Faculty & Staff Announcements

Revised Academic Calendar

Anonymous — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 22:05:15 +0000

Revised Academic Calendar Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 12/31/2024 - 15:05 Office of the Registrar

Related Campus Communications

Dec. 20, 2023: CU Boulder announces revised academic calendar
Nov. 6, 2023: Faculty assembly hears 2nd proposal on academic calendar
Oct. 6, 2023: Chancellor addresses successor search, fundraising with faculty assembly

Changes to the Academic Calendar

As announced in December 2023, CU Boulder will follow a revised academic calendar beginning with the Fall 2025 semester.

These revisions were in direct response to feedback from deans, faculty, staff and students and focus on student academic preparedness as well as promoting health and wellbeing.

View Upcoming Key Academic Dates

Revisions to the academic calendar:

Adjusting the Monday-Wednesday-Friday and Tuesday-Thursday class meeting patterns so they both have the same number of instructional days.
Moving the first day of classes each semester earlier to Thursday rather than the following Monday.
Creating a midterm reading day each semester.
Adding another reading day before the final exam period at the end of each semester.
Moving spring break one week earlier to facilitate alignment with Boulder Valley School District’s and St. Vrain Valley School District’s spring breaks.

How these revisions create other differences from the current academic calendar:

The number of instructional days will be reduced from 73 to 70 during a standard fall and spring semester.
The midterm reading day will fall on the eighth Thursday of the semester.
The Friday of the last week of classes will operate as a Monday to equalize Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday-Friday instructional days.
The last day of classes each semester will fall on a Friday; final exam reading days will be on Saturday–Sunday; and the final exam period will be Monday–Friday, ending at 4 p.m. Friday.
After the end of the final exam period (Friday at 4 p.m.), departmental commencement recognition events (fall and spring semesters) and residence hall move out (spring semester) may be scheduled.
Spring commencement, which is held on the day after the final exam period, will fall on a Saturday.

Academic Calendar Working Group Members

Katherine Eggert, vice chancellor for academic planning and assessment
Devin Cramer, associate vice chancellor and dean of students
Andre Grothe, assistant vice provost for academic planning
Sarah Layton, associate registrar
Barbara Marshall, assistant vice chancellor of student financial services
Erika Swain, assistant director for compliance and authorization, academic affairs
Kristi Wold-McCormick, assistant vice provost and university registrar

Frequently Asked Questions

How many instructional minutes would the typical 3-credit class lose during a semester under the new calendar, as compared to the current one?

TTh meeting pattern: -150 minutes
MWF meeting pattern: -50 minutes
MW meeting pattern: -75 minutes
A once-a-week class on M or F: no change
A once-a-week class on T, W, or Th: -150 minutes

Does a shortened semester comply with federal and state requirements?

Yes.

Federal Title 34 definition of the credit hour allows for institutional interpretation of instructional class time as approved by their accrediting agency.
Colorado Commission of Higher Education guidelines define a base contact hour as a standard measurement of consumption of faculty resources by students. One base contact hour equals a minimum of 750 minutes. However, the final examination period may be included in contact hours.

Does a shortened semester comply with campus accreditation or academic disciplinary accreditation?

Yes. Our campus accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, makes sure we are in line with federal law but does not interfere with reasonable institutional interpretations of instructional class time. Many of our AAU peers who have 70 instructional days per semester are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Those same institutions also have accreditations in the same academic disciplines that we do.

What about lab classes that are set up to run the same lab experiment M-Th or M-F? Won’t the midterm reading day mess up a week?

The Office of the Registrar and the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Planning & Assessment will work with departments to optimize schedules. Other large AAU peers with 70 instructional days per semester (e.g., Michigan, Minnesota, UT-Austin) may serve as models for scheduling and curricular structures.

Why is the midterm reading day a Thursday?

It’s necessary to equalize the number of MTWRF instructional days.

Won’t students just skip classes on Friday to make the midterm reading day into a four-day weekend?

Perhaps. However, a Thursday midterm reading day will have less impact in this regard, since the campus offers a lot fewer classes on Fridays. For example, in Fall 2023, there were 2,697 Monday classes, 2,834 Wednesday classes and 1,901 Friday classes. In other words, we typically offer a third fewer classes on Fridays than we do on Mondays or Wednesdays.

Does the midterm reading day govern when midterms are scheduled?

No. Faculty may schedule exams and other due dates at any time.

Does the revised academic calendar extend the length of the semester?

