Guide to Developing New Programs

The New Program Development Process consists of the following 6 stages:

Stage 1: Concept Proposal & Scoping

There are a variety of sources for new program ideas. Generally, Program Advisory Committees (PACs), informal environmental scans, and market trends will feed the creation of ideas.  Any new program idea must be approved by the Dean of the program School prior to moving onto any subsequent approval processes.  The idea generator will create a Concept Proposal (CP) that identifies the basic overview of the program.

The CP will ask the idea generator to briefly address the following points:

  1. Program description/program idea – short description of what program is about including potential format (online, hybrid, WIL, EL, etc.)
  2. Labour market description – general descriptions of the employment market demand (feedback from PACs, professional associations, etc.)
  3. Student target audience – to increase the likelihood of the program’s success, it is important to define the unique characteristics of the targeted student audience (high school, university, mature students, EDI, etc.)
  4. Rationale for new program – Why is this program idea worth pursuing?  Institutional fit (strategic alignment)?  Extent of development required?  Demand for program (students, PACs, community partners)?
  5. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) considerations – How will this program support the institution’s stated commitments to EDI? What efforts will be made to attract and welcome students from historically marginalized groups? How will the program’s content demonstrate the principles of EDI?
  6. Estimated target start date

The idea generator populates the template and submits it directly to the Program Dean.  If approved by the Program Dean, the concept proposal will be presented to the Associate Vice President, Academic Operations (AVPAO) and Dean, Academic Quality. The Dean, Academic Quality will then assign a Program Development Lead to lead the program development of the new program concept in Stages 1 through 5.

As part of the scoping of the new program concept, a comprehensive environmental scan and business intelligence executive summary will be conducted by the Library Research Team (LRT) and the Workforce & Labour Market Advisor (WLMA) to inform program development and supplement the information required in the concept briefing note and new program business case.

The environmental scan usually consists of the following:

  • Overview of the profession:
    • common job titles
    • typical employers
  • Labour market:
    • occupational summary
    • regional trends
    • regional breakdown by census division
    • growth opportunities
    • employment potential
    • student demand and market
    • national outlook 10-year projections
    • wage estimates
  • Industry standards:
    • credentials
    • industry trends
    • federal/provincial impact
  • Professional associations
  • Educational competitors:
    • community college/institute information
    • provincial private colleges & other educational opportunities
    • program funding comparator
  • Employment postings:
    • sample postings

Upon completion of the environmental scan and business intelligence executive summary, the Program Development Lead will populate the Board of Governors (BoG) briefing note template with required information and send to the Program Dean.  The Dean will review and then complete writing the briefing note.  This briefing note will then be presented to the Program Implementation Committee for further scoping and consultation.  Next, the new program concept will move to Stage 2: Concept Approval Process.

Stage 2: Concept Approval Process

During Stage 2, the fully scoped program concept will be presented to the following for approval:

  • Associate Vice President, Academic Operations (AVPAO) and Executive Vice President, Academic and Applied Research and Innovation (EVPAARI) using the BoG briefing note template
  • Senior Management Team (SMT) using the BoG briefing note template
  • Board of Governors (BoG) – the program must be approved to proceed by SMT before it is presented to the BoG using the BoG briefing note template (items to be included on the BoG Agenda must be ready 1 month prior to the BoG meeting date)

Upon Board of Governors approval, the new program concept moves to Stage 3: Program Outline & Business Case.

Stage 3: Program Outline & Business Case

During this very busy stage, the following occurs:

    • creation and engagement of an internal New Program Development Team
    • creation and engagement of an external industry Reference Group who must endorse the Program Outline for the business case to proceed to Stage 4
    • consultation with internal committees and groups such as:
      • Program Implementation Committee (consisting of representation of all College service areas)
      • Finance Department (development of program costing forecast summary)
      • Academic Council
      • Other curriculum providers (e.g., School of General Arts and Sciences, Indigenous Perspectives, etc.)
    • completion of a Program Outline that informs the Credential Validation Service (CVS) application to be submitted for validation in Stage 4
    • completion of a Business Case to be presented to the AVPAO, EVPAARI, SMT/President, Board of Governors (BoG) and Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) for approval in Stage 4

New Program Development Team

This team consists of the program Dean, program Academic Chair, Program Development Lead (PDL), Subject Matter Expert(s) and members of the Learning and Design Support Team (LDST).  A kick-off meeting is organized by the program School and PDL where the New Program Development (NPD) Team takes part in an orientation session.  During the kick-off meeting, project deliverables, timelines and specific roles and responsibilities of all team members will be reviewed.  Following the kick-off meeting, regular team status meetings will be scheduled and chaired by the PDL until completion of Stage 3.

