GUMC New Program Procedures is a reiterative process when changes require a return to one or both of the committees. The approval of a new program can take 1 to 2 years. If a program has completed Steps 1 through 11 by May, then it can enroll students for the Fall of the same year.
For new accelerated BGE programs, the procedures follow Steps 1 to 5. In addition, approval is needed from relevant school-level executive education committees and the relevant campus CFO(s). View a current list of approved accelerated degree programs.
New Program Procedures
Potential Outcome: The best-case scenario is the program is approved. The worst-case scenario is the program is not approved.
Step 1
Schedule a meeting with the Vice President for Biomedical Education and Research, the Assistant Vice President of Master’s Program Administration & Development, and the Chair of the Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC) and others as needed (e.g., BGE Council Members or Chairs of Department where faculty are involved). This meeting is scheduled as needed. In this meeting, a one-page summary of the proposal should be given. Items to be discussed are: space, market for the new program, financial impact, viability of the program, type of program: online, in-person, joint, etc. (MOU is needed if it is a joint program that outlines the financial and administrative support from both schools/institutions.) After the meeting(s), the decision may be: A) do not proceed; B) further discussion at BGE Council; C) go directly to Step 2.
Step 2
If approved by VP, AVP, and Chair of GAC, then:
- Draft a proposal using the GSAS template and forward to GAC subcommittee,
AND - Set up a meeting with the Associate Dean of Administration and Finance for BGE and the Senior Business Manager of BGE to draft the budget.
Note: Budget preparation comes after academic approval from Step 1.
GAC Review
Steps 3 to 5 can take from 6 to 12 months.
Step 3
Draft proposal with Letters of Support (LOS) (including LOS from EVP with necessary financial and space commitment and LOS from VP or AVP) and financial budget (from STEP 2) for GAC subcommittee review. GAC subcommittee may go back and forth with the new program director(s) to aid the proposal, prior to Step 4.
Step 4
Once the GAC subcommittee has read and approved the proposal and financial statement/budget, then it goes to the entire GAC for discussion and vote. If there is an unresolved disagreement between GAC subcommittee and the new program director(s), then the proposal goes to general GAC for discussion and resolution.
Step 5
The new program director(s) should make a presentation in general GAC and provide the following to all GAC members:
- New Program Proposal (completed)
- Letter of Support from EVP with necessary financial and space commitment
- Letter of Support from Chair of the academic department
- Letter of Support from the respective Dean of one of the educational sectors at GUMC
- Financial Budget (from Step 2)
- Executive Committee of Graduate Studies Review
- For programs that are interdisciplinary, the additional items are needed:
- Letter(s) of Support from the Dean(s) of the School(s) of the core courses that are part of this new program proposal.
- Letter(s) of Support from Chair(s) of Department(s) to agree to faculty support for this new program.
ExCo Review
Steps 6 and 7 can take from 6 to 12 months.
Step 6
If approved by GAC with a majority, then it goes to the Executive Committee of Graduate Studies (ExCo) on Main Campus to form an ExCo subcommittee for review. One reviewer usually comes from the GAC subcommittee and two other reviewers from ExCo.
Step 7
If approved by ExCo subcommittee, then it goes to the full ExCo to be reviewed and approved.
Board Review
Steps 8 and 9 can take from 1 to 4 months.
Step 8
If approved by ExCo, then it goes to the Board to be approved. The Board meets three times a year (February, June, October). The Board does have a subcommittee that can vote on urgent matters via email on a monthly basis.
Step 9
If approved by the Board, then a Board-approved document is written out and the EVP’s office sends it to the Interim Vice President for Biomedical Education and Research and Interim Assistant Vice President of Master’s Program Administration & Development.
D.C. HELC Review
Steps 10 and 11 can take from 2 to 3 months.
Step 10
BGE engages the Office of University Registrar (OUR) to have the office submit the appropriate paperwork for D.C. HELC (D.C. government) approval.
Step 11
Once D.C. HELC approves it, then the program website can be launched and the admissions portal can be created, and thus the new program can begin to enroll students.