No. The revised calendar shortens the calendrical ground covered by the semester by one day. Three days of instruction are removed, and one midsemester reading day and one final exams reading day are added. Put another way: Currently, the semester ends 16 weeks and 2 days after it begins. (Where "end" = the last day of final exams.) Beginning Fall 2025, the semester will end 16 weeks and 1 day after it begins.

Are faculty able to have exams or other due dates on the midterm reading day?

No; the midterm reading day functions like the final exam period reading days. Class sessions or graded assignments of any kind, including papers, lab practicums, presentations, portfolios and projects, may not take place or be due on a day designated in the academic calendar as a reading day. However, unlike the final exam period reading days, the midterm reading day is not a “blackout date” for concerts, sports events or other campus events.

What about common midterm exams? Can they be scheduled on the midterm reading day?

No. Departments and the Office of the Registrar will need to review scheduling of common midterm exams so they do not fall on the midterm reading day.

What will happen with the B81 and B82 “seven-week” sessions, which are currently 37 days?

They will be shortened to 35 days, or a true seven weeks.

What will happen with the Colorado Law calendar, which is already different from the academic calendar for the rest of the campus?

The Registrar’s team is working with the Colorado Law School to preserve the distinctive features of its calendar.

Will we have to make up snow days or other days when campus is closed due to emergency?

There’s no change on this. The chancellor will make a decision if excessive instructional days are lost to weather or other emergency circumstances.

Have BVSD and SVVSD agreed to align their spring breaks with ours?

The Boulder Valley School and St. Vrain Valley School Districts have agreed to align their spring breaks with CU Boulder’s starting in Spring 2026.

Whose decision was it to change the academic calendar?

Former Chancellor Philip DiStefano made this decision in December 2023 after considering input from campus constituents impacted by the academic calendar including faculty, students and staff. The CU system and the Board of Regents have been informed of these changes.

Who decides when spring commencement takes place?

The chancellor makes this decision. Spring commencement is a large-scale public event and thus involves many considerations, not just academic ones.

When will fall and spring departmental/program recognition ceremonies take place?

The events team in the Office of the Chancellor works with departments and programs to schedule recognition ceremonies held in the fall and spring semesters. See Commencement for more information.

As announced in December 2023, CU Boulder will follow a revised academic calendar beginning with the Fall 2025 semester.

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Class Enrollment and Timestamp Issues, 10/2

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 21:19:18 +0000

Class Enrollment and Timestamp Issues, 10/2 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/02/2024 - 15:19 Office of the Registrar

Last updated Friday, Oct. 4 at 1:45 p.m. MT.

On Wednesday, Oct. 2 we became aware of the following two issues occurring intermittently in CU Boulder Class Search after a recent vendor server upgrade, including:

The “last updated” timestamp on each class does not show as current, indicating potential issues with the class rebuild/refresh. Update: This has been resolved.
An error message appearing when a student tries to drop a Fall 2024 full-semester class or add an 8 week session 2 class. In all cases, students were able to successfully add or drop their classes once directed to use classic enrollment. (Total cases reported: 5.) Update: This has been resolved.

We are actively working with our vendor to diagnose the root causes of the issues and will continue to update this webpage with new information as it becomes available.

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Spring 2025 Continuing Student Enrollment Dates

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Spring 2025 Continuing Student Enrollment Dates Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/01/2024 - 00:00 CU-SIS Development Team

Registration Overview

On Monday, Oct. 14, each student's assigned enrollment appointment date and time will appear on their enrollment dates card in Buff Portal and in a registration e-memo from our office. Enrollment appointments are based on total completed cumulative hours for all but law students. If a student has CU or transfer hours added after their enrollment appointment is set, they may be eligible for an enrollment appointment adjustment.

Registration remains open through open enrollment, which begins Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.

Student Enrollment Blocks

Registration opens for each student block at the dates and times below. The time indicated below is the start time of the first appointment within that block. A given block may have several appointment start times. If that is the case, start times occur every 15 minutes.* Numbers in parentheses represent total cumulative credit hours, where applicable.

Monday, Nov. 4, 2024

8:30 a.m. – Priority registration students**
8:30 a.m. – Graduate BAM & concurrent degree students
9:30 a.m. – Veteran seniors
9:30 a.m. – Seniors (90+ credits)*

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024

7:30 a.m. – Graduate students*
3:00 p.m. – Undergraduate and graduate transfer exchange students

Monday, Nov. 11, 2024

8:30 a.m. – Veteran juniors
8:30 a.m. – Juniors (60–89.99 credits)*

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024

11:30 a.m. – Veteran sophomores
11:30 a.m. – Sophomores (30–59.99 credits)*

Monday, Nov. 18, 2024

8:30 a.m. – Freshmen (0–7.99 credits)
8:30 a.m. – Veteran freshmen
9:30 a.m. – Freshmen (8–29.99 credits)*

Friday, Nov. 22, 2024

9:00 a.m. – Law students

*Staggered enrollment appointment start times.

