How to Build Your Courses
Throughout the year, the Registrar's Office works in conjunction with academic departments across campus to create the schedule of courses for each upcoming semester. The course building process begins well in advance of the start of each term. Classes offered in the Fall begin being developed in early December, Spring classes in early August, and Summer classes in early October.
As the beginning of the course building process draws closer, our office sends out an email to departmental staff announcing training opportunities and providing updates and general information about the process.
How to Request a Change
Spring 2026 Schedule of Courses Timeline
| Date(s) | Event/Deadline |
|---|---|
| August 4 at 8:00 a.m. | SWCSCHD is open to departments. (Refer to Access Guidelines below) |
| September 2 at 8:00 a.m. | Dean’s Office access turned on (dept. access off). (Refer to Access Guidelines below) Course fee reports sent to colleges/schools for review by Student Financial Services. Beginning today, departments must use the SOC Change/New Section forms in myUVM. |
| September 3 | Deadline to submit Syllabi for approved Co-locations to Graduate College. Previously approved co-locations must be reviewed and approved by the Dean of the Graduate College each term. |
| September 12 | Graduate College list of approved co-locations due to Registrar's Office. |
| September 15 at 8:00 a.m. | Registrar’s Office begins review (dean access off). |
| September 16 | Deadline: Deans' Offices to approve Course Action Forms (CAF) for Spring Topics In, PLHC Seminar, and FYS sections lacking Catamount Core (CC) approval. RO sends colleges/schools a list on September 9. CAF requests reviewed at October CCC meeting. See “Variable Content Courses and Catamount Core Designation” section for more info. |
| September 26 | “See Also” entries due from College of Arts and Sciences. |
| September 30 & October 1 | Final Department Proofing – Limited edit mode in SWCSCHD enabled. (Refer to Access Guidelines below) Proofing changes are due by 4:30 p.m. on October 1. Changes submitted after the deadline will be processed starting October 20 for non-GP classrooms and November 3 for GP classrooms. |
| Modifying restrictions within the SOC comments will not remove it from the system. Many restrictions are embedded at the section or catalogue level. To request a change to a restriction during periods of limited access, please complete a section change form. Our office will update registration restrictions as necessary. It remains your responsibility to revise the SOC comment text accordingly. | |
| October 2 | New Section, Section and Room change forms disabled until October 20. |
| October 3 | Faculty begin loading Expanded Section Descriptions (ESDs). |
| October 3-10 | SOC review for classroom scheduling; meetings with Associate Deans. |
| October 13-17 | RO schedules general purpose rooms. |
| October 20-24 | Deans' Offices review classroom assignments. |
| October 20 (updated) |
|
| October 27-31 | Faculty review classroom assignments. |
| October 27 | Expanded Section Description Deadline. |
| November 3-7 | RO works on classroom change requests. |
| November 3 | Faculty can access Spring 2026 sections in Brightspace & add TAs. |
| November 5 | Deadline for adding course fees; pending fees will not be published in the SOC or open for registration. |
| November 10 | Registration begins. |
NEW!
Please review each section and indicate in the comments whether it is open to PACE students, or open with permission and override. If the section is not open to PACE students, no comment needs to be added. You will notice there are new attributes on sections this time.
There are three access options:
| Access Option | Attribute | Comment Required |
|---|---|---|
| Open to PACE students | CEXX | "Open to Degree and PACE students" |
| Open with permission and override | CEIP | "PACE students by permission and override" |
| PACE students can register after level restrictions have been lifted | CENO | [No comment required] |
Please review course sections thoughtfully and select the most appropriate access option. Courses will retain these attributes when rolled to future terms, so please ensure your selections are intentional. If the attribute is incorrect on a section, please use the Note field in SWCSCHD using the type of ATTR and we will adjust the attribute at the catalog level.
Summer 2026 Schedule of Courses Timeline
IMPORTANT – Please note that the Waterman building will be offline for the summer semester.
| Date(s) | Activity |
|---|---|
| October 20 (8a.m.), 2025 | SWCSCHD Available to Departments |
| November 3 (8a.m.), 2025 | Dean’s Office Access On (Dept. Access Off) |
| November 14 (4:30p.m.), 2025 | All changes must be submitted via the SOC change/new section forms * |
| November 17 – December 5, 2025 | PACE Course Review |
| December 8 – 19, 2025 | Registrar’s Office Review & Coding (Dean Access Off) |
| December 19, 2025 | Deadline for Catamount Core designations for Topics In sections. See “Variable Content Courses and Catamount Core Designation” section for more info. |
| December 22-January 2, 2026 | Deans Access on for proofing** |
** Modifying restrictions within the SOC comments will not remove it from the system. Many restrictions are embedded at the section or catalogue level. To request a change to a restriction during periods of Dean’s access, please complete a section change form. Our office will update registration restrictions as necessary. It remains your responsibility to revise the SOC comment text accordingly. | |
| January 2, 2026 | Faculty begin loading Expanded Section Descriptions (ESDs) |
| January 5-6, 2026 | RO works on SOC changes |
| January 7-9, 2026 | Classroom Scheduling |
| January 12-13, 2026 | PACE Works on Missing Room Assignments |
| January 14, 2026 | Schedule of Courses Posted Online |
| January 17, 2026 | Deadline for submitting Syllabi for approved Co-locations to Graduate College Previously approved co-locations must be reviewed and approved by the Graduate College each term. |
| January 30, 2026 | Graduate College list of approved Co-locations due to Registrar’s Office. |
| February 13, 2026 | Expanded Section Description (ESDs) Deadline |
| February 25, 2026 | Deadline for adding course fees; pending fees will not be published in the SOC or open for registration. |
| March 2, 2026 | Summer registration begins |
Schedule of Courses Processing Information:
- Please note, only standard meeting patterns should be entered for courses in SWCSCHD (see SMP list attached). Courses allowing a TBA meeting pattern such as internships, independent study, practica, online and travel courses can be entered using the standard meeting pattern date block. Days and times can be left blank.
- For the 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 8.1, 8.2, 10.1, 12.0, 12.3, and 12.4 SMP’s, please identify course details in course comments for review.
* Starting 4:30 p.m. on November 14, all changes must be submitted via the SOC change/new section forms in myUVM. Arts & Sciences course changes and new section requests must be submitted to the appropriate CAS Chair or Program Director and then forwarded to Lise Larose in the CAS Dean’s Office. All others should be submitted directly to PACE.
Contact Information
For specific questions or further assistance with the course building process, please contact our office at regsoc@uvm.edu or by calling (802) 656-2045.