General 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: �� 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, �� 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 �� 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 �� 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, �� Boulder will follow a revised academic calendar beginning with the Fall 2025 semester.

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Class Registration System Server Issue (Resolved), 8/21

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 14:17:12 +0000

Class Registration System Server Issue (Resolved), 8/21 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/22/2023 - 08:17 Office of the Registrar

We are aware of a server issue that occurred in the class registration system on Monday, Aug. 21 between approximately midnight and 1 a.m.

While unfortunately, we are unable to identify the total number of students affected, most students who have contacted us regarding this issue have since reported that they were successfully able to register after this time window passed. If you are still experiencing technical difficulties with registering for your class(es) after retrying, please contact us at registrar@colorado.edu.

We understand the frustration caused by the occurrence of this issue at such a critical time for student registration at the start of open enrollment. We are working with our IT partners and registration system vendors to identify the root cause of the issue and to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

We are aware of a server issue that occurred in the class registration system on Monday, Aug. 21 between approximately midnight and 1 a.m.

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Resolved: Spring 2021 Waitlist Issues

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 21:34:45 +0000

Resolved: Spring 2021 Waitlist Issues Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/19/2021 - 14:34 Office of the Registrar

Spring 2021 Main Campus Full-Semester Waitlist Deadlines

Monday, Jan. 25

Last day to join a class waitlist (11:59 p.m.)
Last day to be automatically enrolled from a waitlist (11:59 p.m.)

Thursday, Feb. 4

Waitlists are canceled

Status Update

Published 1/22/2021, 4:54 p.m.
Revised 1/22/2021, 7:05 p.m.

Thank you for your patience. At this time, all Spring 2021 Main Campus full-semester class waitlists have been restored and waitlisting is available again.

We sent an email update to dean's offices at 3:50 p.m. today and will include a full update in next week's Registrar Network newsletter.

In this evening's email update to students (standard version; drop-if-enrolled version), we encouraged them to review their schedule in Buff Portal with the following information in mind.

Buff Portal cards: Waitlisted classes are included on students' your classes and class schedule cards. In grid view, waitlisted classes are shaded black; in list view, they’re shaded yellow and labeled "Waitlisted."
Recently enrolled students: Some students may have gotten into the class before the waitlist cancellation error was resolved. If that happened, we did not return them to the waitlist; they are still enrolled.
Waitlist positions: We made every effort to return students to the same waitlist position they were in on Tuesday morning. If a student believes their waitlist position is incorrect or they were incorrectly left off a waitlist, they may email registrar@colorado.edu for assistance.
Drop if enrolled settings: Although we were able to add students back to the canceled waitlist(s), we weren’t able to automatically restore their drop if enrolled settings. Students who are still on the waitlist should follow our instructions to re-establish drop if enrolled. Students who've been enrolled since the error occurred will need to drop their backup class manually.

Original Announcement

Published 1/20/2021, 4:35 p.m.
Last revised 1/21/2021, 5:20 p.m.

Between 8 and 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, a processing error resulted in the incorrect cancellation of a large number of Spring 2021 Main Campus full-semester class waitlists.

We apologize for this error and are working closely with our �� system and campus partners to limit its impacts. At this time:

The Office of Information Technology has adjusted their Canvas processing to ensure affected students can continue to access their waitlisted classes' online materials.
We have restored most of the canceled waitlists; however staff continue to work through errors that prevented some students from being re-added: unmet prerequisites, schedule conflicts and credit-load issues.
As canceled waitlists are restored, we are making every effort to ensure students are returned to their correct waitlist position.
We expect to restore the last of the affected waitlists by the end of the day on Friday, Jan. 22; however, it may take additional time to finish correcting all student-specific errors.

We will continue to provide updates here as we learn more.

Thank you for your patience. At this time, all Spring 2021 Main Campus full-semester class waitlists have been restored and waitlisting is available.

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Friday, Jan. 15: Follow a Wednesday Class Meeting Schedule

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Friday, Jan. 15: Follow a Wednesday Class Meeting Schedule Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/16/2020 - 00:00 Office of the Registrar

On Friday, Jan. 15, classes will follow a Wednesday class meeting schedule (excludes law).

