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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 don’t 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 11, 2026

SCUS Material Deadline SCUS Meeting Senate Meeting Effective Date*
June 19, 2026 July 9, 2026 September 14, 2026*** Summer 2027**
July 17, 2026 August 6, 2026 September 14, 2026
August 14, 2026 September 3, 2026 October 5, 2026
September 11, 2026 October 1, 2026 November 2, 2026
October 16, 2026 November 5, 2026 December 7, 2026
November 13, 2026 December 3, 2026 January 4, 2027 Fall 2027**
December 4, 2026 January 7, 2027 February 1, 2027
January 15, 2027 February 4, 2027 March 1, 2027
February 12, 2027 March 4, 2027 April 5, 2027
March 12, 2027 April 1, 2027 May 17, 2027 Spring 2028**
April 16, 2027 May 6, 2027 June 14, 2027
May 14, 2027 June 3, 2027 July 5, 2027
June 18, 2027 July 8, 2027 September 13, 2027*** Summer 2028**
July 16, 2027 August 5, 2027 September 13, 2027
August 13, 2027 September 9, 2027 October 4, 2027
September 24, 2027 October 14, 2027 November 1 or December 6, 2027
October 15, 2027 November 4, 2027 December 6, 2027
November 12, 2027 December 2, 2027 January 10, 2028 Fall 2028**

*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 11, 2026

SCUS Material Deadline SCUS Meeting SCUP Meeting Senate Meeting Effective Date*
May 15, 2026 June 4, 2026 July 8, 2026 September 14, 2026** Summer 2027
June 19, 2026 July 9, 2026 September 16, 2026 October 5, 2026
July 17, 2026 August 6, 2026 September 16, 2026 October 5, 2026
August 14, 2026 September 3, 2026 October 14, 2026 November 2, 2026
September 11, 2026 October 1, 2026 November 4, 2026 December 7, 2026
October 16, 2026 November 5, 2026 December 2, 2026 January 4, 2027 Fall 2027
November 13, 2026 December 3, 2026 January 13, 2027 February 1, 2027
December 4, 2026 January 7, 2027 February 3, 2027 March 1, 2027
January 15, 2027 February 4, 2027 February 24, 2027 April 5, 2027
February 12, 2027 March 4, 2027 March 31, 2027 May 17, 2027 Spring 2028
March 12, 2027 April 1, 2027 April 28, 2027 May 17, 2027
April 16, 2027 May 6, 2027 May 26, 2027 June 14, 2027
May 14, 2027 June 3, 2027 June 16, 2027 July 5, 2027
June 18, 2027 July 8, 2027 July 21, 2027 September 13, 2027** Summer 2028
July 16, 2027 August 5, 2027 September 15, 2027 October 4, 2027
August 13, 2027 September 9, 2027 October 13, 2027 November 1, 2027
September 24, 2027 October 14, 2027 November 10, 2027 December 6, 2027
October 15, 2027 November 4, 2027 December 1, 2027 January 10, 2028 Fall 2028

*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

October 29, 2025 

Location: Zoom conference

Time: 1:30-3:00pm

Contact

For more information on the curriculum workshop, or to RSVP, please contact Kris Nordgren (kdn1@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 SFU 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 2027
Last Senate Meeting July 6, 2026
Send to Departments for Review September 14, 2026
Deadline for Departmental Review September 28, 2026
Calendar Published Latest October 16, 2026
Enrollment Begins November 2, 2026
First Day of Classes January 5, 2027
Summer 2027
Last Senate Meeting December 7, 2026
Send to Departments for Review January 13, 2027
Deadline for Departmental Review January 27, 2027
Calendar Published Latest February 12, 2027
Enrollment Begins March 1, 2027
First Day of Classes May 10, 2027
Fall 2027
Last Senate Meeting April 5, 2027
Send to Departments for Review May 17, 2027
Deadline for Departmental Review May 31, 2027
Calendar Published Latest June 18, 2027
Enrollment Begins July 5, 2027
First Day of Classes September 8, 2027
Spring 2028
Last Senate Meeting July 5, 2027
Send to Departments for Review September 13, 2027
Deadline for Departmental Review September 27, 2027
Calendar Published Latest October 15, 2027
Enrollment Begins November 1, 2027
First Day of Classes January 10, 2028
Summer 2028
Last Senate Meeting December 6, 2027
Send to Departments for Review January 17, 2028
Deadline for Departmental Review January 31, 2028
Calendar Published Latest February 18, 2028
Enrollment Begins March 6, 2028
First Day of Classes May 8, 2028