Undergraduate Curriculum Management

• AVED- Ministry of Advanced Education
• BOG- Board of Governors
• NOI- Notice of Intent
• FPP- Full Program Proposal
• SCUP- Senate Committee on University Priorities
• SCUS- Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies
• UCC- Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

*If the Ministry of Advanced Education (AVED) has already approved the major, then adding a new minor, or extended minor doesn't require Ministry approval. If AVED has approved both the majors, then the academic unit doesn't need Ministry approval to create a new joint major or joint honours. Certificates and Post Baccalaureate Diplomas also don't require Ministry approval.  In these cases, the new program approval process goes from the academic unit to the Board of Governors (BOG) as outlined in the chart above. If you are unsure if your new program proposal requires Ministry approval, please consult with Jill Sutherland (ucil_director@sfu.ca), Director, University Curriculum & Institutional Liaison. 

**For new programs that require Ministry approval, academic units also need to complete a Ministry DQAB Review Template alongside the Full Program Proposal (FPP). Unlike the FPP, the DQAB template does not go to any committees. It can be submitted directly to the University Curriculum office - Jocelyn Chapman-University Curriculum Coordinator (ucil_office@sfu.ca).  The curriculum office will review the information and pair it up with the FPP before uploading the information to the Ministry site. 

***(AVED) posts the program proposal to the peer review website for 30 days. AVED provides a decision usually a month after the peer review is complete. The academic unit can implement the program once Ministry provides confirmation of approval. 

APPROVAL PROCESS

1. Academic unit prepares and approves a Program Modification Template.


2. Academic unit submits proposal with cover memo to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) for approval.


3. UCC submits proposal to Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS) for approval with memo.


4. SCUS submits proposal to Senate for information.


5. Senate and Academic Services staff processes the changes in the Academic Calendar and the Academic Progress Report (APR) per the approved effective date. 

Sample

Changes to the names of existing academic programs require approval of:

• The academic unit
• Faculty UCC
• SCUS
• SCUP
• Senate and
• Board of Governors

A proposed Program Name Change requires a separate motion from any related program content modifications. See Program Modification.

Interdisciplinary programs should ensure all participating units support the proposed name change and include supporting memos. 

A program’s current name continues to apply to the credential of any active student unless the student elects to formally move to the program under the new name.

APPROVAL PROCESS

1. Academic unit prepares and approves a Program Name Change Template.


2. Academic unit submits proposal with cover memo to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) for approval.


3. UCC submits proposal to Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS) for approval with memo.


4. SCUS submits proposal to SCUP for approval with memo.


5. SCUP submits proposal to Senate for approval with memo.


6. Senate submits proposal to BOG for approval with memo.


7. Senate and Academic Services staff processes the changes in the Academic Calendar per the approved effective date.

Sample

S.18-1 Program Name Change of the Asia-Canada Program

Normally, a program will not be recommended for termination unless:

(a) admissions to the program has been suspended for at least two semesters. For this reason, it is a two step process to terminate a program. First, suspension of admissions and then program termination.

(b) or IF there are no students currently enrolled in the program, consider the fast track option.

Proposals to suspend a program must provide sufficient information to allow all committees to fully understand the rationales for and consequences of suspension or termination including a communication plan to students. Doing so meets SFU’s standard of open, accountable, academic governance. Suspension of admissions to a program does not necessarily result in the termination of a program. To terminate a program, see the section on Program Termination.

Approval Process

1. Originator defined as Chair, Director or Faculty Dean, Department, School, or Faculty (or committee thereof) reviews the Proposal to Suspend Admissions Template to determine information needed for filling out the template.


2. Originator conducts consultation with appropriate Departmental, School and/or Faculty committees.


3. Originator fills out the "Proposal to Suspend Admission template."


4. Originator submits the template to the Faculty Dean.


5. Faculty Dean submits the template and cover memo to SCUS. 


6. Upon approval at SCUS, the documents are forwarded to SCUP.


7. Upon approval at SCUP, the information is sent to Senate for information.


8. After Senate, Senate and Academic Services' staff processes the suspension in the Academic Calendar.

NOTE: Upon suspension, the program will not disappear from the Calendar. Instead, there will be a note on the program page as shown here. To terminate the program, please see the terminate section below.

Senate Approved Criteria and Guidelines

Templates

Sample Proposal 

Proposals to terminate a program must provide sufficient information to allow all committees to fully understand the rationales for and consequences of suspension or termination. Doing so meets SFU’s standard of open, accountable, academic governance.

Approval Process

1. Originator defined as Chair, Director or Faculty Dean, Department, School, or Faculty (or committee thereof) reviews the Proposal to Terminate a Program Template to determine information needed for filling out the template


2. Originator conducts consultation with appropriate Departmental, School and/or Faculty committees.


3. Originator fills out the "Proposal to Terminate a Program template".


4. Originator submits the template to the Faculty Dean. 


5. Faculty Dean submits the template and cover memo to SCUS. 


6. Upon approval at SCUS, the documents are forwarded to SCUP.


7. Upon approval at SCUP, the information is sent to Senate for approval.


8. From Senate the information goes to the Board of Governors (BOG) for approval.


9. After BOG approval, Senate and Academic Services' staff processes the termination in the Academic Calendar per the approved effective date. 

NOTE: In some circumstances, the university may be required to consult with the Ministry responsible for post-secondary education prior to termination.

Senate Approved Criteria and Guidelines

Template

Sample Proposal

A recommendation to terminate a program that is in the SFU Calendar but has no enrolled students, may be considered for fast-tracking directly to the Senate level upon request of a Faculty Dean to the Vice-President Academic. The Dean should consult with the relevant department and/or faculty committees prior to requesting an expedited process.

Senate Approved Criteria and Guidelines

Template

Sample Proposal

Undergraduate first year programs and cohorts don't require Senate approval for creation or deletion. The academic unit submits first year programs and cohort proposals to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) and then to the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS). After SCUS approval, the program is implemented or deleted in the Academic Calendar per the approved effective date. 

Students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at SFU may be eligible to take graduate courses and count them towards their bachelor's degree and a master's degree at SFU. Students who have successfully completed at least 90 units of undergraduate course work with a minimum CGPA of 3.67, can submit a request to the undergraduate and graduate program to be considered for an accelerated master's (see GGR 1.3.6c). Approved students can apply a maximum of 10 graduate course units towards the electives or upper division requirements in the bachelor's program, and the program requirements for a master's program. Student information on the process can be found here: https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/apply/programs/accelerated-masters.html.

Approval Process

The accelerated master’s is an approved admissions option for all programs. Academic units can contact sfucal@sfu.ca to have the standard language below added after the program requirements in their calendar entry for the next effective term:

NOTE: SFU students accepted in the accelerated master’s within [name of academic unit/program] may apply a maximum of 10 graduate course units, taken while completing the bachelor’s degree, towards the upper division electives of the bachelor’s program and the requirements of the master’s degree. For more information go to: https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/apply/programs/accelerated-masters.html.

If you would like to customize any of the language the same approval process for an undergraduate program modification should be followed. For example, changing the maximum units to nine, specific course work, or course sequence.

For graduate programs, academic units can contact gscurric@sfu.ca to have the standard language added after the program requirements in their calendar entry for the next effective term (see SGSC Accelerated Master's for more information).