Guidance on how to initiate changes to academic programs or units, such as creating, updating, or ending degree programs, minors, certificates, subprograms, etc.
First Steps
Creating a new degree program
If your department or college is considering creating a new degree program, please complete the Pre-Proposal Form to receive preliminary guidance from the Office of the Provost, including necessary approval steps and an overview of the timeline and deadlines. The Pre-Proposal Form should be completed in the early idea stage of a new degree program and can be submitted by the department. After the Pre-Proposal Form is submitted, the Office of the Provost will provide guidance on when the Academic Request Intake Form (outlined below) should be completed for the proposed program.
All other program actions
- Submit to Program College:
- Submit your proposal to your program college academic affairs staff.
- For graduate and professional-level programs, you will also need to work with the Graduate College/Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Education.
- Work with the Office of the Provost:
- Once your college has been notified, the next step is for the college to complete the Office of the Provost Academic Request Intake Form.
- Once the intake form has been received, the Office of the Provost will reach out to begin the next steps of the process.
If you are considering creating, closing, or making updates to a department, center, or institute, please contact prov-program-request@uiowa.edu.
Timeline for Approval
The time required to complete the approval process will vary based on the nature of the proposal. For an overview of the approval process for creating a new degree program, please complete the Pre-Proposal Form outlined above. For inquiries about the approval process for other academic program actions, please email prov-program-request@uiowa.edu.
Be aware of General Catalog deadlines, as the approval process must be completed before these dates for the changes to appear in the catalog.
Best Practices
When considering changes to academic programs or units, it is important to:
- Plan ahead, as proposals can take several months or more to go through the appropriate approval channels.
- Schedule new programs or changes to an existing program to start in a summer or fall session.
- Note: Academic units should not announce changes, including updates to websites, admissions applications, and other communications until the Office of the Registrar communicates that the approved changes have been made in MAUI.