Academic Programs: Kuali

Overview

Kuali is the technology solution to which we are migrating for aspects of the academic program review and approval process. Within Kuali, we are building applications, each of which will contain an online form for a specific application type and a workflow through which the online form will travel from the point of creation on campus through to the point of program registration by the New York State Education Department (NYSED).

The first application, available in September 2023, is for the proposal of a new standalone academic program.

This includes non-licensure, licensure-qualifying, and educator preparation programs for all award types (certificate, advanced certificate, and degree) at the undergraduate and graduate level, all within a single application. Within Kuali, there are no longer separate forms for each of these program types.
This includes the program announcement (PA; for undergraduate programs) and letter of intent (LI; for graduate programs) stage of the proposal as well as the full proposal, all within a single application. Within Kuali, for a program that requires the PA/LI stage, this stage will first be completed in a form and then once approved to advance to the full proposal stage, the additional questions for the full proposal will open within the same form that had been submitted for the PA/LI. In other words, rather than the PA/LI being completed on a separate form from the full proposal, within Kuali the PA/LI and full proposal are two stages within one form.
This does not include multi-award (e.g., a registered program that leads to the awarding of both a BA and a MA), multi-institution (i.e., jointly registered), and/or 'new from existing' program proposals or proposals to offer programs at an out-of-state (i.e., international) location. Please continue to use the Word versions of the forms located here and submit completed forms to program.review@suny.edu.
This does not include revisions to existing programs (e.g., revision, title revision, deactivation, discontinuance, or addition of the distance education format to a previously registered program). We are working to build applications for these types of program proposals, but for now please continue to use the Word versions of the forms located here and submit completed forms to program.review@suny.edu.

Resources

Kuali Office Hours

Rebecca Grace (rebecca.grace@suny.edu) and Lisa Montiel (lisa.montiel@suny.edu) will hold Kuali meetings, upon request. Please connect via email at any point for direct assistance.

Program Review Procedures

Degree Authorization: A Degree Authorization (DA) is required if the campus has authority to award the degree level in the HEGIS disciplinary category, but has not previously been granted the authority to award the specific proposed degree. No additional forms are required for a DA, but there are additional approval steps required: the SUNY Board of Trustees must approve transmission of the proposal to NYSED and the New York State Board of Regents must approve the authority for the campus to award the degree. The reviewer in Academic Affairs assigned to the campus will guide the campus through the process.

External Evaluation
1. Requirement: External evaluation, by two external evaluators, as well as the campus response to the external evaluation, is required for the proposal of new degree programs at the baccalaureate level or higher (note: external evaluation is typically not required for a program created through the ‘new from existing’ process, such a creating a new multi-award program from existing standalone programs or disaggregating a track from an existing program to create a standalone program that mirrors the curriculum of the track). External evaluation is also required for Master Plan Amendments and Degree Authorizations, no matter the award level.
2. Preapproval: Campuses will select external evaluators without the need for preapproval from SUNY System Administration, except in instances that require NYSED preapproval (licensure-qualifying and doctoral programs); in these instances, campuses must obtain pre-approval by submitting a rank-ordered list and the CVs of three to five potential reviewers, which will then be transmitted to NYSED for review and preapproval.
3. Submission of External Evaluation with Proposal: For non-licensure baccalaureate programs, campuses will submit to SUNY System Administration an attestation that external evaluation was conducted, but will not submit the external evaluation reports or campus response as part of the full proposal. For licensure-qualifying baccalaureate programs, all master’s and doctoral programs, and proposals requiring a Master Plan Amendment or Degree Authorization, campuses will submit to SUNY System Administration the external evaluation reports and campus response as part of the full proposal.
4. Campuses are reminded to ensure the following:
  1. Remote external evaluation is permissible, except in instances when in-person is necessary due to program-specific expectations related to facilities. For remote evaluations, 1. materials and remote connections with relevant stakeholders must be made readily available to external evaluators and 2. for programs that involve laboratories or other facilities, the campus must be able to provide a way for evaluators to virtually interact with these facilities in a manner that would substantially approximate an in-person visit.
  2. Given SUNY’s commitments to diversity and inclusiveness, which includes the guiding principle that diversity and inclusiveness are integral components of the highest quality academic programs, campuses are expected to engage a diverse set of external evaluators.
  3. All external evaluators are expected to: 1. possess significant expertise in the discipline of the proposed program, 2. have appropriate academic credentials, professional experience, and academic teaching and/or administrative experience in similar programs at peer institutions (typically, outside of the SUNY system), and 3. not have a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest with the institution or program (e.g., current or prior relationship with the institution as a student, employee, or substantially involved party such as a research collaborator).
  4. For licensure-qualifying programs, at least one of the evaluators should be licensed in New York State in the proposed licensure area.
  5. For educator preparation programs, at least one of the evaluators should be from an institution in New York State that offers a registered program in the proposed certification area.
  6. For doctoral programs, both evaluators should be from outside of New York State.

