Graduate Program Development Framework

We aim to provide a high quality, timely, engaging learning experience that enables the learner to reach their academic potential and develop the skillsets and mindsets necessary to lead in their careers. Development of new programs that are sustainable and robust are critical to the growth of Lehigh’s graduate student population.  

A brief overview is provided below; See PDF for further details (Lehigh login required). 

The values we strive for in all graduate programs/courses include:

  1. Student Centric
  2. Flexible
  3. Experiential
  4. Value-Add to the Learner - in terms of both skillset and student career outcomes
  5. Same caliber of training available in like programs, no matter the modality.

Building a new program (online or on campus) requires a great deal of effort and a substantive amount of resources; at the same time, the university aims to be nimble in developing new programs.  As Lehigh strives to offer best-in-class graduate programs, we are implementing a process that leverages talent in our Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning to work collaboratively with the faculty/program as it is built and eventually is modified in response to program review.  The basic steps are as follows:

  1. The process will be initiated with the faculty/program who ideate the initial concept.  
  2. The concept should be proposed to the relevant Dean’s offices and the DPGE/Provost.  Note, at this stage, a fully developed curriculum is not required.
  3. The program idea will be vetted to ensure that the program will have a viable student pipeline.  This vetting will be a collaboration between the DPGE and Faculty.  If there is a sufficient market opportunity to ensure ROI, the project will move forward.  
  4. The Center for Career and Professional Development will be consulted to ensure they are aware of the new program for future employer identification.
  5. Curriculum should be ideated and proposed by the faculty through the standard faculty approval process.  We encourage the use of Program Educational Outcomes as a guiding tool in curriculum development.
  6. Resource planning will align with the curriculum proposal.  The resource request for a 3 year ramp up period (staffing, marketing, operational costs, etc.) should be provided to the Dean(s) and DPGE/Provost.  Resources will be negotiated and provided in writing to the necessary personnel. 
  7. Programs will be reviewed after 2 years to ensure viability and set the future direction.  Programs will then be reviewed at 5 years, and then be placed in the regular Graduate Program Review timeline for the College(s) in question.

Lehigh has several programs that would be of value to host in a synchronous or asynchronous online environment, and several that could benefit from iterative improvement.  If a program is interested in moving their educational offering into a high-quality online educational environment, the following steps should be taken

  1. The program will request a market analysis from the DPGE. 
  2. If the program is determined to have a viable online audience, the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning will be consulted to determine a timeline for transition and robust learning methods for online programming.
  3. A project plan will be developed, including a resource request for a 3 year time period.  
  4. The program will be reviewed three (3) years after the migration into an online learning environment. 

New programs take time to go through the ideation and approval process at Lehigh.  In addition, several teams of people are often involved, including marketing, web developers, and enrollment services/RAS staffing.  As such, parallel workflows are recommended to launch the program in question. The following workflows should be considered during the planning phases of a program.

While the program is going through the approval process, the following activities should be aligned:

Asset Development (Web and Messaging) - 3-6 month lead time
Marketing Strategy (Audience and Assets) - 3-6 month lead time
Faculty Allocation (Course development and delivery) - 3 -12 month lead time
CITL Consultations (Course development, tools, and other needs)
Enrollment system incorporation - July is the change cycle; exceptions can be made

In many cases, we need to be mindful of resource constraints, and as such, a 2 academic term lead time may be required to launch a new program. 

While the program is going through the transition to online learning (course development), the following activities should be aligned:

Asset Development (Web and Messaging) - 1-3 month lead time
Marketing Strategy (Audience and Assets) - 3-4 month lead time
Faculty Allocation (Course development and delivery) - 3 -12 month lead time
CITL Consultations (Course development, tools, and other needs)

Submit a New Program Idea Here

Note: Program ideas can be early stage, and do not require a curricular proposal.