All Associate of Applied Science, Associate of Science, and Associate of Arts degree and certificate programs at Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) are approved by the faculty and the administration, the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), and, where appropriate, by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).

All new program proposals follow TBR Guideline A-010 [Ref 1]. All DSCC associate degree and certificate programs are approved by the faculty and the administration through the campus approval process as outlined in the DSCC Policies and Procedures Manual [Ref 2]. This approval process begins with a request from a faculty member to a division dean and then forwarded to the Instructional Council, which is made up of faculty representatives of each of the academic divisions and the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs [Ref 3] [Ref 4]. Recommendations by the Instructional Council must be approved by both the Vice President for the College and the President. Any subsequent curriculum revisions also require the same approval process [Ref 2]. DSCC sends all new degree and certificate program proposals to TBR staff using the appropriate format outline in TBR Guideline A-010 [Ref 1]. After TBR Board approval, the proposals are forwarded to THEC for review and final approval when appropriate [Ref 5].