Undergraduate Curriculum Management
Introduction
Academic units develop new courses and programs; they also propose modifications and deletions to courses and programs. The academic unit then submits the curriculum item to the appropriate approval committees. Once the committees approve the change, the curriculum item is operational in the Student Information Management System (SIMS), the Academic Calendar and the Academic Progress Report (APR) per the approved effective date.
Because the approval process involves lots of forms and adherence to the established guidelines, Senate and Academic Services (SAS) developed this site to provide access to forms, templates, guidelines, deadlines and resources. If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to contact Kris Nordgren, Assistant Registrar, for consultation at any time throughout the development and approval process.
A curriculum item relating to a course or program has to be approved by the following committees before it can be implemented in the Student Management Information System (SIMS), the Academic Calendar, and the Academic Progress Report (APR) per the approved effective date on the Senate paper.
Please review the courses and program tabs on this site for more detailed steps within the process outlined below.
Courses: New/Modify/ Delete/ Temporarily withdraw |
New Programs | Program Changes | Program Suspension | Program Termination | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Step 1 Notice of Intent (NOI) |
Step 2 Full Program Proposal (FPP) |
|||||
1 | Academic Unit | Academic Unit | Academic Unit | Academic Unit | Academic Unit | Academic Unit |
2 | UCC | UCC | UCC | UCC | UCC | UCC |
3 | SCUS | SCUS | SCUS | SCUS | SCUS | SCUS |
4 | Senate (for info) |
SCUP | SCUP | Senate (for info) |
SCUP | SCUP |
5 | SIMS and Academic Calendar | Senate | SIMS, Academic Calendar, Academic Progress Report |
Senate (for info) |
Senate | |
6 | BOG | Academic Calendar | BOG | |||
7 | AVED | Academic Calendar | ||||
SIMS, Academic Calendar, Academic Progress Report |
- APR- Academic Progress Report
- AVED- Ministry of Advanced Education
- BOG- Board of Governors
- FPP- Full Program Proposal
- NOI- Notice of Intent
- SCUP- Senate Committee on University Priorities
- SCUS- Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies
- SIMS- Student Information Management System
- UCC- Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Last updated: August 14, 2024
SCUS Material Deadline | SCUS Meeting | Senate Meeting | Effective Date* |
---|---|---|---|
June 14, 2024 | July 4, 2024 | September 9, 2024*** | Summer 2025** |
July 12, 2024 | August 1, 2024 | September 9, 2024 | |
August 23, 2024 | September 12, 2024 | October 7, 2024 | |
September 13, 2024 | October 3, 2024 | November 4, 2024 | |
October 11, 2024 | November 7, 2024 | December 2, 2024 | |
November 15, 2024 | December 5, 2024 | January 6, 2025 | Fall 2025** |
December 6, 2024 | January 9, 2025 | February 3, 2025 | |
January 17, 2025 | February 6, 2025 | March 3, 2025 | |
February 14, 2025 | March 6, 2025 | April 7, 2025 | |
March 14, 2025 | April 3, 2025 | May 20, 2025 | Spring 2026** |
April 11, 2025 | May 1, 2025 | June 9, 2025 | |
May 16, 2025 | June 5, 2025 | July 7, 2025 | |
June 13, 2025 | July 3, 2025 | September 8, 2025*** | Summer 2026** |
July 18, 2025 | August 7, 2025 | September 8, 2025 | |
August 22, 2025 | September 11, 2025 | October 6, 2025 | |
September 12, 2025 | October 2, 2025 | November 3, 2025 | |
October 17, 2025 | November 6, 2025 | December 1, 2025 | |
November 14, 2025 | December 4, 2025 | January 5, 2026 | Fall 2026** |
*The effective date indicates when the curriculum change is operational in SIMS, Academic Calendar and the Academic Progress Report.
**In April 2022, SCUS approved a change in process:
- Fall Calendar: only major program modifications and policy changes will be permitted.
- Spring and Summer Calendars: minor modifications and urgent policy changes that will have a positive effect on students are permitted.
***No Senate meeting in August.
Last updated: August 14, 2024
SCUS Material Deadline | SCUS Meeting | SCUP Meeting | Senate Meeting | Effective Date* |
---|---|---|---|---|
May 10, 2024 | June 6, 2024 | July 10, 2024 | September 9, 2024** | Summer 2025 |
June 14, 2024 | July 4, 2024 | September 11, 2024 | October 7, 2024 | |
July 12, 2024 | August 1, 2024 | September 11, 2024 | October 7, 2024 | |
August 23, 2024 | September 12, 2024 | October 2, 2024 | November 4, 2024 | |
September 13, 2024 | October 3, 2024 | October 23, 2024 | December 2, 2024 | |
October 11, 2024 | November 7, 2024 | December 4, 2024 | January 6, 2025 | Fall 2025 |
November 15, 2024 | December 5, 2024 | January 8, 2025 | February 3, 2025 | |
December 6, 2024 | January 9, 2025 | February 5, 2025 | March 3, 2025 | |
January 17, 2025 | February 6, 2025 | February 26, 2025 | April 7, 2025 | |
February 14, 2025 | March 6, 2025 | April 16, 2025 | May 20, 2025 | Spring 2026 |
March 14, 2025 | April 3, 2025 | May 14, 2025 | June 9, 2025 | |
April 11, 2025 | May 1, 2025 | June 18, 2025 | July 7, 2025 | |
May 16, 2025 | June 5, 2025 | July 9, 2025 | September 8, 2025** | Summer 2026 |
June 13, 2025 | July 3, 2025 | September 10, 2025 | October 6, 2025 | |
July 18, 2025 | August 7, 2025 | September 10, 2025 | Octobet 6, 2025 | |
August 22, 2025 | September 11, 2025 | October 1, 2025 | November 3, 2025 | |
September 12, 2025 | October 2, 2025 | November 5, 2025 | December 1, 2025 | |
October 17, 2025 | November 6, 2025 | December 3, 2025 | January 5, 2026 | Fall 2026 |
*The effective date indicates when the curriculum change is operational in SIMS, Academic Calendar and the Academic Progress Report.
