Policy Statement
For master’s-level degree/major programs, there are two possible changes the program faculty may seek to change the admit status of the program:
- Change from admit status of admitting to non-admitting.
- Change from admit status of non-admitting to admitting.
Typically, a master’s program with a non-admitting status is a partner program with an admitting Ph.D. program of the same name; the master’s program would not be open to admissions but would be available to be awarded to a student who leaves the Ph.D. program without fulfilling all the Ph.D. requirements but has completed sufficient requirements for the master’s. In some cases, students working toward a Ph.D. will be awarded a master’s as a milestone requirement of progress toward the Ph.D. Any change in admit status must be approved through governance.
The Proposal
A proposal to change admit status is originated by the program faculty and must be entered through Lumen Programs (requires credentials), found through the Lumen widget (requires credentials) in MyUW. The form incorporates the following mandatory questions:
- Type of change requested (change from admitting status of admitting to non-admitting, or change from admit status of non-admitting to admitting)
- Home department/academic unit for the program
- Chair of the major
- Director of Graduate Study for the Major
- A timeline for the transition; note that academic changes usually take place no sooner than the fall term after approval
- A rationale for the change
- If the change is from admitting to non-admitting:
- An explanation and evidence of efforts made to confer with and to notify parties affected by this change. This should include, but may not be limited to faculty and staff who contribute to the program; academic units that provide resources (courses, advisement, faculty, budget) to support the program; students currently enrolled in the program, or who may be reasonably expected to be “in the pipeline” through advising or indication of interest at the time of admission; alumni; and any other significant stakeholders (e.g., Boards of Visitors, community interest groups, chair of the Associated Students of Madison, etc.) Obviously, these efforts will be extensive for programs with robust student enrollments and may be minimal for programs that are chronically low‐enrollment or no‐enrollment.
- An overview of the “teach‐out plan” that explains how students will be supported through to completion of their degree. Enough detail should be provided to assure those reviewing the proposal that a plan to support students is in place, although the exact details may evolve as implementation proceeds. The plan should consider the needs of currently enrolled, prospective, and stopped‐out students. (A stopped‐out student is one who was a previously enrolled degree‐seeking student who suspended enrollment for one or more fall and/or spring term and who subsequently seeks to re‐enroll.) A key feature of the teach‐out plan is that it should convey how program quality will be maintained and ensured through the teach‐out period for enrolled, prospective and stopped‐out students.
- If the change is from non-admitting to admitting, explain the admissions process and requirements and provide a full curriculum plan to support the learning outcomes for the major. Include plans for providing students with funding, if applicable. Broadly, programs should answer many of the same questions posed to programs creating new majors (refer to New Majors/Degrees)
If a change of admit status is embedded in a larger restructuring proposal, information should be provided that covers these same points. In such cases, the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee (GFEC) will approve the change of admit status in the context of the restructuring proposal.
