College Realignment Initiative FAQs

UNT is moving from traditional departments toward broader, interdisciplinary divisions and schools designed to make the university more nimble and responsive to the complex challenges facing our communities, our state, and our nation. The goal is to create more sustainable academic structures that support student success, facilitate collaboration across disciplines, and provide faculty with more opportunities to bring their scholarship, creativity, and expertise together to create enduring value for the public good. Through this work, we aim to align our structures and resources with the university’s ambitions and long-term mission.

Nine colleges are involved: the G. Brint Ryan College of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering, Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of Music, College of Public Affairs and Health Sciences, College of Science and College of Visual Arts and Design. Each college is preparing a proposed organizational structure, and approved structures will be linked here as they are finalized. 

Structures will vary. Every college is guided by a common set of design principles, while having flexibility to develop a structure that fits its disciplines, programs, and students. These principles include advancing student success and academic quality; strengthening curricular coherence and workforce relevance; fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation; supporting faculty success and academic community; improving operational effectiveness and stewardship; and positioning colleges to respond to emerging opportunities and future needs. 

The long-term aim of this initiative is a stronger, more collaborative academic structure. The Operations Working Group, which includes finance representatives, is reviewing the operational and financial implications of each proposal, including transition costs. 

Programs will keep their disciplinary identity while gaining closer ties to related fields. Schools bring together disciplines that complement one another, making it easier for faculty to connect with one another’s research and teaching. Degree programs, curricula, and faculty expertise remain at the center of each unit.

The Division of Research and Innovation will continue to support faculty, staff, and students in their research, scholarly work, and creative activities. DRI leadership will provide timely updates to campus throughout the realignment process.

Realignment is scheduled to be fully implemented by the start of the Fall 2027 semester. All college deans have received a realignment timeline and implementation framework with milestones, deliverables, and review points. Operational, systems, and staffing changes will be completed in a phased approach ahead of the Fall 2027 launch.

Key milestones include:

• Fall 2026: Colleges develop and refine their proposed organizational structures, including academic units, leadership structures, mission and intellectual focus, and faculty and program alignments. Colleges will also begin identifying opportunities for interdisciplinary and cross-college collaboration.
• Late Fall 2026: Colleges submit final academic unit plans and preliminary proposals for interdisciplinary and cross-college units. The Provost's Office reviews these plans and provides feedback on academic, administrative, and procedural structures.
• Spring 2027: Colleges move through organizational design to implementation planning, working through the operational, systems, staffing, policy, budget, and other changes necessary to support the new structures.
• Summer 2027: Final implementation activities are completed in preparation for the new college structures to become fully operational.
• Fall 2027: New college structures are fully implemented.

Colleges are now preparing their proposed organizational structures, unit configurations, mission statements, policy documents, and faculty assignments for review. Planning conversations are still underway, and proposed structures can be adjusted as academic and student needs become clearer. Operational details such as systems, staffing models, and procedures are still being developed with support from the Operations Working Group and the Technical Implementation Team.

Each dean submits a proposal to the provost, who then reviews it with input from the Operations Working Group. The provost and president provide university approval to proceed with realignment design. Some changes may also need approval from the UNT System Board of Regents or external bodies such as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board or accrediting agencies. 

The Realignment Operations Working Group (OWG) is chaired by the provost and faculty and staff from across the university serve as members. They represent finance, human resources, IT, facilities, enrollment management, student affairs, faculty and student success, communications, advancement, and research. The OWG reviews the operational, administrative, and service implications of realignment proposals. The Technical Implementation Team supports the OWG with expertise in institutional systems, academic personnel, operational processes, data analysis, and implementation planning, so proposals are ready to be carried out.

Your first stop is your college. Many colleges continue to elicit feedback through listening sessions and are creating realignment websites and feedback channels. Faculty can also share input through college governance structures and the Faculty Senate. Input is gathered for consultation to inform decisions.

No. Your major, degree requirements, and catalog year stay the same, and realignment will not change your graduation timeline. Changes happen at the administrative level, in how academic units are organized.

Course offerings will continue without interruption. Colleges, the Registrar’s Office, and academic advising are working together so required courses are still scheduled and available while units transition.

Advising services will continue without interruption in the new structure. If your advisor or advising office changes, you will be notified directly and given updated contact information.

Your degree title will not change. If a program’s college or school name changes, guidance on how that appears on transcripts and diplomas will come from the Registrar’s Office. 

Realignment itself does not change tuition. Any changes to college- or program-specific fees are subject to the university’s normal approval and notification process. 

No. Scholarships and awards carry over into the new structure. Colleges are working with University Advancement so that records and restricted funds are matched to their new administrative homes. Federal and state financial aid is not affected by realignment.

Applications and admission offers already submitted will be honored. Transfer pathways and articulation agreements stay in place and will be updated to reflect new unit names where needed.

Current advisors, thesis and dissertation committees, and assistantship commitments will continue. Any administrative updates will be coordinated with the Division of Research and Innovation and communicated to students directly.