Master Plan Amendment: A Master Plan Amendment (MPA) is required if the campus seeks to expand its academic mission, which includes offering programs in a HEGIS disciplinary category in which the campus has not received previous authorization to do so (e.g., first program in the Health Professions), operating a new branch campus, and/or offering programs at a new degree level (for new degree level, see below for additional information). An MPA requires the completion of the MPA Supplement in addition to the proposal form and this document must be uploaded within the application. An MPA also requires additional approval steps: the SUNY Board of Trustees must approve transmission of the proposal to NYSED, NYSED will conduct a canvass of other potentially impacted campuses in New York State who will have an opportunity to provide comment and request a hearing, the New York State Board of Regents must approve the authority for the campus to expand its mission, and the Governor must also approve the authority for the campus to expand its mission. The reviewer in Academic Affairs reviewer in Academic Affairs assigned to the campus will guide the campus through the process.

New Degree Level: This is a specialized Master Plan Amendment (MPA) required when proposing to offer a degree at a new level (e.g., first doctoral program). In addition to the MPA supplement noted above, the campus must complete the New Degree Level – Self Study and have conducted the New Degree Level – External Evaluation, both of which are to be submitted with the full program proposal.

Program Announcement (PA) / Letter of Intent (LI)
1. A PA is required for a new undergraduate degree program and an LI is required for a new graduate degree program (note: a PA/LI is typically not required for a program created through the ‘new from existing’ process, such as creating a new multi-award program from existing standalone programs or disaggregating a track from an existing program to create a standalone program that mirrors the curriculum of the track).
2. Upon announcement (which is included in the weekly Academic Programs Update typically distributed each Friday to campus Presidents, Provosts, and others who have requested to receive this update), campuses will have 10 calendar days to submit an intent to comment on the PA/LI of another campus; this intent to comment is to be sent from the commenting campus President or Provost to the proposing campus President or Provost with a cc to program.review@suny.edu.
3. If no intent to comment is received within 10 calendar days, the PA/LI is automatically approved and the campus may immediately proceed to the full proposal; in these instances, a formal approval memo will not be issued for the PA/LI.
4. If a campus submits an intent to comment, they must submit the full comment within 30 calendar days of the original announcement date; this comment is to be sent from the commenting campus President or Provost to the proposing campus President or Provost with a cc to program.review@suny.edu.
5. The proposing campus President or Provost must reply within 30 days of receiving the comment, by sending a response to the commenting campus President or Provost with a cc to program.review@suny.edu.
6. It is highly encouraged for campuses to communicate directly with each other prior to sending comments that include an objection and/or as part of the process after an objection has been issued; the goal is for campuses to arrive at a mutual understanding rather than exercise objections; if the campuses are able to arrive at a mutual understanding, the proposing campus may withdraw the PA/LI or the commenting campus may withdraw the objection.
7. If the campuses are unable to arrive at a mutual understanding, SUNY System Administration will adjudicate the situation and render a decision as to whether the proposing campus may proceed; in these instances, SUNY System Administration will issue a formal decision memo.
8. Campuses are reminded of the following:
  1. Comments that include an objection and responses to such comments should be accompanied by data related to the argument presented.
  2. Insufficient grounds for objection include, but are not limited to, the following: unsupported claims, future intent to develop a similar program, historical prominence in the proposed program area, or a singular focus on competition for enrollment.

Using Kuali for Program Review

Permissions: To be able to use the Kuali application, campus users must have the appropriate permission. The campus Chief Academic Officer (CAO) is responsible for identifying two roles: an approver and a submitter.
1. An approver will have the authority in Kuali to approve a proposal to advance to SUNY System Administration on behalf of the campus. By default, the campus CAO should be identified as an approver. In addition, the campus CAO may select a limited set of others with delegated authority to act on their behalf. For most campuses, there may be one additional approver. Some larger campuses, such as the university centers, may have cause to select more than one. This additional approver is similar to the member of the campus in academic affairs who is typically identified as the campus contact on our current proposal forms. Please note, in addition to the initial approval authority, the approver will need to interact with SUNY System Administration and NYSED during the feedback process that occurs while a program is under review.
2. A submitter will have the authority within Kuali to create and submit a proposal, which will then advance to the campus approver for the approver to take action as introduced above.