**Student athletes and students with special accommodations as identified by Disability Services.

Starting Monday, Oct. 14, continuing students will be able to view their assigned Spring 2025 enrollment dates and begin adding classes to their shopping cart. Enrollment appointment dates will occur from Nov. 4–22, 2024.

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Spring 2025 Advising Holds Applied to Continuing Students

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Spring 2025 Advising Holds Applied to Continuing Students Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/24/2024 - 00:00 CU-SIS Development Team

Thank you to everyone who confirmed or revised their Spring 2025 advising holds. We set most of the advising holds for continuing students (listed below) by Monday, Sept. 23.

If details of a hold are outstanding or if an SID file has not yet been received, the hold has not been set. Please keep in mind that the Office of the Registrar will begin communication to continuing students about registration for the Spring 2025 term on Monday, Oct. 14, and all holds, including those sourced by SID file, must be applied prior to that date. As a reminder, Thursday, Oct. 10 at noon is the final advising hold deadline after which no new advising holds will be assigned to continuing students.

Thank you to everyone who confirmed or revised their Spring 2025 advising holds. We set most of the advising holds (listed below) by Monday, Sept. 23.

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Fall 2024 Full-Semester Waitlists Canceled, 9/16

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Fall 2024 Full-Semester Waitlists Canceled, 9/16 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/16/2024 - 00:00 CU-SIS Development Team

Related Communications to Students

"Reminder: You're on a Fall 2024 Class Waitlist," 8/22/2024
"Reminder: You're on a Fall 2024 Special Session Class Waitlist," 8/22/2024

On Monday, Sept. 16, we canceled (a.k.a., purged) the waitlists for Fall 2024 Main Campus Boulder full-semester (Session B) and Western Colorado (Session BWU) classes. Waitlists for Colorado Mesa (Session BMU) classes were canceled on Tuesday, Sept. 10 and waitlists for Boulder Law full-semester (Session BLW) classes were canceled on Friday, Sept. 13.

To request a snapshot of the students who were still on a class waitlist when it was canceled, please email cusisdev@colorado.edu. The report also includes students who were waitlisted for more than one section of a class or who were waitlisted for one section but enrolled in another.

As a reminder, students who remain on the waitlist through the cancellation date lose access to the class's online materials and no longer appear on the class roster; however, they may be eligible for course reservation the next time that course is offered.

If you have a question about waitlist functionality or a particular student’s enrollment, please email registrar@colorado.edu.

Additional waitlist cancellation dates are published on our web calendars:

On Sept. 16, we canceled the waitlists for full-semester sessions B. To request a snapshot of students who were still on the waitlist, email the CU-SIS development team.

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Waitlist Enrollment Issue, 8/19

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 15:28:32 +0000

Waitlist Enrollment Issue, 8/19 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/27/2024 - 09:28 Registrar Network

An enrollment issue occurred in the early morning hours on Monday, Aug. 19 that affected waitlisted students.

The process to repopulate waitlist capacities when open enrollment began and when waitlist processing resumed (12:01 a.m.) did not run as scheduled. As a result, some students were enrolled in classes ahead of students on waitlists before the issue was detected and swiftly resolved. These incorrect enrollments occurred when sections had students drop a class section during this timeframe creating open seats and permitting non-waitlisted students to enroll. These students should have been placed at the bottom of the waitlist.

Unfortunately, neither Campus Solutions nor Cognos has point in time data for enrollment and waitlists, as such, we are not able to easily retrieve a list of impacted students to contact with resolution or options.

We recommend that if there is a student or class in question, advisors or the Office of the Registrar can review individual student enrollment request history to see how to best support them. Please contact cusisdev@colorado.edu if you’d like help with this process.

We apologize for this processing error and inconvenience it caused for students and advisors. To mitigate such issues in the future, we are considering having open enrollment start during business hours to ensure we have staffing for troubleshooting and support if/as needed.

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Summer 2024 Grades Very Overdue (Targeted Message)

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Summer 2024 Grades Very Overdue (Targeted Message) Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/27/2024 - 00:00 Office of the Registrar

Who Received This Email?

We sent this email on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, to instructors with post access who had unapproved grades in one or more Summer Session classes (law, specialized program, thesis and dissertation classes excluded).

