Deactivate or Discontinue a Degree or Certificate Program

As programs continually review quantitative and qualitative information related to program outcomes and viability, it is sometimes necessary to phase out an academic program. The formal policies that govern this process are:

• RIT Policy D01.6 (Policy on Academic Program Review, Reduction, Discontinuance, or Transfer, Section IV (Academic Program Discontinuance)
• RIT Policy E20.0 (Impact on Faculty Due to the Discontinuance or Reduction of Academic Programs)

Prior to bringing a program discontinuance proposal forward, programs occasionally request that the program be deactivated for up to two years. Requests to deactivate existing programs must be approved by July 15 or they will be included in the recruitment cycle for the following academic year.

When a program is formally discontinued, the program is removed from the New York State Education Department’s Inventory of Registered Programs and from the RIT Program Library.

Program deactivation means that incoming enrollment is suspended for a period of time, but the program is NOT removed from either the NYSED Inventory of Registered Programs or from the RIT Program Library. Current students can continue to graduate from the program, but new students cannot enroll. Deactivation should not result in the termination of tenured or tenure-track program faculty.

Normally, programs should not deactivate a program beyond a two year period without either moving to program discontinuance or reduction per RIT Policy D01.6 or proposing substantial program modifications through RIT’s normal Curriculum Development Review and approval processes.

In order to deactivate an academic degree or certificate program, the College Dean must:

• Discuss the intention to deactivate with the program director and the college curriculum committee
• Discuss the intention to deactivate with Enrollment Management in order to explore implications on enrollment, and request a letter of support
• Formally notify the Office of the Vice Provost, using this deactivation template which includes the following information:
  • Program title and award
  • Effective deactivation date
  • Estimated completion date for currently enrolled students, and confirmation that existing students will be able to complete their program of study on time and without hardship
  • Rationale for deactivation
  • Alternative program title and award, if students will be given the option to transfer to another program
  • If applicable, list related dual degree title(s) and award(s)
  • Rationale which explains why the deactivation is not expected to have an adverse effect on enrollment or student placement
  • Letter of support from Enrollment Management

Program discontinuance means that the program is removed from both the NYSED Inventory of Registered Programs and from the RIT Program Library. Students can no longer graduate from the program. Program discontinuance must be guided by these RIT Policies:

• RIT Policy D01.6 (Policy on Academic Program Review, Reduction, Discontinuance, or Transfer, Section IV (Academic Program Discontinuance)
• RIT Policy E20.0 (Impact on Faculty Due to the Discontinuance or Reduction of Academic Programs)

Prior to bringing a discontinuance proposal forward, the college typically requests that the program be deactivated for up to two years, giving existing students time to complete the program before it is discontinued.

• Complete the steps in the Deactivation Process section above.
• Confirm that RIT Policy E20.0 has been followed, regarding the impact of program discontinuance on faculty.
• Complete one of the following NYSED application forms:
  • General Academic Programs (which do not lead to licensure or certification)
  • Professional Programs (which DO lead to licensure or certification)

• Send the completed NYSED application to the Office of the Vice Provost via email.
• The Office of the Vice Provost will review the application, obtain approval from the Provost, and submit the discontinuance request to NYSED. 

Once the deactivation or discontinuance request has been approved, the Office of the Vice Provost will send an official campus notification to the applicable campus departments and the applicable Dean/Associate Dean, and the following actions will occur:

• Deactivation
  • The deactivated program will be removed from RIT’s Application for Admission.
  • The deactivated program’s web page will be moved to the “Deactivated” section of the Programs of Study website and a message will be added to the page indicating that “This program is no longer accepting student applications.”
  • The program will not be published in the RIT bulletin.
• Discontinuance
  • The discontinued program will no longer be published on the RIT Programs of Study website or in the bulletin.