January 1 implementation of changes to article 4 of regent law, associated regent policies and APSs

On June 15, 2017, the Board of Regents approved changes to Article 4-Academic Organization and Program Planning (Previously, Organization of the Academic Units) of Regent Law and the related regent policies. The changes required the development of new APSs and revisions to some existing APSs; therefore, the implementation of the revised regent law and policies was delayed until the APS work could be completed. This work is now finished.

Following a full review process, the President recently approved four new APSs (1038, 1039, 1040, 1041), revisions to three existing APSs (1008, 1019, 1026), and the elimination of one APS (1023). The revised Article 4-Academic Organization and Program Planning, new Regent Policies 4.A-Administration and Governance of Academic Units and 4.B-Academic Planning and Accountability, and all associated changes to APSs were effective on January 1, 2018. This highlights the changes that will most directly affect campus policies and practices. Contact the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (303-860-5623) if you have any questions and please share this information with others on your campus whose work may be affected by these changes.

Restricted, Proprietary, and Classified Research

• Regent Law and Policy no longer requires presidential approval of restricted, proprietary, and classified research and no longer requires a report of such activities to the Board of Regents.
• APS 1023-Restricted, Proprietary and Classified Research was eliminated, thereby eliminating system-level requirements for the approval of restricted, proprietary, and classified research.

Campuses are now responsible for establishing and managing processes related to the review, approval, and reporting of restricted, proprietary, and classified research.

Academic Program Review

• Regent Law and Policy no longer requires the review of academic units. New regent policy (4.B.1-Academic Program Review) requires the review of all degree programs. An annual report to the board is still required.​
• APS 1019-Degree Program Review was amended to reflect the change in regent policy and establish new requirements for reports to the board.

Campuses must ensure that review procedures for degree programs align with the requirements of APS 1019-Degree Program Review​. Campuses have full discretion over the review of academic units or other units.

Approval of Academic Units

• Regent Law has always required the approval of academic units, but “academic unit” was not clearly defined and there were no approval procedures in Regent Law and Policy or APS.
• New regent policy defines academic units as schools, colleges, and departments that roster tenured and/or tenure track faculty and offer at least one degree program and only requires regent approval of units that meet that definition.
• This revised definition means that Regent Law and Policy no longer requires presidential approval of centers, bureaus, and laboratories or board approval of institutes (which were previously called out in Regent Law).
• APS 1041-Approval of Academic Units was created to outline procedures for the approval of academic units.
• APS 1008-Procedures for the Establishment of Institutes was amended to eliminate references to centers, bureaus, and laboratories, but retains procedures relating to the approval of institutes. The procedures for the approval of institutes were revised.

Campuses are responsible for following procedures established in APS 1041-Approval of Academic Units​ for the approval of academic units, establishing and managing processes for the approval of research units other than institutes, and following the revised procedures for the approval of institutes.

New Degree Program Approval

• Detailed procedures for the approval of new degree programs were removed from Regent Policy and moved to APS 1038-New Degree Program Approval. Proposal requirements were modified with this move.

New degree proposals submitted after January 1, 2018, should follow the guidelines established in APS 1038-New Degree Program Approval.

Certificate Approval

• New regent policy (4.B.3-Proposals for Academic Units, Degree Programs, and Other Credentials) addresses board approval of credentials other than degrees.
• New APS 1040-Gainful Employment Certificate Approval for Inclusion in the CCHE Higher Education Funding Formula requires board of approval of gainful employment certificate programs if the campus opts to report completions to Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) for inclusion in the higher education funding formula. Only gainful employment certificates are eligible for inclusion. Reporting completions to CDHE (and therefore Board approval) is optional.

Degree Revocation

• New regent policy (4.B.6-Degree Revocation) requires board approval of degree revocation.
• APS 1039-Degree Revocation establishes cause for degree revocation and procedures for board approval.

Academic Unit and Degree Program Name Changes

• New regent policy (4.B.3-Proposals for Academic Units, Degree Programs, and Other Credentials) states that the Board of Regents will be notified of name changes to academic units or degree programs, but board approval is not required.

Accreditation

• New regent policy (4.B.2-Notification of Accreditation Status Change) requires board notification of any change in the status of institutional accreditation or a change to the accreditation status of a degree program, department, or other unit that results in probation or loss of accreditation.