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) |
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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 2025 Schedule of Courses Timeline
Date(s) | Activity |
---|---|
October 21 (8:00 a.m.) - November 1, 2024 | SWCSCHD opens to departments. |
November 4 (8:00 a.m.) – November 15, 2024 | Dean’s Office access turned on (Dept. Access Off) |
November 18 – December 6, 2024 | PACE Course Review |
December 9, 2023 – January 3, 2024 | Registrar’s Office Review and Coding (Dean Access Off) |
December 20, 2024 | Deadline for Catamount Core designations for Topics In sections (please see note #6) |
January 2, 2025 | Faculty begin loading Expanded Section Descriptions (ESDs) |
January 6 – January 8, 2025 | Classroom Scheduling |
January 9 – January 14, 2025 | PACE Works on Missing Room Assignments |
January 15, 2025 | Schedule of Courses Posted Online (Faculty can load expanded section descriptions) |
January 31, 2025 | Deadline for Submitting Final Changes/Additions (please see note #5) |
February 14, 2025 | Expanded Section Description (ESDs) Deadline |
March 3, 2025 | Summer registration begins |
Schedule of Courses Processing Information:
- Course information has been rolled from SS24 to SS25 in SWCSCHD, and the Banner Page will be available to departments on Monday, October 21. Course information will need to be entered, confirmed, edited and/or new sections added accordingly into SWCSCHD.
- Note, only standard meeting patterns should be entered for SS25 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.
- REMEMBER: SMPs now have a corresponding Part of Term (POT) Code. I have attached the POT Key for you to reference when adjusting the dates in SWCSCHD. Note: some of the SMPs were adjusted to accommodate the celebration of Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and July 4th. REMEMBER: you are now able to enter the POT code and it will populate the correct dates. You no longer need to enter dates in the SOC comments. Please just enter the appropriate POT code. Because this is new, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or regsoc@uvm.edu with any questions.
- 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.
- Note, courses with the following titles have been set up for each unit:
- Undergraduate Research (x995) - Internship (x991)
Independent Study (x993) - Teaching Assistantship (x994)
- Use the regular course number for these courses. Do not submit them as Special Topic (Schedule types of “T” or “I” are no longer valid for Special Topics courses)
- Undergraduate Research (x995) - Internship (x991)
- Review the instructions for SWCSCHD by logging into myUVM, selecting the Schedule of Courses Tools card, and clicking on ‘SWCSCHD Instructions’. Pay special attention to the “Entering Information on SWCSCHD” section. This outlines very important course details that need to be documented during this process. One-on-one help sessions in using SWCSCHD can be arranged by emailing regsoc@uvm.edu.
- Starting 4:30 p.m. on November 15, 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.
- Expanded Section Descriptions (ESDs) are due by February 14th: Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Article 16.20, faculty members must provide ESDs or a link to a recent syllabus for all of their course sections in the upcoming term. ESDs help students understand the nature of a course, its learning objectives, pedagogy, and methods of evaluation. The link to post an ESD, including an instructional video, is located on the Teaching tab of myUVM. Department Chairs, Associate Deans, and Deans can view the status of ESD entries via the “Expanded Section Description Report” located on the Dean/Chair tab of myUVM in the Schedule of Courses Tool section.
- Please make sure to review the course and program fee policy. Fees and appropriate detail codes should be entered in the comments section of SWCSCHD during department or dean loading periods, or submitted via the new course/change forms. Courses with fees that have not been finalized prior to February 24, 2025 will be changed to pending status and will not display on the Schedule of Courses until the detail code and fee amount is submitted to the Registrar’s Office. No modifications or fee additions are allowed after student registration for the course has opened.
- Only independent study courses or additional sections needed, due to high student enrollment demand, may be added after January 31st.
