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Final Approval Body: Senate Committee on Academic Development and Procedures
Senior Administrative Position with Responsibility for Procedure: Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning)
Date Initially Approved: 27/11/2025
Date of Last Revision, if applicable: n/a
 

Purpose

This procedure provides details on the initial approval of For-Credit Undergraduate Certificates and Undergraduate Diplomas. It supports the Policy on Certificates and Diplomas. 

Procedure

Step 1 – Development of Program Concept
Responsible officer/unit – Academic Unit, working with Faculty Dean’s office. 

The academic unit will consider the following questions:

• What is the evidence of student demand for the proposed program?
• What is the labour market demand for the knowledge and skills that program graduates would have?
• Are there sufficient qualified faculty to teach the program, given their other responsibilities?
• Is similar content taught elsewhere at Queen’s? 

Step 2 – Pre-Approval of Program
Responsible officer/unit – Academic Unit. 

• Academic Unit obtains pre-approval template from Provost’s Office at quqap@queensu.ca 
• Academic Unit completes pre-approval template.
• Provost’s Office convenes a meeting involving the people who must provide pre-approval for further development of the new program proposal. These are:
  • Department Head
  • Faculty Dean
  • Registrar
  • Executive Director, Budget and Resource Planning
  • Associate Vice-Principal, Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Associate Vice-Principal, Indigenous Initiatives
  • Assistant Dean, Student Affairs
  • Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning).

Units will be required to submit the completed pre-approval template two weeks prior to the meeting so that it can be circulated in advance. At the meeting, the unit will present its proposal concept and respond to questions. Attendees will review the concept against the following review criteria, provided to units in advance:

After the conclusion of the meeting, the VPTL will determine whether the proposal receives pre-approval, informed by input from all attendees. 

If it is not approved, the VPTL office will inform the academic unit of the revisions that need to be made for resubmission, as well as whether another meeting will be required or whether the resubmission can go directly to the VPTL.

If the proposal receives pre-approval, the VPTL office will inform the academic unit of the pre-approval and will then provide the unit with guidance and templates for the full proposal approval stage, including any feedback that needs to be addressed. 

Step 3 – Program Development
Responsible officer/unit – Academic Unit, working with Faculty Dean’s office.

• Provost’s office provides academic unit with proposal submission template. 
• Academic unit completes the proposal, consulting with the Centre for Teaching and Learning on curriculum design, and other central services as necessary.

Step 4 – Program Approval
Responsible officer/unit – Academic Unit, Provost’s Office, Governance Bodies

• The academic unit is responsible for soliciting and obtaining letters of support, which will function as formal approvals, from the Department/Unit Head, Faculty Dean, the Registrar’s Office, Planning and Budgeting, Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment, ITS, the Library, the AVP, Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion, the AVP, Indigenous Initiatives, and Student Affairs. 
• Academic unit seeks approval from Faculty Board.
• Once these approvals are secured, the academic unit submits the proposal to the provost’s office for review and approval by the Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning).
• Provost’s office submits the proposal to the Senate Committee on Academic Development and Procedures for review and approval.
• If recommended for approval, provost’s office submits proposal to Senate for approval.

Approval of Undergraduate Certificates and Undergraduate Diplomas will be granted on a time-limited basis. The maximum period for which a Certificate or Undergraduate Diploma will be approved is 5 years from the first enrolment of students. See Policy for further details.

Step 5 – Funding Approval (not sought in all cases). 
Responsible officer/unit – Academic Unit, Provost’s Office, Principal

If the program is seeking to share in Ministry funding and be OSAP-eligible for students, approval must be sought from the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security (MCURES).

• Provost’s office shares the questions from the Ministry funding application with the Academic Unit. Academic Unit answers these questions. 
• Provost’s office seeks Principal’s attestation to accompany the application. 
• Provost’s office submits the application and notifies the academic unit of the outcome.

N.B.: The program can commence before MCURES funding approval is received, if the Faculty/School offering the program assumes the financial risk of offering the program before eligibility for Ministry funding is confirmed.

Related Policies, Procedures, Guidelines: 
Policy on Certificates and Diplomas
Review Procedure for Certificates and Diplomas
Queen’s University Quality Assurance Processes (QUQAP)
Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Evaluation Criteria for new program funding approval (available via the Provost’s Office).

Procedures Superseded by this Procedure: None.
Responsible Officer: Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning)
Contact: vptl@queensu.ca
Date for Next Review: 2030-2031 academic year