Academic Program Development, Review, and Planning

Phase 1 includes a consultation to determine the value and purpose of the modifications and what they are intended to do for students.

Program modifications should be discussed at the School or Department level. Modifications that require submission to the MPHEC should be endorsed by the Dean/Provost, and when applicable, the Associate Vice President of Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies.

Units that may be impacted by the program modifications should be notified. These may include the following:

• Financial Services and Student Accounts (budget/fees)
• Technology Services
• Admissions
• Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies
• Library
• Co-operative Education
• Learning Technologies and Instructional Design (LTID)
• Registrar’s Office
• Recruitment
• Communications and Marketing

When the program modification and information requirements are ready to be documented for internal and external approval, the required forms should be completed. Please refer to Phase 3 for internal forms and Phase 4 for external forms.

Faculty Council

Program modifications must be presented at a meeting of Faculty Council prior to being presented to the Senate Curriculum Committee (Administrative).

Generally, the Senate Curriculum Committee Form 4: Proposed modification to a program (link below) is used for the presentation.

You should consult with your Dean's Office regarding Faculty Council meeting dates.

Senate Curriculum Committee (Administrative) and Senate

All proposed changes to curricula and new program proposals must be approved by the Acadia University Senate before they can be implemented.

Form 4: Proposed modification to a program

If the modification requires a submission to the MPHEC, please use the following form and tables:

Program Modification and Required Tables for Modified Programs

Undergraduate:
The deadline for undergraduate curriculum submissions is the last week of November. The Senate Curriculum Committee meets in December to review submissions and make recommendations, and reports to Senate in January or February. The Senate Curriculum Committee may meet at other times for time-sensitive items.

Graduate:
Submissions are reviewed on an as-need basis, but only after the Faculty Council meeting has taken place and the changes have been approved.

Senate Meeting Dates

The Acadia University Senate meets monthly from September to June.

The MPHEC acknowledges that universities have as a fundamental objective the continuous improvement of programs through renewal, change, and innovation. It is expected that modifications will be made to existing programs as they evolve and that universities will internally monitor this evolution. Universities may modify programs for a range of reasons, including to implement the recommendations of a cyclical program review, reflect the ongoing evolution of a discipline, facilitate improvements in teaching and learning strategies, and/or respond to the changing needs of students, faculty, or industry.

Minor modifications are changes that do not rise to the level of a major modification and do not require submission of a proposal for modification. Examples of minor modifications include the following:

• changes to individual course titles and/or codes;
• the addition or deletion of a single course within a program of study, provided the deletion does not impact students’ ability to achieve the student learning outcomes;
• changes to the weighting of courses;
• the creation or termination of a minor within a four-year degree.

However, a proposal for a program modification is required when the accumulation of small changes over time results in a program that is significantly different from the program as it was approved through the most recent MPHEC assessment, or, if the program has not been assessed by the MPHEC in the last ten years, from the program as it was assessed through an external review within that same time frame.

Major modifications are changes that have a significant impact on the program, therefore resulting in a program that is significantly different from that approved through the most recent MPHEC assessment or, if the program has not been assessed by the MPHEC in the last ten years, from the program as it was assessed through an external review within that same time frame. In these cases, a proposal for a program modification is required prior to implementation. Through the assessment process, the MPHEC provides external validation that the integrity of the program is sustained while the modifications are implemented, and confirmation that the modified program will continue to meet the Assessment Standards.

A major modification includes changes to any of the following components and requires submission of a proposal:

• significant changes in program content and structure (e.g., changes to courses or credit hours comprising 25% or more of the major; introduction or deletion of research methods, a thesis, or capstone course/project; addition or removal of a co-op option).[1] Where a disciplinary area is offered within a broader degree (e.g., a major within a bachelor’s degree), consideration of whether the change is significant ought to include both the discipline and the degree;
• the introduction or deletion within an existing program of study of a specialization or concentration (or equivalent)[2] that is recognized on the transcript and/or the parchment (e.g., introducing a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Communication where a Bachelor of Arts Major in Communication already exists; adding a specialization in Gender and Sexuality to an existing MA and PhD in English; removing a concentration in sustainability from an existing BEd program);
• a change from in-person delivery to fully online if the program is presented to students or advertised as being fully online or online plus a work-integrated learning experience that may or may not be online.
• a change in the name of the program and/or the credential (e.g., a Certificate in Nursing Leadership changed to Certificate in Healthcare Leadership; a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion changed to a Bachelor of Health Promotion);
• significant changes in admission, promotion, and graduation requirements that might affect students’ preparedness for the program of study or their ability to achieve the learning outcomes (e.g., in prior education, work experience, language proficiency, standards for promotion and level of study, conditions for graduation);
• significant changes in student learning outcomes and/or graduate outcomes[3];
• significant changes in the program’s core complement of faculty and instructional staff who are responsible for its delivery, where change may affect the rotation of courses and supervision of students, the workload for faculty, the ability to offer areas of specialization, and the breadth of exposure to various faculty;
• a change in the partners for collaborative or joint programs.

The above is not an exhaustive list, and other curricular changes could also be considered major modifications.

Universities are encouraged to contact the MPHEC to discuss program modifications. In some cases, the extent of the modification may be so minor that a proposal is not warranted; in other cases, it may be so significant that a proposal should be submitted in accordance with the Information Requirements for New Degree Programs or the Information Requirements for New Diploma and Certificate Programs. The MPHEC reserves the right to determine that a proposed program modification in fact represents the introduction of a new program; in such a case, the university may be asked to submit additional information and/or a revised program proposal.

[1] If the changes to courses or credits hours comprise 25%, a proposal is required. Other changes to program content and structure require submission because of the impact, e.g., removing a thesis to have a non-thesis route in a program.

[2] Typically, a set of related courses that provide focus on a particular sub-area of the discipline.

[3] Student learning outcomes articulate what students will be able to know, do, and value through the program. Graduate outcomes refer to the intended or anticipated employment and educational opportunities students will be eligible to pursue upon graduation from the program.

Please contact the Academic Program Development, Quality Assurance and Planning Coordinator for assistance.

MPHEC Forms
The MPHEC is in the process of implementing a new form for program modifications. Please contact the Academic Program Development, Quality Assurance, and Planning Coordinator to receive the most recent version.

AACHHR Form* (*Health and health-related programs must first receive approval from the Atlantic Advisory Committee on Health Human Resources (AACHHR))
AACHHR Undergraduate and Graduate Health Program Modifications

The final steps to implement the modifications include:

• Addressing any conditions set by external approvers (if applicable)
• Notifying the Admissions Office of any requirement changes (if applicable)
• Updating your departmental website (if applicable)
• Ensuring the The Registrar's Office has
  • updated the Academic Calendar
  • modified the degree audit in Colleague