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Academic Programs Actions

Academic Program Approval Process

Current Academic Program Actions – “How To” Process

was revised in August 2026. Those revisions modified and streamlined the academic program approval process so that only one round of Board approval is now required instead of two. Programs that obtained provisional status under the prior version of this policy may elect to bring forward a full proposal to the Board on an expedited timeline.

New Program Proposals

The following types of programs require Board approval using the academic program action process captured in the flowchart above:

  • Associate degree
  • Bachelor¡¯s degree
  • Master¡¯s degree
  • Doctoral degree
  • Any certificate if it is the sole credential of an academic program or requires substantial resources

Policy Reference
EP 5.201, Approval of New Academic Programs and Review of Provisional Academic Programs
RP 5.201, Instructional Programs – scheduled to go to BOR for revisions in Fall 2026

Process

  • ? Complete Preliminary Proposal according to guidelines established in Appendix A of .
  • ? Proceed through campus governance and approval processes.
  • ? Once your program has obtained campus approval for the Preliminary Proposal, have your Chief Academic Officer (e.g., VCAA) submit the document to the OVPAS at ovpas@hawaii.edu.
  • ? The OVPAS will then review the document, followed by CCAO. The OVPAS will ask the program to present its Preliminary Proposal to CCAO and field questions. OVPAS/CCAO will likely request revisions.
  • ? Following required revisions, Preliminary Proposals endorsed by CCAO are forwarded by the OVPAS to the Â鶹´«Ã½Officers and the President for review and approval.
  • ? The Office of the President reviews the preliminary proposal and (if approved), the Official Program Name and CIP code are assigned by the OVPAS.
  • ? Following approval by the President, the campus develops a full Proposal for Board of Regents¡¯ approval by completing the final steps outlined in Appendix B.
  • ? The full Proposal will be reviewed by OVPAS and CCAO, and feedback will be used to make final revisions prior to submission for approval.
  • ? The President will then review the full Proposal and either (a) approve the proposal, (b) reject it, or (c) reject it with the option to review and resubmit.
  • ? Following approval by the President, the campus prepares the final full Proposal and a Board Action Memo for New Programs for submission, via the OVPAS and using the Board Action Memo template, to the BOR Academic and Student Success Committee (ASSC) and the full BOR.
  • ? All new academic programs must also obtain approval from the institutional accreditor (i.e., WSCUC or ACCJC) prior to implementation.

Policy Reference

EP 5.201 III B

A program which desires to change to a new type of degree (e.g. BA to BS, AS in xx to AS in zz) with minimal change to degree requirements may do so with approval from the President or designee if the program does not require significant resources.

  • ? Submit Degree Change Request proposal to CCAO for endorsement.
  • ? Submit final proposal with a BOR action memo to BOR via the OVPAS.
  • ? After BOR approval, submit ±õ¸é´¡±Ê°¿¡¯²õ ¡°¡± form.
  • ? IRAPO will stop-out the ¡°old¡± degree and create a code for the new degree.
  • ? Campus must submit request to terminate the ¡°old¡± degree code.

Stop-Out

Policy Reference
EP 5.202 ¨C Section III F

Chancellor approves a stop-out, which is implemented when a program is being reevaluated and admission to the program is being halted during the stop-out period, via an action memo.

  • ? Forward a copy of the approved memo to the OVPAS. IRAPO will notify Banner to stop-out the program code and remove the program from admissions applications. Programs will be “reactivated” based on the date provided in the memo.

Program Name Change

Policy Reference
EP 5.201 III E

  • Requests to change the Official Program Name in order to maintain currency in terminology and which involve no significant change in the program are made to the President. Upon approval, such changes are reported to the Board of Regents as an informational item.
  • Official Program Name changes that reflect a significant program change are handled according to the requirements for new program authorizations as outlined in .
  • Any name change must be aligned with the correct Classification of Instructional Property (CIP) code.
  • Process for Program Name Changes Not Requiring Board Approval:
  • ? Submit action memo to President for changes in the functional names of academic programs and credentials where the name change is to remain current and does not involve significant change in the program requirements.
  • ? Submit request to Chancellor for name changes of campus-approved programs.
  • ? Forward a copy of approved action memo to OVPAS.
  • ? Submit ±õ¸é´¡±Ê°¿¡¯²õ ¡°¡± form

Certificates and Minors

Policy Reference

The Vice President for Community Colleges (VPCC) or Vice President for Academic Strategy (VPAS) are authorized to approve the following credentials, if they do not require significant resources. Such proposals must be shared with the Office of the Vice President for Academic Strategy (OVPAS) for a 30-day review period, in consultation with the Council of Chief Academic Officers (CCAO), before approval:

  1. All new stand-alone certificates of competence or academic subject certificates.
  2. A stand-alone certificate where the existing Board-approved associate degree or certificate of achievement is being terminated.

The Chancellor is authorized to approve the following credentials, if they do not require significant resources. Such proposals must be shared with the Office of the Vice President for Academic Strategy (OVPAS) for a 30-day review period, in consultation with the Council of Chief Academic Officers (CCAO), before approval:

  1. New minors, concentrations or certificates consisting of courses within or among existing Board-approved instructional programs.
  2. A stand-alone minor where the existing Board-approved major is being terminated.

UH Program Codes

Sample Program Proposals

Program Proposal
This phase was created as part of the 2026 revisions to EP 5.201. Samples are therefore not yet available.

Preliminary Program Proposal
This phase was created as part of the 2026 revisions to EP 5.201. Samples are therefore not yet available.

The Authorization to Plan (ATP)

The ATP phase was abolished with the 2026 revisions to EP 5.201.

Provisional Program Approval

The Provisional Proposal phase was abolished with the 2026 revisions to EP 5.201.

Provisional to Established Status Approval

Associate in Science in Integrated Industrial Technology
Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering

Quick Links

Academic Program Actions Reports

Contact

avpapp@hawaii.edu

Last modified: August 12, 2026

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