Dear [instructor],

You have overdue grades for one or more summer sessions. All grades must be posted to avoid causing serious negative consequences for your students, which may include academic standing, financial aid and graduation eligibility.

Session	Class Info	Class #	Class Description	# Enrolled

Web grading is the only method of posting grades, including late grades. Do not email grades, as this violates campus security policies.

All grades must be posted to avoid causing serious negative consequences for your students, which may include academic standing, financial aid and graduation eligibility.

You must complete grading immediately by following these steps:

On MyCUInfo's Teaching Tools tab, click "Go to Web Grading."
If the wrong term is selected, click "Change Term."
Click the grade roster icon next to the class you want to grade.
Sync, upload or enter your grades.
Approve and post your grade roster(s).

For online assistance, see OIT's Canvas web grading sync page webpage and the Office of the Registrar's step-by-step instructions and videos. You may also contact:

Office of the Registrar
303-492-6970
registrar@colorado.edu
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Please note: On September 12, 2024, all students who remain ungraded for Summer 2024 will be assigned a grade of NR (not reported). After NR grades are assigned, instructors must submit an individual grade change request to assign a final grade for each student.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Regards,

Daryl Maeda
Dean & Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

E. Scott Adler
Dean of the Graduate School & Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs

Office of the Registrar | University of Colorado Boulder
303-492-6970 | registrar@colorado.edu

You have overdue grades for one or more summer sessions. It is critical that you post your grades for the following class(es) as soon as possible.

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Spring 2025 Advising Hold Changes Due Sept. 12

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Spring 2025 Advising Hold Changes Due Sept. 12 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/26/2024 - 00:00 CU-SIS Development Team

Spring 2025 Advising Hold Timeline

Friday, Aug. 30: The CU-SIS Development team contacted departments with existing holds.
Thursday, Sept. 12:
- Deadline for departments with existing holds to submit additions, changes or deletions.
- Deadline for departments to request a new advising hold (email your request to cusisdev@colorado.edu).
Wednesday, Sept. 18: Deadline for departments to submit SID lists for batch processing (if applicable).
Monday, Sept. 23: The CU-SIS Development team sets advising holds.
Thursday, Oct. 3 at noon: Final advising hold deadline.
Monday, Oct. 14: Assigned Spring 2025 enrollment dates are visible to students in Buff Portal. No new advising holds will be assigned.

We will begin setting Spring 2025 academic advising holds (a.k.a., advising service indicators) for continuing students after fall census and expect to complete that process on Monday, Sept. 23. Once set, these holds will prevent students in those programs from registering until they've met with their academic advisor.

If your department would like to discuss creating a new advising hold for Spring 2024, email the CU-SIS Development team with the details of your request by Thursday, Sept. 12.

Review Your Holds

If your department currently uses advising holds, you should have received an email from the CU-SIS Development team last week to confirm the population and text of your hold. Reply with any necessary changes, additions or deletions by Thursday, Sept. 12.

If your department's advising holds are assigned using an SID list, submit your list by noon on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Lists submitted after that date will be processed in the order in which they're received, allowing at least two business days for processing.

Notify Your Students

To support student success, academic departments are responsible for notifying their students when an advising hold is placed and for providing a clear explanation of the steps the student must take to have it released.

If you wish to request an e-memo, student communications are distributed by Strategic Relations & Communications using CU Boulder Today and associated campus communication tools. Visit the CU Boulder Today website to view the different tools (e.g., CU Boulder Today stories and administrative e-memos) and submit your message for campus audiences.

Release Holds Promptly

Advising holds include a timeline for release (e.g., "After you've met with your advisor, your hold will be removed within three business days"). Please remove the advising hold as soon as you can after the student has received advising to ensure compliance with this timeline.

For step-by-step instructions for both manual and batch removal, see our advising holds page.

We will be setting Spring 2024 advising holds (a.k.a., advising service indicators) for continuing students on Monday, Sept. 23. Once set, these holds will prevent students in those programs from registering until they've met with their academic advisor.

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FERPA Protections Take Effect for New Students on Monday, Aug. 26

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

FERPA Protections Take Effect for New Students on Monday, Aug. 26 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/22/2024 - 00:00 Office of the Registrar

Who Received This Email?

We sent this email at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, to CU Boulder faculty, staff and temporary employees.

Dear faculty and staff,

Student data privacy is everyone's responsibility. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the University of Colorado Boulder have set forth guidelines related to the disclosure of and access to student education records maintained by the university.

FERPA protections go into effect for incoming Fall 2024 students on Monday, Aug. 26, and remain in effect for continuing and returning students.

