To request an official copy of this policy, contact:

The Office of the Governing Council
Room 106, Simcoe Hall
27 King's College Circle
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1A1

Phone: 416-978-6576
Fax: 416-978-8182
E-mail: governing.council@utoronto.ca
Website: http://www.utoronto.ca/govcncl/

1. Preamble

2. Scope

1. This Policy applies to submissions of internal assessments of proposed new academic programs and units and reviews of existing programs and units.
   
   
2. For the purpose of this Policy, a "program" is defined as an identified set and sequence of courses within an area of study, which is completed in full or partial fulfillment of the requirements for the granting of an undergraduate, second-entry or graduate degree. This Policy applies to all such programs to which resources are dedicated.
   
   
3. For the purposes of this Policy, academic unit is defined by Section 1(l)(a) of the University of Toronto Act 1971, amended in 1978: an "academic unit" means University College and a college, faculty, school, institute, department or other academic division of the University so designated by the Governing Council.
   
   
4. This Policy applies to reviews of existing programs and units commissioned by academic administrators at the University of Toronto to aid them in discharging their responsibilities of academic leadership.
   
   Reviews of academic programs by external bodies form part of collegial self-regulatory systems to ensure that mutually agreed-upon threshold standards of quality are maintained in new and existing programs. Such reviews may serve different purposes than those commissioned by the University. In conducting a review of a program or unit, external reviewers should be presented, where appropriate, with any non-University commissioned reviews (for example, professional accreditation or Ontario Council on Graduate Studies) completed since the last review of the program or unit.
   
   Where possible, the University process should aim to streamline the review process by assessing the alignment of mandates of externally and internally commissioned reviews and supplementing documentation as necessary.

3. Procedures

1. Administrative procedures for the application and process of the internal assessment of proposed new academic programs and units will be set by the Office of the Provost, within the document Guidelines for Assessment of Divisional Submissions, and reported for information to Governing Council. The Provostial Guidelines incorporate and replace Section III of the Guidelines for Divisional Submissions (approved by the Committee on Academic Policy and Programs on October 23, 2002).
   
   
2. Administrative procedures for the application and process of reviews of existing academic programs and units will be set by the Office of the Provost, within the document Guidelines for Review of Academic Programs and Units, and reported for information to Governing Council. The Guidelines for Review will include procedures for the application of the reviews, the process by which reviews will be conducted, the content of the reviews and administrative response, as well as the circulation of any reports and submission to governance.
   
   
3. Authority for periodically revising and ensuring implementation of both the procedural Guidelines is delegated to the Office of the Provost. Any changes to the Guidelines will be presented to Governing Council for information.

4. Accountability

1. New Programs
   Internal assessment of proposed new programs and units is part of the procedure of submission to governance. Proposal assessment is a critical process that ensures the quality and merit of the proposal is fully developed before entering governance so that appropriate decisions can be made by Governing Council as to whether the program or unit should be established.
   
   
2. Existing Programs and Units
   Reviews are important mechanisms of accountability. Academic administrators are accountable for the discharge of their responsibilities through a line of accountability that reaches from chairs and directors to deans and principals to the Provost to the President and ultimately to University governance. As part of this structure of accountability, governors have a responsibility to ensure that appropriate mechanisms for reviewing academic programs and units with a view to ensuring and improving their quality are in place. The Accountability Framework for Review of Academic Programs and Units was approved by the Executive Committee of the Governing Council in 1999 and is incorporated into the current document as Appendix A.