Program & Course Proposals

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From conception to launch, our Program Operations team is by your side every step of the way.
 

What We Do

• Facilitate onboarding of new online, location-based, or non-credit program and course offerings.
• Conduct market analysis to identify a degree’s potential for success with the online student population.
• Provide support with a dedicated program manager to steward a program through its evolution.
• Help with course development, including instructional design services via the University Center for Assessment, Teaching and Technology (UCATT).
• Schedule post-launch check-ins that include enrollment trend reporting and forecasting support.
• Manage the online schedule of classes and monitor enrollment reports daily to ensure course availability for students.

Our Process for Credit-Bearing Programs

Step 1: Conduct Market Analysis, Review and Approve Program Proposals.

Step 2: Host Information Sessions with Colleges and Departments 

Step 3: Prep for program launch

• Curricular Approval (can take between 2-8 months)
  • For new academic programs (Main/Online/Location Specific), your Department will work with Curricular Affairs to ensure all necessary materials have been submitted for the approval process
  • Course development will not begin until program curriculum and courses are approved by Curricular Affairs
  • If Curricular Affairs approval is not required, an Add Campus Form will be generated
  • Arizona Online schedules course planning meeting w/ Department to include representative from UCATT
  • Your department’s course scheduler adds your new Online courses to the schedule of classes
  • If Grad program, tuition is identified and Arizona Online submits a Billing Memo to the Bursar
  • Arizona Online will create & share the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with your College/Department
• Course Development & Arizona Online (6 months prior to launch)
  • Arizona Online submits course development plan to UCATT
    • Typical development schedule is 3-4 Undergraduate & 2-3 Graduate courses/term and courses should be developed the term prior to first offering.
  • Available development terms: Fall and Spring. Instructional Designers are assigned to faculty for one term only. Course development should be completed within the identified term.
  • Course development confirmation deadlines: Spring – December 10, Fall – July 31
    • Courses not submitted by development deadline will be moved to the next available development term
  • Course Developers will receive and sign a Faculty Agreement before course development can begin
  • Faculty will receive a Welcome Letter from UCATT identifying next steps
  • Arizona Online connects your department to our Marketing Team to begin development of your program landing page
  • Arizona Online connects your department to our Recruitment & Enrollment Team to participate in Enrollment Counselor training.
  • Arizona Online connects your department to our Online Student Success Team to develop a plan for cross-training (Ugrad)
• Program Launch & Ongoing Support
  • New academic Program Plan/Subplan is added to UAccess and Online campus activation confirmed
  • Your program landing page is live on the Arizona Online website and Online campus student application is activated
  • If applicable, Arizona Online will connect with your Department and College periodically during the investment period (two years)
  • Arizona Online monitors online schedule, identifies enrollment trends, and provides forecasting data for program growth
  • Department/College is responsible for activating department/college resources including but not limited to seat capacity, advising, internal marketing, faculty availability to teach and develop Online course content, and a sustained growth plan as this is a joint investment.

Step 4: Launch Program

• Marketing support
• Recruitment and enrollment management
• Student Success

Step 5: Offer Ongoing Support

• Post-launch check-ins, including course development and offering progression
• Manage schedule of classes and monitor enrollment trends reports daily
• Provide forecasting data for program growth
• Maintenance and evaluate post-investment period 
   

Program Development Guidelines

Interested in offering your program via Arizona Online? Great! We look forward to partnering with you. 

We accept proposals for new programs and certificates each fall. 

Program Submission Cycle

• September-October: Proposal portal is open
• September-October: Arizona Online hosts webinars, Q&As and meetings with departments
• October 31: Submission deadline
• December 15: Support decisions

Arizona Online Investment

Expenses subsidized by Arizona Online are only available for full degree programs that are accepted during the proposal process. Please reach out to your program manager for more details.

Course development stipends apply to programs within their two-year investment period. Programs outside of their investment period are not eligible for additional program development funding and should be utilizing revenue generated from their Arizona Online programs to support the cost of any additional course development.

Financial Investments and Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) are developed in collaboration with Arizona Online, the college and the department, and are reviewed on a fiscal year basis.

All expenses must be approved by the college, department and Arizona Online in advance.

Getting Started

• Download a Proposal Form 

• Submit the completed Proposal From to AZOnline-info@arizona.edu.

  Proposal Cycle
  October 2025	Webinar/Q&A/Meetings with Departments
  October 31, 2025	Submission Deadline
  December 15, 2025	Support Decisions

• Join the Arizona Online Program Operations team for an information session to discuss next steps in onboarding your program. Please note that we now have 2 proposal forms one for full degree program and one for standalone certificates. 

Step 1: Conduct Market Analysis and Review Program Proposal  
Note: For new programs, Departments work with Curricular Affairs to ensure all necessary materials have been submitted for approval.

Step 2: Conduct Information Session

Step 3: Prep for Program Launch

• Curricular and course roll-out planning
• Budget determination
• Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
• Bursar Billing Memo (Graduate)
• Begin course development
• Program plan is added to UAccess; online campus activation confirmed

Step 4: Launch Program 

• Marketing support
• Recruitment and enrollment management
• Student Success

Step 5: Offer Ongoing Support

• Post-launch check-ins, including course development and offering progression
• Manage schedule of classes and monitor enrollment trends reports daily
• Provide forecasting data for program growth
• Maintenance and evaluate post-investment period

Submit a Program Proposal
 

Request Program Marketing Trend Report

See at-a-glance snapshots as well as deep-dive reports into how programs are performing and what their potential is with an online-student population. Submit your request to AZOnline-info@arizona.edu.
 

Request a Report
 

Gen Ed Courses

While the majority of our course offerings are directly associated to an existing Arizona Online degree program, we are always looking to diversify our General Education course repertoire.

Overview information: 

1. AZO electives generally belong to a degree program.
2. AZO courses typically run in 7-week sessions.
3. A course being offered is either developed by UCATT or, if developed by an in-house instructional designer, reviewed by UCATT for quality assurance to ensure it meets AZO standards.
4. If the course doesn't belong to a particular AZ Online program, it may be considered for offering AZ Online students if it is a high-enrolling gen ed course that has gone through the refresh process.
    

Add a Gen Ed Course to AZO