New Program Review Committee

Terms of Reference

New Program Review Committee Terms of Reference

Purpose of the Committee  

Provide the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) oversight and governance of new degree program proposals to ensure they have satisfied quality assurance criteria set by Campus Alberta Quality Council and the University of Lethbridge.

Responsibilities 

The members of the New Program Review Committee are responsible for: 

  1. On a case-by-case, as-needed basis as initiated by the Faculties/Schools, review and approve the proposed independent academic experts identified by the Faculty/School representatives for new degree program proposals prior to their engaging them to conduct the external review to ensure they meet independent academic expert criteria as set out by the University of Lethbridge, in alignment with CAQC guidelines. 
  2. On a case-by-case, as-needed basis as initiated by the Faculties/Schools, receive and evaluate ministerial proposals from Faculty/School representatives for new degree programs prior to their submission to the Ministry of Advanced Education, confirming that the Campus Alberta Quality Council’s criteria (below) for ensuring degree program quality standards have been demonstrated as having been met within the proposal documentation. 

CAQC Criteria for Delegated New Program Approval Status (as of July 2021): 

  1. The institution has fully developed and reliable quality assurance policies and procedures, as recognized in a record of successful new program proposals and in successful institutional audits. 
  2. The program has been developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including faculty, students, applicable accreditation and professional bodies, and appropriate communities of interest. 
  3. The institution agrees to use the CAQC Review (Part B) template as the standard format for presenting evidence to support assessment of the quality of proposed programs across the Campus Alberta system. 
  4. The institution’s policies and practices require independent external expert reviews of program proposals, including an overall positive recommendation on the proposal, with specific attention paid to program learning outcomes and curriculum, academic staffing and resources, degree requirements including admission standards, student support, and other relevant conditions. 
  5. The recommendations of the external review have been accepted or satisfactorily addressed. 
  6. The program proposal has been approved according to institutional governance processes. 
  7. The institution agrees to retain all documentation as agreed to with the institution and to make it available to CAQC for audit on request. 
  8. The provost/academic vice-president attests that the above conditions have been fulfilled. 
  9. The institution agrees that, if substantial weaknesses in its processes are disclosed in an audit, this status may be suspended for a period of time or revoked 
  10. With respect to all matters cited in 1), where proposals are deemed not to have satisfied the criteria established by CAQC, communicate with and make recommendations for revision to the Faculty and School representatives. 
  11. With respect to all matters cited in 1), where proposals are deemed to have satisfied the criteria established by CAQC, recommend to the Provost that the new degree program proposal be submitted to the Ministry of Advanced Education for review and approval for implementation. 
  12. Retain documentation submitted for and created in the execution of new degree program proposal reviews for future internal or external audits of new program proposal review and/or quality assurance processes. 
  13. Annually and as needed in response to future CAQC updates and potential legislative changes, review terms of reference and responsibilities and report their findings to the Provost. 

If required, the Chair of the New Program Review Committee shall ensure coordination of matters between the Admissions Standards Committee, the Curriculum Coordinating Committee, General Faculties Council, Budget Advisory Committee and Finance Committee. 

Members 

  • Provost (or Designate) (Committee Chair) 
  • GFC Academic Quality Assurance Chair 
  • Associate Vice-President Finance (or Designate) 
  • Three (3) Faculty Members from three (3) Different Faculties/Schools/Library, appointed by General Faculties Council (any Academic Staff) 
  • One (1) Undergraduate Student (or Alternate), appointed annually by the University of Lethbridge Students’ Union 
  • One (1) Graduate Student (or Alternate), appointed annually by the Graduate Students’ Association 
  • Coordinator, Academic Programming (Resource member, non-voting) 

Committee Membership = 1 Chair and 7 Voting Members 

Quorum= 4 Voting Members (Summer Quorum = 3 Voting Members) 

Term Length 

Committee members appointed by the General Faculties Council serve for two (2) year terms.