Other Types of Changes Requiring NYSED Approval

Other types of Changes Requiring NYSED Approval

• Curricular Action Approval Process to Change or Adapt a Currently Registered Program 
• Change in Program Goals, Objectives, Focus and/or Design
• Cumulative (Substantive) Curricular Change
  • Significant change to program outcomes/objectives and accompanying content of the program.
  • The substantive change threshold is reached when cumulative changes since the last NYSED approval are 1/3 or more of the minimum total credits required for the degree type.
  • Per NYSED rules, the substantive change calculation should be based on the minimum number of credits required for the degree type, not the actual number of credits in the individual program. 
  • Adding courses to the required core counts towards the substantive change calculation, even if those courses are currently part of a concentration that a student could choose. If moving the courses eliminates a concentration or changes the name of it, that would also count.
  • Moving a course from the required core to a concentration counts towards the substantive change calculation, because students could choose NOT to take it.
  • When minor changes are made to a course, such as couse number, title, prerequisites, topics, description, etc., the changes do not count towards the program's substantive change. If, however, the course learning outcomes change significantly, it would count towards the program's substantive change calculation.
• Program Options or Concentrations
  • Addition or Deletion of Options and/or Concentrations
• Change in Program Title - if the title change is the ONLY change to a program (if other changes are being requested in addition to the title, please see Curricular Action Approval Process for guidance)
• Elimination of a requirement for completion (i.e., clinical, cooperative education or other work-based experience)
• Change in Program Award (e.g., from B.S. to B.F.A.)
• Change in Mode of Delivery
• Format Change (e.g., from day to evening)
• Discontinuing a Program and Policy E20.0 Policy on the Discontinuance, Reduction or Transfer of Academic Programs
• Accelerated Dual Degree Program (Combining two existing programs into a dual degree)
• Establishing a New Program from concentration/track in an existing program