Timing and Implementation

Implementation Date

An implementation date is the date that a change to policy or procedure will take effect in practice. 

When preparing your GES or change proposal, it is more accurate to indicate an implementation date for the change you are proposing rather than indicating a specific Calendar publication, as the Calendar in which your change is published will also depend on when the change was approved.

Early Implementation 

Early implementation is when a change has been approved for implementation, but will not updated until the following Calendar.  In most cases, course changes and minor program changes are the only types of early implementation changes.  If a major or substantive change is approved for implementation in between Calendar publications, an amendment to the published Calendar is usually made so that the Calendar continues to accurately reflect current regulations or requirements.

Example: In March 2021, a change you made to a course was approved through governance for immediate (i.e., early) implementation. Although the course may exist and be offered, it does not appear in the 2021-2022 Calendar as this Calendar is already published.   See Post-Publication Changes for more information.

Future Implementation

The UAPPOL Undergraduate Admissions Procedure states: 

Where changes to admission regulations may disadvantage students in the current admission cycle, normally implementation will be effective after the change has been published in the University Calendar for one full year (i.e., effective the second year that the information is published in the University Calendar). It is also possible to have an Implementation date in the future.

For example, a change approved in May 2021 would be first published in the 2022-2023 University Calendar in March 2022. Therefore the statement cannot come into effect until September 2023 (affecting applicants who apply for the fall 2023 term). 

For more on the significance of this UAPPOL Procedure, see Step 3: Rules by Type of Change, Rules for Undergraduate Admissions

Calendar changes that REQUIRE governance approval may require a lot of time

These kinds of changes should be started long ahead of time (refer to Production Schedule). Some changes can take years before they are approved for formal implementation and Calendar publication, especially when final approval must be routed through the Ministry of Advanced Education (AE) and Campus Alberta Quality Council (CAQC). Examples of changes that require governance approval include: 

• • • Course changes - ex. addition of new courses, deletion of existing courses, or modification of existing courses

    • Major & Minor Program changes - ex. development of new programs and changes to, suspension of, or termination of existing programs

    • Changes to Admission, Transfer and Academic Standing Regulations - ex. changes to application deadlines, courses and GPA required for admission or readmission to a program

    • Changes to Regulations, Registration, Fees, University Policies - ex. changes to the meaning of ‘Academic Standing’

Timing of Submission

The Calendar is our contract with our students, and it is unfair to them to offer courses and programs that do not comply with the description in the Calendar. When course offering or program requirements do not match the Calendar/timetable description, students may be disadvantaged in program planning, course selection and program completion.

Changes will not be deemed approved unless they meet the timelines specified in GFC policy, for course and programs that involve:  

• • • Changes in hours of instruction or weight,

    • Changes in prerequisites or corequisites which could disadvantage any student,

    • Changes in description of content,

    • Changes in program requirements which could disadvantage any student, and

    • Other significant changes.

Example of timing when implementing a course or program change to take effect in September 2020:

• • • Submit the proposal to your Faculty, 

    • Vet and consult other affected Faculties, 

    • Amend and have the proposal approved at your Faculty Council, 

    • Submit the proposal to U of A Governance for vetting and circulation, 

    • Respond to challenges (if any), and

    • Achieve final approval through the GFC mandated process by January 2020 for inclusion in the Final Draft of the 2020-2021 Calendar.

For a large Faculty like Arts or Science, this normally means that the original proposal must have been received by Spring 2019 (about 1.25 years before the course will be taught).

Meeting the above timeline is the GFC standard. Requests for early implementation for course changes (i.e., not meeting the timeline) are considered atypical. They are approved by the Provost, Vice-President (Academic) and the Registrar in emergency cases when unavoidable circumstances have necessitated a course or program change at a late date. The Faculty should provide a statement of the circumstances surrounding the request, an indication of how the change will be communicated to students, as well as assurances that students will not be negatively impacted by the change. In Campus Solutions, requests for early implementation of course changes are not easily accommodated. For example, a change to a course title or weights requires that existing sections be cancelled and new sections be added.