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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.

Undergraduate curriculum: approval process, deadlines

Approval process for undergraduate curriculum

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

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Deadlines: course and program changes

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.

Deadlines: new programs, program suspensions/terminations, and program name changes

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.

Resources

Curriculum workshop

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

Document process guidelines

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. 

* Document Process Guidelines.docx
Last updated: October 2015

Terminology

Below is a list of terms most commonly used on this website and when talking about the undergraduate curriculum process.

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.  

General processing tips

  1. Realistic effective dates (one year for courses and program changes; 2 years for a new programs).
  2. Use the proper forms, follow format.
  3. Consult with the Senate and Academic Services office throughout the process if you have questions.
  4. Carefully fill out all required information on forms and templates and make your changes obvious.
  5. Have at least two people read through the documents looking for errors before submission.
  6. Include your advisors in the conversation.

Academic Calendar

Publication timeline

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. 

Expected review dates

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