**No Senate meeting in August.
The Curriculum Workshop provides an overview of the curriculum process. It is offered once every term by Senate & Academic Services and the Graduate Studies office. The workshops are generally offered in February, May, and September of each year.
Next Workshop
March 12, 2024
Location: Zoom conference
Time: 1:30-3:00pm
Contact
For more information on the curriculum workshop, or to RSVP, please contact Rosa Balletta (rballett@sfu.ca).
Workshop Materials
Documents approved by Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS) must be accurate because errors could potentially cause academic harm to students. The document process guideline lists the principles SCUS abides by to avoid errors.
Last updated: October 2015
Below is a list of terms most commonly used on this website and when talking about the undergraduate curriculum process.
- APR Academic Progress Report
- AEM Content management system
- BOG Board of Governors
- Curricunet Curriculum Management System
- DQAB Degree Quality Assessment Board
- FPP Full Program Proposal
- NOI Notice of Intent
- SGSC Senate Graduate Studies Committee
- SCUP Senate Committee on University Priorities
- SCUS Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies
- SIMS
- WQB Writing, Quantitative, Breadth Requirements
Effective date
- Coincides with the beginning of a term i.e. May 01, September 01, January 01.
- Indicates when the curriculum change, new course or new program is operational.
- Drives information in the curriculum management system, the calendar and academic progress reports.
- Realistic effective dates (one year for courses and program changes; 2 years for a new programs).
- Use the proper forms, follow format.
- Consult with the Senate and Academic Services office throughout the process if you have questions.
- Carefully fill out all required information on forms and templates and make your changes obvious.
- Have at least two people read through the documents looking for errors before submission.
- Include your advisors in the conversation.
Once the curriculum change has been approved, it will appear in the Academic Calendar per the approved effective date. The Academic Calendar is published two weeks before enrollment begins for that term. A month before the Calendar is published, Senate and Academic Services (SAS) sends approved editors in each academic unit a draft Calendar to review. Senate document S.10-143 provides publication and revision guidelines for the official 間眅埶AV Calendar.
Senate Meeting | Academic Calendar/SIMS | Effective Date | Calendar Publish Date | Calendar Review Date ** |
---|---|---|---|---|
January-April | Fall | September 1st | Mid-June | Mid-May |
May-July* | Spring | January 1st | Mid-October | Mid-September |
September-December | Summer | May 1st | Mid-February | Mid-January |
*No Senate meeting in August
**Senate and Academic Services provides approximately 2 weeks for academic units to review the draft Calendar and submit any corrections.
The dates listed below are approximate times of when the Senate and Academic Services (SAS) office expects to conduct the Academic Calendar review process. SAS staff will email the calendar-front and the "calendar-subeditors mail-list with the confirmed revision dates at least a week in advance of the review period. Academic units have approximately 2 weeks to review the draft Calendar and submit any corrections.
Spring 2025 | |
Last Senate Meeting | July 8, 2024 |
Send to Departments for Review | September 16, 2024 |
Deadline for Departmental Review | October 1, 2024 |
Calendar Published Latest | October 18, 2024 |
Enrollment Begins | November 4, 2024 |
First Day of Classes | January 6, 2025 |
Summer 2025 | |
Last Senate Meeting | December 2, 2024 |
Send to Departments for Review | January 13, 2025 |
Deadline for Departmental Review | January 27, 2025 |
Calendar Published Latest | February 14, 2025 |
Enrollment Begins | March 3, 2025 |
First Day of Classes | May 12, 2025 |
Fall 2025 | |
Last Senate Meeting | April 7, 2025 |
Send to Departments for Review | May 16, 2025 |
Deadline for Departmental Review | June 2, 2025 |
Calendar Published Latest | June 20, 2025 |
Enrollment Begins | July 7, 2025 |
First Day of Classes | September 3, 2025 |
Spring 2026 | |
Last Senate Meeting | July 7, 2025 |
Send to Departments for Review | September 15, 2025 |
Deadline for Departmental Review | September 29, 2025 |
Calendar Published Latest | October 17, 2025 |
Enrollment Begins | November 3, 2025 |
First Day of Classes | January 5, 2026 |
Summer 2026 | |
Last Senate Meeting | December 1, 2025 |
Send to Departments for Review | January 14, 2026 |
Deadline for Departmental Review | January 28, 2026 |
Calendar Published Latest | February 13, 2026 |
Enrollment Begins | March 2, 2026 |
First Day of Classes | May 11, 2026 |