The Department of Higher Education has among its responsibilities oversight of academic programs at the public institutions of higher education. Academic program approval authority of the Department of Higher Education (Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 15A) states that the DHE is responsible for authorizing all programs and degrees in the public system.
The procedures apply to all Massachusetts public institutions of higher education (community colleges, state colleges, and the university). For the purposes of the procedures, an academic program is defined as undergraduate certificate of 30 semester credit hours or more or a major or degree at the undergraduate or graduate levels, including a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study.