Reference Group

The Reference Group consists of external, industry-related professionals that are invited to share their expertise, advice and guidance in new program development.  Creation of a Reference Group provides a rich opportunity to inform the College of industry needs and required relevant expertise.  The Reference Group member role is voluntary and if the new program proceeds to launch, the Reference Group members may be invited to become members of the Program Advisory Committee (PAC) for the new program.  In some cases, an existing College PAC that has relevant industry expertise for the program being proposed may be used to gain advice and support for the new program concept.

To facilitate the development of the program, one or more Reference Group meetings will be scheduled.  These meetings are organized by the PDL in collaboration with the program School and New Program Development Team.  The program Dean is responsible for determining the members of the Reference Group and a formal invitation is sent to these professionals by the PDL on behalf of the Dean.  These meetings are usually chaired by the Dean and facilitated by the PDL.  Formal endorsement of the new program outline must be recorded in the minutes of the Reference Group meeting and formal letters of support from the Reference Group members are required for BoG and MCU approvals.

Program Implementation Committee

The purpose of the Program Implementation Committee (PIC) is to provide guidance and support for the implementation of new programs through collaborative problem solving to ensure College resources align with new programs’ needs.  The members will also be the conduit to their departments to inform them of the new programs’ needs and launch dates.  This standing committee meets 2-4 times per year.

This committee’s membership includes:

    • Dean, GAS/Academic Quality (Chair)
    • Director, Academic Planning and Operations
    • Associate Vice President, Academic Experience
    • Registrar
    • Associate Registrar, Admissions and Partnerships
    • Director, Marketing, Recruitment and Communications
    • Director, International Education
    • Manager, English Programs and International Student Services
    • Indigenous Knowledge Leader
    • Chair, School of General Arts and Science
    • Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis
    • Workforce and Labour Market Advisor
    • Manager, IT Customer Services
    • Business Intelligence Analyst- Academic Division/Pathways Coordinator
    • Manager, Project Fulfillment and Corporate Services
    • Manager, Library and Learning Services
    • Dean/Chair of program being developed (ad Hoc)
    • Program Development Lead (ad Hoc)

In Stage 3 of the New Program Development process, the Program Outline and/or draft Business Case is presented to the PIC by the program Dean/Academic Chair.  The final Business Case will be presented to the PIC by the program Dean/Academic Chair in Stage 5 once MCU approval is received.

Program Outline

The Program Outline describes the curriculum structure of the new program and must support the business case.  The SME(s) develop the Program Outline in consultation with the LDS member and PDL.  Where there is more than one SME, a Lead Subject Matter Expert will be assigned who is the most responsible for the Program Outline development.

The Program Outline must include:

    • Vocational Learning Outcomes (VLOs)
    • Description of the program including purpose
    • Total number of program hours
    • Number and length of semesters
    • Number of courses per semester
    • Course names and descriptions
    • Course mapping to VLOs and Essential Employability Skills (EESs)
    • Course hours
    • Course delivery patterns (lecture, lab, independent learning, placement, co-op, etc.)
    • Experiential and/or Work Integrated Learning (co-op, placement, applied project, applied research)

The LDS member will populate the Credential Validation Service (CVS) application using the program outline and will inform the Dean, Academic Quality and General Arts & Sciences that the application is complete and ready for validation.

Business Case

The Business Case is the responsibility of the program Dean.  The Program Development Lead (PDL) writes the draft Business Case in collaboration with the New Program Development Team.  The program Dean reviews the draft business case and provides final edits.  The Business Case is a comprehensive document that serves three main audiences:

    • College service departments (e.g., Program Implementation Committee)
    • Board of Governors
    • Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

The Business Case includes the following information:

