Minor Modifications
Minor modifications consist of changes to courses and curriculum that do not change the nature or essence of a program or the learning outcomes. Western considers minor modifications to include such things as the:
- changes to an existing option or minor module within a program;
- changes to admission requirements;
- changes to subject areas as part of Western’s breadth requirements for degrees; and
- creation of a new course (for required graduate courses, this may be treated as a major modification).
Minor modifications are subject to Western’s governance processes for internal approval, but do not need to be submitted for consideration through the IQAP process via SUPR-U/SUPR-G as outlined in section 4.2.1. The intra-institutional steps that apply to the quality assurance of program changes related to Undergraduate Certificates, Undergraduate Diplomas and Micro-credentials offered through Western Continuing Studies are articulated in Western’s Senate Academic Policies.
The list of modifications above is not intended to be inclusive and it may, at times, be difficult to determine whether a proposed change constitutes a “significant change”, or is categorized as a new program, a major modification, or a minor modification. In such situations, SUPR-U/SUPR-G will serve as the arbiter in determining whether a proposed change constitutes a major or minor modification. In addition, SUPR-U/SUPR-G may, at its discretion, request that the QC review a major modification proposal through the Expedited Approval process. The QC has the final authority to decide if a major modification constitutes a new program and, therefore, if it must follow the protocol for New Program Approvals.
