Feasibility Study Template

Download this template in MS Word format

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Feasibility Study for {New Program Title)

 

Executive Summary

Degree or Certificate Title:

Level of Degree or Certificate:

Delivery Mode(s) :

Startup Cost of Degree:

Anticipated Launch Date:

Description:

 

Table of Contents

Overview and Description of Degree or Certificate, Purpose, Strategic Plan Overlay

Learning Outcomes

Curriculum Map and Program Structure

Course Descriptions

Assessment Plan

Degree Program Evaluation

New Resources Required

Substantive Change Determination

Executive Summary of Demand Statistics

 

Feasibility Study Required Contents:

Overview and Description of Degree or Certificate, Purpose, Strategic Play Overlay

Describe and outline:

• The degree’s / certificate’s objectives
• Its fit with the unit’s current offerings
• The rationale for the program, and niche/gap the degree or certificate will fill. Why will it appeal to students?  To employers?  Graduate schools?
• How the degree will support UW’s Strategic Plan, the relevant college’s strategic plan, and the unit’s strategic plan

 

Learning Outcomes

Describe and outline the learning outcomes of the degree or certificate, focusing on the core competencies you expect graduates to exhibit and accumulate as they complete the degree or certificate.

 

Curriculum Map and Program Structure

For undergraduate degrees: Map out the four-year plan for the expected course sequence, including USP courses, college requirements, and degree requirements. 

For certificates or graduate degrees:  Map out the expected course sequence for the degree or certificate.

Be sure to notate which courses are existing and which are new.  Describe whether each course will be available in Laramie, Casper, other sites, and/or online.

 

Course Descriptions

                Provide short course descriptions for new courses, including possible modes of delivery.

 

Assessment Plan

Describe how the learning outcomes outlined above will be met through the proposed curriculum.  How will student work be evaluated, and at which points, in the context of the overall assessment of learning outcomes?

 

Degree Program Evaluation

Explain how the program will be evaluated.  Will you use exit surveys of graduates, employer surveys, mid- or end-of-program feedback through focus groups or surveys, etc.?  Remember that by policy, all new degree will be evaluated within 5 years of startup, so this will help you in gathering artifacts upon which that evaluation can be based.

 

Substantive Change Determination

Higher Learning Commission (HLC), UW’s regional accrediting agency, must approve all substantive changes to UW’s offering.  HLC considers substantive change as the addition of a program (degree or certificate/credential level) not previously included in the institution’s accreditation, usually judged to be a program that is a significant departure from normal offerings, the addition of a program with 50%+ new coursework required, or the addition or change to an existing program which will be delivered 50%+ through alternative (hybrid, online) delivery.  Substantive change may also be defined as a new program which does not meet the above guidelines, but which requires a significant amount of financial investment to be made.  Please contact the HLC Accreditation Liaison Officer (currently Steven Barrett, steveb@uwyo.edu) to make this determination.

 

New Resources Required

                Describe new resources required, including:

• Faculty and instructional staffing
• Program administration and staff support
• Technology
• Library and digital resources
• Marketing
• Support

 

Executive Summary of Demand Statistics*

                Describe and outline:

• Market area and primary target markets/
• Educational market and student demand statistics, including peer comparisons of the size of enrollment, completions, and size trajectory (growth, decline) of comparator programs.
• Employment trends and projections given core competencies of the degree or certificate.
• Graduate salary trends and other post-completion trends.

*available from Gray Associates data subscription