Bachelor's Degree Program Approval Process

New Program Approvals

The State Board adopted an updated baccalaureate program approval process at their October 2025 meeting for community and technical colleges seeking to offer new bachelor's degree programs. 

• 2025-2026 Planning Timeline(updated January 2026)
• 2026-2027 Planning Timeline

1. Idea Stage

Institutions notify SBCTC and higher education partners of their intent to offer a bachelor’s degree program by placing the program title and anticipated date of enrollment on the higher education Inter-Institutional Committee on Academic Program Planning (ICAPP) grid.

• Institutions send a notification letter to the SBCTC staff responsible for reviewing new baccalaureate degree program proposals via email at degreeprocess@sbctc.edu. The notification must include:
  1. Proposed program title
  2. Proposed program CIP code
  3. Overview of the proposed program
  4. Target implementation date
  5. Summary of communication/collaboration with community and technical colleges and public four-year universities that have similar programs
• SBCTC staff will place the proposed program information on the ICAPP grid for notice to the higher education community.

Resources

• Sample Notice of Intent to Propose(January 2026)
• Notice of Proposal: BAS Teacher Education, Clark College(example)
• Notice of Intent: BAS Applied Management, Big Bend Community College(example)

2. Degree Proposal Stage

Institutions submit a baccalaureate program proposal to SBCTC staff responsible for reviewing new baccalaureate degree program proposals via email at degreeprocess@sbctc.edu. The program proposal should include:

1. Program and contact information
2. Supply and demand analysis: regional significance and labor market alignment
3. Curriculum and program design: high level of learning, flexibility, experiential learning
4. Industry/employer partnership and stakeholder collaboration
5. Required attestations

After a program proposal is submitted by a college, SBCTC staff will conduct an analysis of the content, areas of strength, areas needing improvement, and capacity for the bachelor’s degree. Subject matter experts from the higher education community (e.g. from instruction, student services, finance/business) and/or industry may be consulted by SBCTC staff to assist in the review. The college may be asked to provide clarifications or revisions to strengthen the proposal and to ensure required criteria are met.

Once all required criteria are met, staff from the SBCTC will send out a notice to community and technical colleges and public baccalaureate institutions officially informing them of the proposed program. Questions or concerns about the proposal must be submitted to the SBCTC within 30 calendar days. Concerns will be forwarded to the submitting college.

Resources

• Program proposal template (January 2026 update) (20 page limit)
• Bachelor's degree supply/demand gap rubric for colleges (guidance for proposal section 2)
• Minimum general education requirements for bachelor's degrees (requirement for proposal section 3)
• Library rubric for baccalaureate degrees(requirement for proposal section 5)
• Statement of Need template (legacy 2014-2025 process, for reference only) 
• Program Proposal template (legacy 2014-2025 process, for reference only)
• Style Guide for use with templates (legacy 2014-2025 process, for reference only)
• Applied baccalaureate external review rubric (legacy 2014-2025 process, for reference only)
• Statement of Need: Bachelor of Applied Science in Application Development, Skagit Valley College (legacy 2014-2025 process, for reference only)
• Program Proposal: Bachelor of Applied Science in Physical Therapist Assistant, Lake Washington Institute of Technology (legacy 2014-2025 process, for reference only)
• Program Proposal: Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Bellingham Technical College (legacy 2014-2025 process, for reference only)

Colleges must submit the Program Proposal within 12 months of SBCTC receiving the Notice of Intent to Propose during the Idea Stage. If the Program Proposal is not received within 12 months, the Notice of Intent to Propose is void.

3. Waiting for External Approval

SBCTC board members officially vote on the program proposal. Upon request, a representative from the college will participate in the State Board meeting and provide oral support for the proposal and respond to State Board members’ questions. The college must await final approval of the proposed program by the State Board prior to program implementation.

The college will work with the Policy Associate for Baccalaureate Programs (contact information below) to answer any questions related to this process.

Existing Program Revisions

• Change of the program title
• Change of the program CIP code
• Change in the maximum number of credits
• Change of the program's status (e.g. teach-out, reinstatement, inactivation)

If you have difficulty accessing the Plan Approval web application, please contact program approval staff.