Navigating the Proposal Process

Ecampus programs are developed through our proposal pathway process (below).

The Ecampus Program Intake team reviews Ecampus program proposals on a quarterly cycle.

Read our program proposal pathway infographic, and click through our pathway steps below, to view more details about how Ecampus programs are built.

Program proposal pathway

 

1. Ideate

Faculty have an idea for a new Ecampus online or hybrid program — either an extension of an existing campus-based program, or a totally new program.

2. Plan

Faculty reach out to Ecampus for an initial conversation about program ideas. Often, faculty are invited to meet with the Ecampus program intake team. For full degree and certificate programs, Ecampus may conduct additional market and financial analysis to gauge demand and long-term sustainability of the program.

3. Propose to Ecampus

Faculty submit program proposal materials to Ecampus in time for the next quarterly program review deadline.

4. Ecampus review

Ecampus reviews all program proposals thoroughly and decides which to accept for development and delivery.

5. Sign the Program Development MOU

If accepted, Ecampus creates an MOU between Ecampus and the academic college. The MOU includes roles and responsibilities, course development schedules, curriculum details and funding information (if applicable). The MOU is signed by all relevant parties.

6. Propose to CIM

Faculty move forward with filing a program proposal in the Curriculum Inventory Management tool for the new Ecampus program. Note that the agreement between Ecampus and the college is separate from the curricular approval. Both are required. Ecampus monitors, but does not manage, the curricular review process.

  • Programs that are not already offered on campus undergo the most extensive curricular review, which can take 18-24 months to complete.
  • Proposals that do not require program or curricular changes to an existing campus program move through curricular review relatively quickly (typically six months or fewer). Proposals that also include larger programmatic changes to the existing campus program can take at least six months depending on how close the proposal is submitted to the annual catalog date of June 1.
  • In general, we advise units wait to initiate their CIM program proposal until the program has been accepted by Ecampus for intake. We will not approve programs that are in the CIM review process if they haven’t already been accepted for online delivery and do not have a signed MOU in place.

Contact the curriculum management office for more information about annual catalog deadlines and how to access CIM to submit program proposals.

7. Curricular review

The program proposal proceeds through the various phases of curricular review, including (among many) the approval from Ecampus and the Curriculum Council.

8. Curricular approval

The program completes all elements of the curricular review and is formally approved by OSU to be delivered by Ecampus.

9. Program launch

The program is formally launched by Ecampus once it is added to the OSU academic catalog at the appropriate effective term and added to the OSU application and Ecampus website.

Quarterly review process

The Ecampus program management team accepts and reviews program proposals on a quarterly basis. Acceptance decisions are communicated typically several weeks after the proposal deadline.

Quarterly review schedule

Review term
Submission deadline Decisions announced Anticipated first term of admissions*
Fall 2024 Oct. 4 Nov. 1 Summer 2025 - Fall 2026
Winter 2025 Jan. 10 Feb. 7 Fall 2025 - Winter 2027
Spring 2025 April 11 May 9 Winter 2026 - Spring 2027
Summer 2025 June 27 July 25 Spring 2026 - Summer 2027
Fall 2025 Oct. 3 Oct. 31 Summer 2026 - Fall 2027
Winter 2026 Jan. 9 Feb. 6 Fall 2026 - Winter 2028
Spring 2026 April 10 May 8 Winter 2027 - Spring 2028

* Curricular approval timelines vary. Extending an existing OSU program online requires approximately six months; creating a new program at OSU requires 18-24 months.

Contact us

For questions related to the program proposal process, please contact the Ecampus program management team at ecampus.academicprograms@oregonstate.edu.

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