Minor Curriculum Changes

Minor Curriculum Changes (MCC) are modifications to courses and programs that do not affect program learning outcomes (PLOs). Reviewing curricula regularly helps keep offerings current and competitive, and allows units to ensure alignment between program learning outcomes, course objectives, and degree level expectations.

All minor curriculum change proposals are considered minor modifications, and are governed by the Vice-Provost's University of Toronto Quality Assurance Process (UTQAP) framework. The Program & Curriculum Unit supports academic units with this process by advising on best-practices, reviewing proposals, preparing reports, and facilitating Curriculum Management access.

This page provides an overview of:

MCC Process

After discussing changes with their own Departmental Curriculum Committees, units propose minor curriculum changes through the Curriculum Management (CM) system for implementation in the following year’s Academic Calendar (not the published one). The PCU supports units with proposal submissions via 1:1 consultation and drop-in workshops; guides are also available on the Undergraduate and Graduate MCC SharePoint Hubs.

The PCU reviews proposals on a rolling basis to check for alignment with quality assurance best-practices. PCU staff may follow-up with questions for units to ensure the proposals are ready to proceed to the next step. Once all the submitted proposals are ready, the PCU prepares reports to be shared on the Undergraduate and Graduate MCC SharePoint Hubs.

For graduate units, proposals are also reviewed by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs (VPAP).

All submitted minor curriculum change proposals are reviewed by the respective Curriculum Committees. The PCU assembles the proposals into reports, which units must review in advance of the meetings. Faculty representatives from each unit must be present at their respective meetings to provide and receive feedback. Meeting dates and information about best-practices are shared in the Undergraduate and Graduate MCC SharePoint Hubs.

Once proposals are ready to move forward, the PCU prepares the final report to be brought to the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) for governance approval. Past minor curriculum change reports can be viewed in the AAC agenda package & report archive.

Once approved, the PCU confirms minor curriculum changes in CM and prepares the next academic calendar. Units have the opportunity to review their courses and programs before calendar publication, and may request editorial changes.

Minor Program Modifications

Minor program modifications are changes to academic programs that do not affect learning outcomes, which may include:

Adjusting enrolment and completion requirements
Updating or reformatting descriptions

All minor program modification proposals require academic rationale to explain why the change is being proposed, as well as any impacts on learning outcomes, other programs or units, and student, faculty, and staff experiences.

Course Creation

New courses can be created using course codes that have either never been used or that have been retired for 3-5 years. All new course proposals require academic rationale and complete information about resource implications – please see the outline on the Undergraduate and Graduate MCC SharePoint Hubs.

Course Changes

A course change proposal involves modifying an existing course in at least one way, though one proposal may include multiple changes. Examples of changes that can be made to courses include:

Updating requisites
Changing the title or description
Increasing or decreasing instructional hours
Renumbering the course code
Changing the mode(s) of delivery

In addition to an academic rationale, if the change could potentially impact use of resources - such as changes to instructional hours or delivery mode - then information about resource implications must be included in the submission. Please see the Undergraduate and Graduate MCC SharePoint Hubs for more information about submitting resource implications.

Course Retirement

Courses may be retired due to low enrolment, changes to the field, or resource limitations. The benefit of retiring courses is that it allows the course codes to be reused in the future.

While courses can be retired without limitation, these courses must remain in the Academic Calendar for 3-5 years after retirement; this includes appearances in program requirements or elective buckets, and in course prerequisites and exclusions.