External Review Phase
Once the proposal has successfully cleared all levels of internal review and approval, the Program Lead and APLI will prepare the undergraduate Program Announcement or graduate Letter of Intent for the President's review and signature. APLI serves as the liaison to SUNY for this phase.
- Program Announcement (PA) – Undergraduate
- Letter of Intent (LI) – Graduate
- UG/GR Educator Preparation Program Announcement/Letter of Intent (EPP-G)
SUNY will share the Program Announcement/Letter of Intent with sister SUNY campuses who have 10 days to either comment or share their intent to comment.
- If no intent to comment is received, then Program Announcement/Letter of Intent is automatically approved.
- In cases where a campus comments on our Program Announcement/Letter of Intent, New Paltz has 30 days to address any raised issues. Some comments may provide helpful suggestions that the Program Lead may wish to consider in editing the proposal, but some comments are objections to the proposal. The Office of the Provost will coordinate the reply to any objections, in collaboration with the Program Lead, Academic Dean(s), APLI and Office of the President. The official response will come directly from the President's Office.
Click image below to enlarge. 
A Site Visit and External Evaluation is required for new degree programs at the baccalaureate level or higher. APLI will assist you in preparing the appropriate correspondence and documents related to the site visit and external evaluation. Anticipate this phase of the program proposal to take 2-4 months to complete.
Some important notes:
- SUNY System approval is only required for bachelor's and master's degree programs that are licensure qualifying.
- For educator-prep programs, at least one of the evaluators should be from an institution in NYS that offers a registered program in the proposed certification area.
Conflict of Interest Statement
We must obtain a Conflict-of-Interest Statement from each of the reviewers before we can finalize their appointment.
- APLI will work with the dean in preparing the template letter (see Forms below).
- When you have received the Conflict-of-Interest forms from the external reviewers, please return them to APLI staff who will review them and forward them to the assigned SUNY Program Reviewer via the Provost.
Site Visits
Program Lead schedules two separate external reviews.
- Check with APLI to determine whether the external reviews may be conducted via web or must be in person.
- Work with APLI regarding processes for compensating and reimbursing the reviewers as appropriate. Please note that the process is different for reviewers who are from another SUNY campus or NYS agency and those who are not from another SUNY campus or NYS agency.
- Typically, the Provost’s Office will cover $500/evaluator plus reimbursable expenses.
Following the site visit, the evaluators prepare and submit their review. Program Lead and APLI revise the proposal as appropriate in response to external reviewers comments/recommendations. Depending on the number and type of comments and the timing of the reports, this may be done quite quickly or could take several months.
External Site Visit Forms
Most undergraduate and graduate programs will use the External Evaluation Report form for external evaluations.
Education Programs will use different forms based on the program type:
- EPP-B: Teacher Education Program Proposal: External Evaluation Report
- EPP-D: Educational Leadership Program Proposal: External Evaluation Report
- EPP-F: Pupil Personnel Services Program Proposal: External Evaluation Report
Click image below to enlarge.
Once all post-site visit/external evaluation revisions have been made and APLI has made a thorough review of the New Program Proposal documents, APLI will obtain the President’s approval, and forward the complete New Program Proposal Packet for External Review by SUNY.
SUNY Review
SUNY System will review the proposal. They may request more information (including revisions), disapprove, or approve the proposal. SUNY System review may take two months. If SUNY System approves the proposal, they will forward the packet to NYSED (New York State Education Department) for review.
NYSED (and OP) Review
NYSED, likewise, may request more information, disapprove, or approve the proposal. If applicable, the Office of the Professions (OP) may also review the proposal. NYSED review may take two months.
Program Registration
If NYSED approves the program, they will notify APLI that the program has been approved and they will add it to the Inventory of Registered Programs. We are now ready to launch the program.
Click image below to enlarge.
