Stage Three: Internal Approval

Once the program curriculum is completed, it must be approved at Academic Council (AC).

The Dean/Associate Dean submits the curriculum via the Curriculum Information Management system (CIM) to the Office of Academic Quality (OAQ) at least two weeks in advance of the scheduled AC meeting.

This gives the OAQ time to review the documents to ensure they meet Ministry and curriculum system requirements. If anything needs clarification, the curriculum may be sent back to the academic area for revision. It can then be resubmitted, and will be sent via the CIM workflow to the members of AC no later than one week prior to the meeting.

Glossary
PEQAB
Research Ethics Board

Internal Approval Process

The final internal approval process is as follows:

  1. AC approves proposed program curriculum – must occur by December
  2. Any outstanding information regarding the new program proposal is completed (including the Statement of Interest, final, updated research as required, approved program curriculum, final Program Costing)
  3. Academic Leadership Team (ALT) approves the new program proposal
  4. Vice President, Corporate Services and Innovation approves final Program Costing
  5. Senior Leadership Team (SLT) approves the new program proposal
  6. Board of Governors approves the final proposal –  must occur by February at the latest

This series of approvals can take one month or more, due to the schedule of meeting dates. Programs must be approved by AC by December at the latest.

Once the Board of Governors has approved the program, it is ready for external approval. These internal approval documents plus more complete curriculum and course development, are included in the application to Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) and the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB) submission, which are described in more detail in the next section.

Continue to Stage Four: External Approval