Submitting a Proposal for a New Educator Preparation Program in California

Once submitted, IPR proposals are checked by staff for completeness and accessibility. IPR proposals with missing exhibits and/or issues with access will be returned to the institution. All issues must be resolved before a review team is assigned.  

After the IPR proposal is ready to continue in the review process, Commission staff will review the Preconditions and the Initial Program Common Standards Response and pairs of reviewers with program expertise are convened to review the exhibits and elements component. The program reviewers will review the exhibits and elements included in the IPR proposal and will provide feedback standard-by-standard. Reviewers will reach consensus as to whether each program standard is Aligned or Needs More Information and will indicate this in their feedback. If a standard is deemed to Need More Information, reviewers will provide guidance as to what additional information is required. Commission staff will review the feedback and forward the feedback to the program contact at the institution. If the reviewers have questions, or need additional information to complete their review, staff will contact the program sponsor for more information.  

 Institutions must provide additional information and documentation for any standards that the reviewers did not find to be Aligned. As with the review of the IPR Common Standards Response and relevant preconditions that are a part of the IPR proposal, this process is iterative until the reviewers find all program standards for the proposed program to be Aligned.  

 The review process can be quite lengthy, especially for lower incidence programs, as the review process depends entirely on the participation of volunteer experts from the field. As noted above, the typical time for programs to go through review and be approved can take at least 6-12 months from the time the IPR Team receives your IPR proposal. This timeline is dependent on the receipt of a IPR proposal that follows the IPR steps noted above as the review process could be delayed if the submission does not include direct links to evidence that are accessible without restrictions. The Commission asks that each institution, when completing the Intent to Submit form, identify one prospective reviewer for each proposed program to participate in the review of an IPR proposal to keep the review process moving as quickly as possible. It is highly recommended that institutions interested in the IPR process have their staff volunteer to review a proposal prior to submission of their own proposal in order to gain the most in-depth understanding of the entire IPR process.   

Once the review process is completed, all proposal components (preconditions, common standards, program standard exhibits and elements) are found to be aligned, and cost-recovery fees are paid, formal action will be taken by the Committee on Accreditation (COA) at their next regularly scheduled meeting to approve or deny the program.  

The final feedback forms must be added to the institution’s IPR proposal website with the IPR proposal no later than 10 days prior to the COA meeting for which the proposal is being considered. The COA agenda item will include a link to the institution’s IPR program proposal which will include all proposal components. The institution must make the IPR program proposal available and accessible for public view and COA approval. 

During the COA meeting for which an institution’s program is placed on the agenda for approval, at least one representative from the proposed program must be available (either through technology or in-person) during the COA meeting in which the program is being recommended in order to answer any questions asked by the COA. If the COA takes action to approve the proposed program, the institution will be subsequently provided a letter from the Commission indicating that the program is approved. he proposed program must receive Initial Program Approval from the COA to begin operation.