To initiate request for permissions, contact your campus CAO office or campus Security Administrator. For questions about establishing permissions, contact Rebecca Grace, Lisa Montiel, or David Cantaffa.

Signing Into Kuali: Access to SUNY Kuali's Site is managed through single sign on. A user must be signed into their campus account (or will be prompted to sign into their campus account) in order to gain access to this space in Kuali.
Starting an Application in Kuali
1. To begin a program proposal in Kuali, a campus-identified submitter (who has been granted applicable permission) will complete the required fields in the online form and upload any required documents to the form (please note: only one submitter can start and complete a given form). The submitter will then submit the form within Kuali, which will automatically deliver it to a campus-identified approver selected in the form by the submitter (who has been granted applicable permission).
2. The approver will need to review the form and either send back to the submitter for further development or approve it (there is also an option to deny the form, but selecting this option will withdraw the form from the workflow, so this option should be used judiciously).
3. Once the approver approves the form within Kuali, it will automatically be delivered to Academic Affairs within the Office of the Provost at SUNY System Administration to begin the review and approval process.
Reviewing an Application in Kuali: There are multiple steps that occur during the review process within SUNY Academic Affairs, some of which automatically generate informational emails to the campus submitter and/or approver, and others of which generate notifications that require action by the campus submitter or approver. If action is needed, the notification email will provide information about the action needed as well as a link directly to the form needing action. Please read the emails generated by Kuali, especially those noting action needed, as these emails provide direction about what to do, or not do, within Kuali. If there are any questions about the actions needed, before taking action, contact the Reviewer indicated on the form’s Reviewer page.
Status of an Application in Kuali: Following submission to SUNY Academic Affairs, within Kuali the submitter and approver will have access to detailed information about the status of a proposal at each step of the workflow (all actions are date and time stamped and the status will show which step is currently awaiting action). In the My Documents list, the submitter can see this status for any documents they have submitted. Whereas the approver can see this status only at the time an action step has been assigned to them.

Less detailed, but still useful, information will remain available within the Proposals and Status dashboards of Business Intelligence (BI).

As we introduce Kuali, we are here to assist. For questions about the use of Kuali, please contact Rebecca Grace, Lisa Montiel, or David Cantaffa. For questions about program content and related SUNY policies and NYSED regulations, please continue to work with the reviewer in Academic Affairs assigned to the campus.

HEGIS and CIP Codes

Every academic program is assigned two taxonomy codes, HEGIS and CIP, which are utilized for various purposes, such as reporting and analyzing student enrollment in identified fields and determining financial aid eligibility. Within an application, a campus must propose a code for both HEGIS and CIP and these will be reviewed during the application review process. The basis for code selection is the program curriculum and the program learning outcomes.

HEGIS: The HEGIS code must be approved by both SUNY System Administration and NYSED. There do not exist detailed descriptions of the HEGIS codes; therefore, campuses should propose the best fit based on the titles of the available codes and the code assigned to like programs within the campus and/or at other campuses throughout New York State (HEGIS codes are displayed in NYSED’s public-facing Inventory of Registered Programs and for SUNY programs are also available within the Business Intelligence dashboards). Please note, HEGIS codes are organized into ten (10) disciplinary areas.
CIP: The CIP code must be approved by SUNY System Administration. CIP codes are updated every ten years and the current codes are from 2020; therefore, CIP 2020 codes are to be used rather than an older code used prior to 2020, as there have been some changes. There is a definition provided for each CIP code and campuses should propose the best fit based on the definition provided. Additionally, consideration should be given for the code assigned to like programs within the campus and/or at other SUNY campuses (CIP codes for SUNY programs are available within the Business Intelligence dashboards).

For assistance with HEGIS and CIP codes, work with the campus office of institutional research and/or contact Lisa Montiel.

Templates for Upload into Kuali

The following links are to templates referenced in the online form that a campus may need in order to complete and submit a form. To complete a Word template, download as a Word document, edit as needed, and then save as a PDF for upload into Kuali. To complete a Program Schedule Excel template, download as a Excel workbook, edit as needed, and then save as an Excel file for upload into Kuali.