Undergraduate academic change at University of Toronto Scarborough is part of the annual curriculum cycle, as laid out by the Call for Curriculum issued each Winter term by the Dean’s Office. The Call for Curriculum outlines the timeline and processes for departments to submit their major and minor modifications for governance approval.
The Call for Undergraduate Curriculum for 2024-25 Calendar can be found here, or located in the Deans, Chairs & Directors Memoranda available under the Academic Administrators heading in the site menu.
Campus Curriculum Review Recommendations
The Campus Curriculum Review offers key institutional vision and commitments for curriculum at U of T Scarborough. Recommended Action 1 of the Review prioritizes, across all disciplines and at a systemic level, attention to curricular content to consider where and how students are encountering diverse knowledges.
All academic units are asked to reflect in curriculum change proposals how changes will support the priorities of the Campus Curriculum Review, including equity, accessibility, antiracism, anti-colonialism and Indigeneity, and student mental health and well-being.
UTSC Campus Curriculum Committee
The Campus Curriculum Committee (CCC) is a consultative group that typically meets in early October to discuss planned curriculum changes and provide feedback to Departments before their proposals are finalized. All Departments are asked to submit a summary of planned changes to the CCC, briefly outlining curriculum changes being proposed for the upcoming year's Calendar. A formal request for planned changes is issued by the Dean's Office in August, along with a report template. For more background about the CCC please see DCD#22 2020-2021.
Curriculum Change Proposals: Minor Modifications
The most common curriculum changes will be minor modifications, which include new courses and course retirements; changes to existing courses such as prerequisites, title, or description; change in a course mode of delivery; and changes to programs that do not alter the program’s learning outcomes or impact how current students move through the program. Additional information and examples are available online from the Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs page on Academic Change Processes.
Minor modifications are typically due in early Fall, and are submitted directly via the Curriculum Manager (CM) system. Proposal templates are available to help draft new courses, and Academic Directors and administrative staff can contact programs.curriculum.utsc@utoronto.ca for help with proposal creation. A proposed minor modification typically goes through the following stages:
| Department | Modification is discussed at departmental level, likely at Department Curriculum Committee |
| Office of the Vice-Principal Academic & Dean | Modification is submitted via CM to the Programs & Curriculum team in the OVPD Modification is reviewed by Programs & Curriculum Coordinator and the Associate Dean Undergraduate Programs & Curriculum, and revised collaboratively with the academic unit |
| Governance | Modification is submitted to Academic Affairs Committee for final review and approval |
| Implementation | If approved, the Academic Calendar is updated to reflect the new modification, and the change is made available to students |
Curriculum Change Proposals: Major Modifications
Major modifications are more significant changes on the program level, which include program restructuring; addition of new sets of requirements with new program learning outcomes; creation of a new Stream for a Specialist or Major (such as a Co-op Specialist); and creation of a new Freestanding Minor. A new program is defined as a brand new Specialist or Major program where there is no existing Major or Specialist.
Major modifications are typically due in mid Summer, and are submitted to the Academic Programs Officer via MS Word document template for review and revision. Academic Directors and administrative staff should contact the Associate Dean Undergraduate Programs & Curriculum as early as possible to discuss these proposals before submission.
The timeline and process for submission to governance for major modifications will vary depending on the type of modification being planned. New program development, in particular, involves many stages and takes at least 3 years to complete.
Please feel free to reach out to the Programs and Curriculum team at any time if you have further questions that are not answered by the materials on this page. The team can be reached at programs.curriculum.utsc@utoronto.ca.
