good evidence, to our knowledge, that one instructional mode is more successful in all situations than all the others or that inventive mixtures are not more effective than the use of a single mode. The opportunities for instructional innovation in presenting graduate programs to mature adult students are great, and should be limited only by academic integrity and by the limits of imagination.
   8. What are the minimum and optimum times for degree completion for off-campus students? How long is the degree expected to be offered in this location?
7. Advising
   1. How will academic advising be accomplished? What procedures have been established to insure complete, accurate and timely two-way communication between off-campus/online students and the academic unit, particularly on matters of course scheduling, degree requirements, campus academic policy, etc.?
   2. How will academic control be insured? Who will be assigned to coordinate the program? How will student progress be monitored and what form of record-keeping will be maintained? In the case of out-of-state site-based programs, what on-site coordination will be available?
   3. Academic advising for off-campus students can be facilitated through such things as the Extramural Program's Division's toll-free line, email, computer conferencing, and the scheduling of special advisement days in off-campus locations. No matter what the method, academic advisement must be established and maintained as in integral part of the off-campus graduate program.
8. Academic Support
   1. How will the program be delivered?
   2. How will technology needed to deliver the program be made available to the students?
   3. For site-based courses, describe the physical facilities available at the proposed location and the adequacy for meeting program objectives.
9. Program Administration
   1. How will the academic unit insure that students are accurately informed about the purpose, objectives, admission requirements, program requirements, cost, academic and financial policies, timelines, and the services to be provided or not provided prior to enrollment?
   2. Are other academic units involved in supporting the program? If so, please include written commitment of their support.
   3. If the program is offered out-of-state, will all necessary approvals be obtained before offering the program?
   4. If the program is discontinued, how will obligations to students be met?
   5. Describe the sources of budgetary support for the program. Are necessary funds available to support the program? Is funding consistent with state guidelines? 
10. Program Evaluation
    1. Describe how the quality of the program will be monitored and evaluated.
    2. Describe how the continuing need for the program will be periodically evaluated.
    3. Describe how faculty will be evaluated.

Approval Signatures Required:

Policies and Procedures