Academic Innovation Team
Membership and Process for AIT
The Academic Innovation Team (AIT) is responsible for environmental scanning year-round, coordinating the review of proposals, and supplying supporting materials to pre-proposals (e.g., market analysis) and full proposals (e.g., marketing and recruitment plans and budget projections).
The Academic Innovation Team consists of a core team and ad-hoc review teams. Unlike the core team, the review teams will vary in composition for each proposal being evaluated.
AIT Core team members include
- Vice President for Academic Affairs (Chair)
- Representative(s) from Marketing
- Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences
- Dean for the College of Professional and Graduate Studies
- Vice President for Enrollment Management
- Chair of, or designate from, Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee (ASCC)
- Chair of, or designate from, Professional and Graduate Curriculum Committee (PGCC)
- Two additional faculty members, elected by Faculty Senate
Each full proposal will require the formation of a new review team that will include representation from the core team and additional members.
Review team additional members will include
- Representatives from Division Chairs (as determined by the AIT core team and connected to pre-proposal)
- Representative from the Business and Finance Office
- Faculty or Staff Champion of the pre-proposed program
- Representative from Financial Aid Office
- Director of Compass and Career Services or designate
- Experts in the field as needed
Ideas for new programs can come from three sources: internal constituents (e.g., faculty, staff), external constituents (e.g., alums, board members), and/or the Academic Innovation Team’s ongoing environmental scanning. When new ideas are generated or submitted, the AIT core team will conduct initial market analysis to see if a pre-proposal should be developed. If a pre-proposal is warranted, the core team will seek faculty member(s) to develop a brief pre-proposal. Faculty are welcome to submit pre-proposals without first submitting an idea to AIT.
When a pre-proposal is received, the core Academic Innovation Team will conduct a supporting market analysis to determine approval. If the pre-proposal is not approved and additional information is needed, then the faculty member may work with the core Academic Innovation Team to seek additional information/data before resubmitting the pre-proposal. If the team does not approve the pre-proposal and does not need additional information, then the program will not be pursued by the University. If the pre-proposal is approved by the core AIT team, then the faculty member(s) will be asked to submit a full proposal for review by the full Academic Innovation Team (core and review teams).
If the full proposal is not approved, and more data is necessary, then the faculty member(s) may work with the core Academic Innovation Team to seek additional information/data before resubmitting the full proposal. If the team does not approve the full proposal and does not need additional information, then the program will not be pursued by the University. If the full AIT team (core and review) approves the full proposal, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will take the proposal forward to Cabinet (and Board if necessary). Once all approvals are secured, then the faculty member(s) will complete the necessary forms and the Department Chair will submit a complete package of appropriate programmatic and/or curriculum forms and approved full proposal to the appropriate College Curriculum Committee Chair(s).
If the curriculum submission not approved, then the faculty member(s) and Department Chair will revise and resubmit to the appropriate college curriculum committee. Upon college curriculum committee endorsement, the Curriculum and Assessment Committee (CAC) will review and request any further information necessary before final approval. Once approved, catalog copy is created, marketing and recruitment plans are implemented, and the program launches. The core team of the Academic Innovation Team is responsible for post-approval monitoring of newly launched programs.