Consider attending the online FERPA Training for faculty and staff on Sept. 26 from 12:30–2 p.m.

Education Records

Any record that directly relates to a student and is maintained by CU (regardless of medium) is classified as an education record. Education records include:

Directory information, which may generally be disclosed to a third party without the written consent of the student, as long as the student hasn't established full privacy. This includes items such as student name, major(s) and minor(s), and participation in officially recognized activities or sports (see Directory Information for a complete list).
Nondirectory information, which is personally identifiable information that may not be disclosed to anyone, including parents, without documented student consent. School officials, including faculty and staff, may only access nondirectory information if they have a legitimate educational interest. This includes sensitive data, such as SSNs, grades and financial information, and class recordings (see below).

Remote & Online Classes

Recordings of lectures or class meetings are considered education records if students' names or likenesses are displayed or disclosed. You may share these recordings with the class, but not with others without documented consent from each student identified in the recording.

When offering classes through Zoom, plan a secure meeting by requiring authentication and setting a meeting password. Before sharing your screen in class, close all documents or systems displaying personally identifiable information. Accidental sharing of such information is a violation of FERPA.

Students on full privacy (see below) are not treated differently than other students within the physical or virtual classroom. Their name, image and email address may appear on screen and in your learning management system, and you may call on them by name.

Letters of Recommendation

Any disclosure of nondirectory student information (e.g., class performance, grades, abilities, background) to a third party in letters of recommendation or reference calls requires prior documented consent from the student. For full details and a student release form, see Release of Student Recommendations.

Accommodations Related to Disabilities

Students’ disabilities are protected under FERPA. When contacting students in your class to discuss accommodations related to disabilities, you must email students individually or bcc each student email address to avoid a FERPA violation. If you have any questions, please contact Disability Services.

Artifical Intelligence

AI development, its uses and tools are rapidly evolving. AI users at CU Boulder should stay current with campus policies and guidance regarding student data privacy, compliance, security and other AI considerations and implications. See Artificial Intelligence at CU Boulder.

Student Privacy Options & University Business Practices

Security Passphrase: Required for verifying the identity of a student who cannot present a photo ID or who is contacting the university by phone. See Confirming a Student's Identity.
FERPA Consent to Release: The online process to authorize release of nondirectory education records to a third party. See FERPA Consent to Release.
CU Guest Access: Allows students to grant read-only online access to select third parties. If a student has established CU guest access for a third party, but not FERPA consent to release, you cannot release any FERPA-protected information. See CU Guest Access.
Full Privacy: An option for students to restrict release of their directory information. These students are identified in Campus Solutions with a red "private" label. If asked for information about a student on full privacy, school officials must tell the requester, "Due to data privacy policies, we are unable to respond to your request."

Advisors may check student privacy settings in Buff Portal Advising or Campus Solutions. Instructors may do so through their class or grade rosters in MyCUInfo's Faculty Center.

Don't hesitate to contact the Office of the Registrar with questions or to request departmental FERPA training. Additional FERPA information is available in Skillsoft and on the Office of the Registrar and U.S. Department of Education websites.

Office of the Registrar | University of Colorado Boulder
303-492-6970 | registrar@colorado.edu

The protection of student privacy is everyone's responsibility. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the University of Colorado Boulder have set forth guidelines related to the disclosure of and access to student education records maintained by the university.

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Augmester Web Grading Now Open (Targeted Message)

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Augmester Web Grading Now Open (Targeted Message) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/21/2024 - 00:00 Office of the Registrar

Who Received This Email?

We sent this email on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2024, to instructors with post access who had unapproved grades in one or more Augmester classes (law, specialized program, thesis and dissertation classes excluded).

Dear [instructor],

Web grading is now open for Augmester. Please submit your grades for the following class(es) by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 26:

Session	Class Info	Class #	Class Description	# Enrolled

To submit your grades:

On MyCUInfo's Teaching Tools tab, click "Go to Web Grading."
If the wrong term is selected, click "Change Term."
Click the grade roster icon next to the class you want to grade.
Sync, upload or enter your grades.
Approve and post your grade roster(s).

For help with web grading, see OIT’s Canvas web grading sync webpage, review our step-by-step instructions and videos, or contact our office during business hours:

Office of the Registrar
303-492-6970
registrar@colorado.edu
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Thank you in advance for your dedication to timely grading!

Office of the Registrar | University of Colorado Boulder
303-492-6970 | registrar@colorado.edu

Web grading is now open for Augmester. Please submit your grades for the following class(es) by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 26.

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