- Remember: Requests for Catamount Core approval for sections of Topics In courses must be submitted via a Course Action Form. The form must make it through workflow and be in the Dean’s approval queue by December 20th in order to be approved for the Summer SOC. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Fall 2025 Schedule of Courses Timeline
Date(s) | Activity |
---|---|
December 2, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. | SWCSCHD opens to departments. |
January 20, 2025* at 8:00 a.m. | Dean’s Office access turned on (dept. access off) • Course fee reports will be distributed to colleges/schools for review by Student Financial Services |
January 27, 2025 | Deadline for submitting 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. |
February 3, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. | Registrar’s Office begins review (dean access off) |
February 10,2025 | Graduate College list of approved Co-locations due to Registrar’s Office. |
February 14, 2025 | “See Also” entries due from College of Arts & Sciences |
February 18-19, 2025
| Final Department Proofing - Remember! Limited edit mode in SWCSCHD enabled.
|
February 20, 2025 | Remember! SOC New Section, Section Change, and Room scheduling forms disabled until limited edit mode is re-enabled on March 17. |
February 21, 2025 | Faculty begin loading Expanded Section Descriptions (ESDs) |
February 21-28, 2025 | SOC review for classroom scheduling and meetings with Associate Deans |
March 3-7, 2025 | RO schedules general purpose rooms |
March 4, 2025 | Deadline to submit Course Action Form (CAF) for Fall Topics In and PLHC Sophomore Seminar sections that have not received Catamount Core Curriculum (CCC) designation(s) approval. RO will send colleges/schools a list on February 26th. CAF requests will be reviewed at the March CCCC committee meeting. See “Variable Content Courses and Catamount Core Designation” for more information. |
March 10-14, 2025 | Dean’s Offices review classroom assignments |
March 15, 2025 | Deadline to submit Course Action Form (CAF) for Fall PLHC First Year Seminar and Fall First Year Seminar (CAS FYS) sections that have not received Catamount Core Curriculum (CCC) designation(s) approval. RO will send college/schools a list on March 4th. CAF requests will be reviewed at the April CCC committee meeting. See the end of this document for clarification. |
March 17, 2025 | Schedule of Courses posted online; faculty can issue overrides |
March 17, 2025 | Remember! SOC New Section, Section Change, and Room scheduling forms re-enabled.
|
March 18 | Deadline to submit Course Action Form (CAF) for Fall PLHC First Year Seminar and Fall First Year Seminar (CAS FYS) sections that have not received Catamount Core Curriculum (CCC) designation(s) approval. RO will send college/schools a list on March 7th. CAF requests will be reviewed at the April CCCC committee meeting. See “Variable Content Courses and Catamount Core Designation” for more information. |
March 17-21, 2025 | Faculty review classroom assignments |
March 21, 2025 | Expanded Section Description deadline |
March 24-28, 2025 | RO works on classroom change requests |
March 28, 2025 | Faculty can access Fall 2025 sections in Brightspace and add TAs |
March 31, 2025 | Deadline for adding course fees; sections with course fee information pending will not be published in the SOC or open for registration. |
April 4, 2025 | Registration begins
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*Beginning January 20, 2025, departments must submit changes via the SOC Change/New Section forms in myUVM. Changes resulting from proofing must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. on February 19, 2025. Changes to sections scheduled in a non-GP classroom that are submitted after this deadline will be processed starting March 17, 2025; changes to sections scheduled in a GP classroom will be processed beginning March 24, 2025.
Please note the following important information regarding the Schedule of Courses processing:
- Fall 2024 course information has been rolled to the Fall 2025 semester in SWCSCHD. Please make sure to delete any courses that will not be offered, particularly Thesis/Dissertation Research. If you do not find a course that you expected to have rolled, please add it. If you have had faculty leave, please make sure to remove them from the rolled courses.
- Please make sure to review the course and program fee policy. Fees and appropriate detail codes should be entered in the comments section of SWCSCHD during department or dean loading periods or submitted via the new course/change forms. Courses with fees that have not been finalized prior to March 31st will be changed to pending status and will not display on the Schedule of Courses until the detail code and fee amount is submitted to the Registrar’s Office. No modifications or fee additions are allowed after student registration for the course has opened.
- Expanded Section Descriptions (ESDs) are due by March 21. Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Article 16.20, faculty members must provide ESDs or a link to a recent syllabus for all of their course sections in the upcoming semester. ESDs help students understand the nature of a course, its learning objectives, pedagogy, and methods of evaluation. The link to post an ESD, including an instructional video, is located on the Course Building card in myUVM. Department Chairs, Associate Deans, and Deans can view the status of ESD entries via the “Expanded Section Description Report” located on Course Reports card in myUVM.
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.