Click here to print a PDF copy of "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. 

• 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 3, 2023

*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.

****No Senate meeting in October.

Last updated: August 3, 2023

*The effective date indicates when the curriculum change is operational in SIMS, Academic Calendar and the Academic Progress Report.

**No Senate meeting in August.

***No Senate meeting in October.

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

November 1, 2023 

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. 

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
• Docushare – on-line repository of all Senate documents since 1965
• 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 – Student Information Management System
• 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.  

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.

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.

*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.