Formatting FAQs

Do I have to list all of my course requirements or electives/options in the Calendar?

It depends on the type of requirement.

Specific requirements are individual courses that all students in a program must take.  In this case, each individual course must be listed in the Calendar.

Variable requirements are lists of courses that a student must choose some combination of in order to meet a requirement for a certain number of credits.  Options, electives, 'Choose 3 from' lists, and any requirement using the word 'OR' are all variable requirements.  Knowing what makes up the variable requirement will determine whether all of the individual courses must be listed.

Situations that DO NOT require the listing of individual courses

• If the variable requirement consists of one or more defined group(s) of courses.  Examples include:

  • All courses of a specific course designator (ex. ENGL, WRS, BIOL, ENGG, KIN, etc.)

  • All courses of a specific course level (ex. 100-level, 200-level, junior level, etc.)

  • A combination of the two the conditions listed above (ex. 100-level ENGL courses)

• If the variable requirement refers to a list of courses that is defined somewhere else in the Calendar.  Examples include:

  • All courses offered by a different faculty, as indicated by the Courses section on each faculty's hierarchy page

  • Having a list of courses posted elsewhere in the Calendar and then linking to that list from multiple program pages.  The primary list would need to have individual courses listed if they do not come from a defined group, but all other references to this variable requirement could link back to that primary list.

Situations that DO require the listing of individual courses

• Any list, regardless of  length, where the courses do not come from a complete defined group or listing, as described above.  For example, if an electives list will only accept some ENGL courses, but not all, then each individual course that will be accepted must be listed.

Additional notes on variable requirements

It is possible that a variable requirement listing in the Calendar can be in both situations above.   For example, an electives list that includes all BIOL courses but only some CHEM courses.  In this case, only the CHEM courses would need to be listed individually; the BIOL courses would be covered with a statement such as 'any BIOL course'.

While in the past it was acceptable for faculties to keep elective or options lists in a document other than the Calendar (i.e., program sheet, faculty office, webpage, etc.), this practice is no longer supported.  If individual course listings are required as per the criteria above, the Calendar team will work with faculties to include these in any proposed Calendar copy.

Best Practices for Page Titles

• Page titles should have enough information that a student can identify the subject of the page if that page title were to show up in a Google search.  For example, a page title such as "Chemistry" could mean the BSc subject area of Chemistry, the BEd teaching subject of Chemistry, graduate programs in Chemistry, etc.

• If multiple pages form a group or series, having the title start the same way means these pages will show up together in an alphabetical search.

Best Practices for Headers

• Where possible, headers should not contain any punctuation.  Using manual anchor links directly to a header will not work correctly if the header contains anything other than letters or numbers.

Do I need to separate my requirements by year and/or term?

A full list of course requirements is mandatory for all programs.  This list should include all specific and variable requirements.  Once approved through university governance, it becomes regulatory.

A course sequence (ie. separating course requirements by year and/or term) is not mandatory.  However, for faculties that use this type of listing, once it is approved by university governance, it becomes regulatory.

Best practice is to use a list of course requirements in the Calendar.  Course sequences can be left out of the Calendar and shared with student through other resources (program tool in CS, faculty websites, recruitment handouts, etc.)