    • Program Description
    • Fleming College Strategic Alignment:
        • Alignment with Fleming College Strategic Plan
        • Alignment with Fleming College Academic Plan
        • Alignment with Fleming College Business Plan
        • Alignment with Other Fleming College Plans
    • MCU Funding Approval Requirements:
        • Alignment with Strategic Mandate Agreement 3 (SMA 3)
        • Student Demand Analysis
        • Labour Market Analysis
        • Competitor Analysis
    • Community Collaboration:
        • External Industry Council, Committee or Groups
        • Reference Group or Program Advisory Committee Members
        • Fleming College Councils and Committees
        • Fleming College Board of Governors
    • Program Implementation:
        • Responsible School
        • Timelines
        • Registration and Admissions
        • Student Success Considerations
        • Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Considerations
        • Program Promotion Strategy
    • Resource Requirements:
        • Staffing
        • Information Technology
        • Equipment
        • Space
        • Experiential and Work Integrated Learning
        • Capital
    • Financial Analysis:
        • Incremental Costing Summary
        • SMA 3 Funding Performance Metrics Alignment
        • Program Funding Assumptions
        • International Student Costing Considerations
        • Financial Risks
        • Countermeasures
    • Quality Assurance
    • Conclusion/Recommendation
    • Supporting Documentation:
        • Validation Documents
        • MCU Program Delivery Information (PDI)
        • Labour Market Information Details
        • Employment Postings
        • Competitor Information Details
        • Letters of Support
        • Incremental Costing Summary Details

Upon completion of the Program Outline and Business Case, the new program moves to Stage 4: Program Approval Process.

Stage 4: Program Approval Process

Stage 4 includes the bulk of the internal and external approval process activity.

At the beginning of Stage 4, the completed Business Case is sent to the program Dean and Dean, Academic Quality and School of General Arts & Sciences for review, and the completed Credential Validation Service (CVS) application is sent to OCQAS for validation.

Next, the program Dean will send the completed Business Case to the Associate Vice President, Academic Operations (AVPAO) and Executive Vice President, Academic and Applied Research and Innovation for any required final edits.  Once these final edits are completed, the Business Case is presented by the program Dean to the Senior Management Team (SMT).  Once approved by SMT/President, the Business Case is added to the BoG Agenda.  The CVS application must be validated prior to the Business Case being presented to the BoG (please note that items to be included on the BoG Agenda must be ready 1 month prior to the BoG meeting date).

The Business Case is then presented to the BoG by the Executive Vice President, Academic and Applied Research and Innovation.  If approved by the BoG, the Program Development Lead completes the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) funding application and sends the Business Case and funding application to the MCU for approval. The BoG must approve the Business Case before the MCU funding application can be submitted. Funding approval by MCU must be received before the program can be advertised by the College.

Upon MCU funding approval, the new program moves to Stage 5: Operational Implementation and Stage 6: Program Launch.

Stage 5: Operational Implementation

Operational implementation begins when the program is approved for MCU funding at the end of Stage 4: Program Approval Process.  This stage will occur simultaneously with Stage 6: Program Launch.

This is the last stage that is led by the Program Development Lead in the New Program Development process. Stage 6 will be led by the Learning and Design Support Team.

The Dean, Academic Quality and General Arts & Sciences informs the Associate Vice President, Academic Operations and Program Dean/Chair when approval is received. The Dean, Academic Quality and General Arts & Sciences also informs members of the Program Implementation Committee and other college departments.  The new program is loaded into OCAS by the Registrar’s Office, into Evolve by Academic Operations, and the Marketing Department may now start to promote the program. Lastly, the final Business Case is presented by the Program Dean/Academic Chair to the Program Implementation Committee.

The program will now be ready to receive applicants.

Stage 6: Program Launch

Stage 6 is where course level curriculum development will begin in full.  Stage 6 occurs simultaneously with Stage 5: Program Implementation and begins when the program is approved for MCU funding at the end of Stage 4: Approval Process.

Stage 6 is the final stage of the New Program Development process and is led by the Learning and Design Support Team.

The program Dean informs when course curriculum development is to begin.  The Academic Chair will identify and SWF the curriculum development team.  The curriculum development team members (who may or may not teach the courses) will fully develop the curriculum with the assistance of the Learning and Design Support Team.  The program will be developed using the program VLOs, course titles, course hours, and descriptions in the CVS validation description to create course level learning outcomes.  The SMEs, in collaboration with the Learning and Design Support Team, will establish evaluation methodologies to measure learning outcomes, and explore learning activities to meet evaluation needs and student success.  Evaluation techniques and learning activities should be varied according to Universal Design for Learning Principles.

At the end of this stage, the school will manage the day to day business of the program, consider future modifications, and participate in all quality assurance practices.  This would include:

  • Annual Program Review
  • Cyclical Program Review
  • Integrated Planning Processes
  • Benefit Analysis related to targeted enrollment projections