According to the Athens State University (ASU) Employee Handbook, Part 7.1, academic policy-making is the responsibility of the Faculty as a part of the academic governance structure of the institution. Pursuant to this structure, the Faculty Curriculum Committee created and submitted for Faculty approval a process by which curricula may be modified or changed, including the creation of new programs. This Curriculum Review Process was adopted via a secret ballot vote by the ASU Faculty on April 12, 1993, and is published in the Employee Handbook and the Curriculum Review Process Policy.

As a part of the Review Process, all curriculum changes at Athens State University are subject to the multidisciplinary review of the Faculty Curriculum Committee, one of the standing committees of the ASU Faculty. The Curriculum Committee consists of 12 Faculty members who volunteer to serve on the committee. The Presiding Officer of the Faculty ensures that there is equal representation on the Committee from each of the three Colleges. The ASU Faculty has charged the Curriculum Committee with the responsibility to review the impact of curriculum changes on the institution as a whole.

Curriculum Review Requests usually fall into three categories: a course modification (changing a minor aspect of an existing course), a substantive course change (adding or deleting a course from a program), or a substantive program change (adding or deleting an entire program). Each Curriculum Review Request requires the completion and submission of a standard form, and must include any necessary supporting documentation.

In general, Curriculum Review Requests begin at the departmental level. Once approved by the Faculty in a department, the Request is forwarded to the appropriate College Dean for review and discussion at the College level. After approval at the College level, the Request is forwarded to the Curriculum Committee for review and approval by the Committee. Once a Request has moved through the steps of the Curriculum Review Process, the recommendation for approval or non-approval is forwarded from the Committee to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

As part of the Athens State academic governance structure, any measure relating to academic matters and properly passed by the Faculty shall become the policy and practice of the institution unless it cannot be performed for fiscal or other strictly administrative reasons, or concerns an issue wherein the law, including State Board policy, requires the ASU administration to set policy or practice for the institution or to follow already existing law or policy. If these exceptions do not apply, the Curriculum Review Request is approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the Vice President will take and document the appropriate steps to implement the change.

In the case of new academic programs, an application for a new program must be submitted to the State Board of Education for action and approval at the system-level, and must also be submitted for state-level approval to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.