Program Moratorium Processes and Procedures

Procedures for Placing a Program on Moratorium

A program moratorium is the process that PSU follows to suspend admission to a program. Any time a COE program needs to suspend or pause admission, the moratorium process will be followed. 

OAA outlines the moratorium procedures for COE programs that lead to a PSU credential (i.e., degree or graduate certificate). These moratorium requests are reviewed by the (1) Department Chair, (2) COE Program and Policy Committee, (3) COE Dean, (4) PSU Educational Policy Committee, (5) PSU Undergraduate Curriculum Committee or Graduate Council, (6) Dean of the Graduate School for graduate programs only, and (7) PSU Provost. The College of Education community provides feedback on the proposed moratorium following review by the COE Program and Policy Committee, and the feedback is included in subsequent reviews. The Provost has the authority to approve or deny a moratorium. All other review levels may attach an addendum of their input to the proposal for the Provost to consider in their review. 

COE programs that do not lead to a PSU credential, i.e., licensure-only programs, follow a modified moratorium review process. These moratorium requests are reviewed by the (1) Department Chair, (2) COE Program and Policy Committee, and (3) COE Dean. The moratorium proposal is considered to be complete once signed by the COE Dean. The College of Education community provides feedback on the proposed moratorium following review by the COE Program and Policy Committee. The COE Dean considers this feedback as a part of the review process, and the proposal is considered complete once the Dean signs the proposal.

Annual Procedures for Reviewing a Program on Moratorium

Programs that have been placed on moratorium must undergo an annual review. This annual review supports ongoing program evaluation in order to make informed decisions about next steps for the program. Next steps include: continuation of moratorium, removing moratorium, or program elimination. The COE moratorium annual review process detailed below is informed by OAA’s Annual report form.

• October: COE Program and Policy (P&P) initiates the annual review process by sending the Qualtrics form [COE Moratorium Annual Report] to the relevant Program Coordinator and Department Chair.

  • In addition to the questions asked by OAA, the COE also asks for: 

    • If the program is asking to remove the moratorium

      • a financial analysis from the year illustrating the direct costs of the program (cost of instructors) vs. the revenue generated (SCH generated) [this can be done in collaboration with COE SFO], 

      • Program competitiveness (who else offers this) and market demand [part of this data might be available in Gray.di through Steve],

      • What substantive curricular changes have been made and where are those changes in the approval process? 

      • What is the enrollment plan for sustaining the program over the next 5 years? 

      • How has the program been designed to utilize full time faculty expertise?

• October-November: Program Coordinators of programs placed on moratorium respond to Qualtrics Survey and share their responses with the Department Faculty as an information item.

  • Once the update has been shared out with Department Faculty, the Department Chair signs the moratorium paperwork

• First COE P&P meeting in December: COE P&P reviews forms and, if needed, attaches an addendum of their input. 

  • After P&P review, P&P Chair sends out moratorium annual updates to entire COE faculty with a Qualtrics survey for input. Input will be attached as an addendum by Kevin.

• December: Form and P&P addendum sent to COE Dean for review who may also attach an addendum of input.

• January: Form and all addenda are sent to OAA for review. 

• Ongoing: The Director of Assessment and Accreditation will track the status of all moratorium in the Moratorium Status Tracking Sheet