Programs will remain accredited, and preparation for licensure and certification will continue. Where an organizational change requires notice to an accrediting or licensing body, UNT will handle it as part of implementation.

If a change in a program’s administrative home affects immigration records, International Affairs will contact affected students directly with guidance. International students should not assume that a unit change requires new immigration documents and should consult International Student and Scholar Services to determine whether any updates are necessary.

Accommodations through the Office of Disability Access, academic support, and career services will continue without interruption. These services are university-wide and do not depend on college structure.

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Current standards stay in effect during the transition. Revised university guidelines for promotion, tenure, and merit are being developed for implementation in Fall 2027, with input from college leadership and the Faculty Senate as part of the review process. Policies for faculty hired under earlier standards, including assistant professors, will be clearly communicated and applied consistently.

Newly formed units will develop procedures for review committees through faculty governance. The aim is for faculty to be reviewed by colleagues who understand the norms of their discipline.

Faculty will play an active and important role in this work. New units will draft and revise bylaws, committee structures, and procedures through their college governance and faculty committees by Fall 2027.

Faculty will continue to manage curriculum through established curriculum committees and approval processes. Program coordinators and unit leaders will continue to coordinate degree requirements and assessment.

Realignment does not by itself change workload expectations. Teaching and service assignments will continue to follow college and university workload policies, and any changes will be communicated by unit leadership.

Advancement pathways for all faculty ranks will continue under university policy. New units will set expectations for each faculty category as they develop their governance documents and evaluation standards.

Each college’s dean appoints its unit leaders using the college’s own process. Responsibilities are defined in each college’s structure and governance documents. 

Yes. Tenured faculty members will retain their tenure when they move to a different school, division, or college as part of the realignment. The receiving tenure home and effective date will be documented through the appropriate academic personnel process so that the faculty member and both units have a clear record of the change.

Colleges are now developing their staffing models. The goal is to align administrative support with the new structures so services are effective and efficient. Specific changes will be shared with affected staff before they take effect.

Affected staff will hear directly from their supervisor or college leadership, with support from Human Resources, before any change takes effect.

Changes in responsibilities could lead to a classification review. Any review will follow standard Human Resources processes, and staff will be informed of any changes in advance.

Each college’s structure will define where services are provided. The Operations Working Group is helping colleges plan these services to make them easy to find and responsive.

Colleges and the Operations Working Group, including Human Resources, are reviewing staffing needs alongside each proposed structure. The goal is to support a model that is sustainable and fits the work.

Each college will allocate its resources to its new units based on its approved structure, with support from university finance. Budget planning is being coordinated through the Operations Working Group.

Existing commitments will be honored based on resources available, and restricted funds will stay with their intended purposes. Colleges are working with University Advancement, student accounting, and finance so that records and restricted funds are matched to their new administrative homes.

Current approval processes stay in place until new structures take effect. Any changes to approvers or workflows will be communicated before they take effect.

Realignment is mainly an organizational change and does not require relocation. If a move is needed, it will be planned with Facilities, and the people affected will be notified in advance.

Unit names, reporting lines, directories, websites, and workflows will be updated in university systems. The Technical Implementation Team is coordinating these updates so they are tested and ready before Fall 2027. Colleges are also updating their websites and checking faculty and staff listings for accuracy.

Historical records and data will stay accessible. Archival procedures are being put in place so information from former units is preserved as systems and websites are updated.

Alumni will have the opportunity to stay connected to the programs and faculty they know. Degrees already earned are not affected, and alumni will continue to receive updates and invitations from their academic programs through the new academic unit communications.

University Advancement is working with colleges so that every gift, endowment, and named program is matched to its new administrative home and continues to honor donor intent.

Most partnerships will continue unchanged. Where a unit name or contact changes, partners will be notified, and any agreements will be updated as needed.

Experiential learning placements will continue without interruption. Placement coordinators and partner relationships will remain in place, and any changes will be communicated to students and partners in advance.

Public-facing clinics and services will continue to operate. Any changes to location, hours, or contacts will be posted in advance on the service’s website.

Performances, exhibitions, and public programs will continue. Event information will stay available on college and program websites, which are being updated to reflect the new structures.

Progress is reported to university leadership every month as part of UNT’s strategic objectives. Over time, success will be measured by stronger interdisciplinary collaboration, operational effectiveness, and outcomes that matter for Look North: UNT 2030, including student success.

This site is the central source for approved realignment information, and it will be updated as structures are finalized. For questions specific to your college, contact your dean’s office. For general questions, contact the Office of the Provost.

Colleges can discuss branding needs with University Brand Strategy and Communications (UBSC) early in planning and should submit requests for new branding lockups directly to UBSC. Approval to proceed with design will be given once the college’s realignment structure and unit names have been finalized and approved by the provost. 

College websites should make new units easy to locate through updated navigation, unit landing pages, and accurate faculty and staff directories. Links from former unit pages can help visitors find the new location. Each college should coordinate its web changes with University Brand Strategy and Communications once the college’s realignment structure and unit names have been finalized and approved by the provost.