What does this mean for your schedule?

If you have a class scheduled to meet on Wednesdays, it will meet on Friday, Jan. 15, at the regularly scheduled Wednesday time.
If you have a class scheduled to meet on Fridays (not Wednesdays), it won’t meet on Friday, Jan. 15, but will meet as usual on Friday, Jan. 22.

See the revised Spring 2021 academic calendar for more information and other important dates.

On Friday, Jan. 15, classes will follow a Wednesday class meeting schedule (excludes law).

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Reminder: Spring 2021 Residency Petition Deadline, Dec. 18

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 15:26:40 +0000

Reminder: Spring 2021 Residency Petition Deadline, Dec. 18 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/02/2020 - 08:26 Office of the Registrar

The deadline to submit a Spring 2021 residency petition is 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020.

Please note that when our front desk is closed (see above), students submitting a paper petition must do so either electronically or by mail (see instructions on PDF form).

Students submitting an online adult or parent petition may continue to do so without interruption until the deadline.

The deadline to submit a Spring 2021 residency petition is 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020.

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From the Provost & COO: Spring Semester to Start Jan. 14, 2021

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 16:14:59 +0000

From the Provost & COO: Spring Semester to Start Jan. 14, 2021 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/22/2020 - 10:14

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

Today, we are announcing that the spring 2021 semester will start on Jan. 14 and the campus will continue to offer in-person and remote courses. We’re also sharing key updates to address a number of lessons learned this fall.

As part of our efforts to curb the spread of travel-related COVID-19 infections in our community, the university has made the difficult decision of opting out of scheduling a traditional weeklong spring break in 2021. This decision was made after careful deliberation and to protect the health and well-being of our community. Instead of the typical five-day spring break, we will start the semester three days later than previously scheduled and provide students with two days off on Feb. 17 and March 25.

In the weeks and months ahead, our intention is to improve the campus experience for you––our students, faculty and staff––and continue to provide educational, social, health and wellness support to ensure a successful spring semester.

Along with our continued efforts to deliver a more robust campus experience, we remain committed to working collaboratively with our city and county partners to hold a successful spring semester for all of us by being aware of and continuing to comply with the latest COVID-19 public health guidance.

The key operational updatesannounced today for the spring term address academic calendar dates, academic instruction modes, expanded on-campus social programming, residence life and isolation spaces, public health guidelines, the launch of a new and improved daily health check-in experience, and enhancements to our student engagement and support model.

In addition, we invite you to join us for a campus community town hall tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 23, from 11 a.m. to noon, when we will answer your questions.

We are working hard to address the challenges, disappointments and frustrations created by COVID-19. Let’s work together to rise to these challenges as a community and to serve and help each other through any unpredictable issues that lie ahead. Like every university in the nation during this historic pandemic, we know we won’t be able to deliver the full, traditional college experience you want and deserve—but we are working to safely provide the richest experience we can. You can continue to count on receiving a high-quality education in a beautiful college town, with housing and dining options and access to COVID-19 testing.

Even in the face of uncertainty, we are committed to providing you with a more engaging, safe, fun and valuable experience as you continue your academic journey this spring.

Sincerely,

Russell Moore
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Patrick O’Rourke
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer

Today, we are announcing that the spring 2021 semester will start on Jan. 14 and the campus will continue to offer in-person and remote courses. We're also sharing key updates to address a number of lessons learned this fall.

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From the Provost: Update on Pass/Fail for Fall 2020

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 06:00:00 +0000

From the Provost: Update on Pass/Fail for Fall 2020 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/20/2020 - 00:00

As we mark the midpoint in the fall semester, I’m writing to provide an update on the pass/fail option. Pass/fail is an alternative in which a student may decline receiving a letter grade in a course.

Last spring, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the campus moved to remote instruction for the last five weeks of the semester with almost no notice to students or faculty. To accommodate the academic disruption the pandemic caused—and with the overwhelming support of the faculty—I expanded the pass/fail option to allow a class with a "pass" grade to fulfill almost all degree and major requirements. Students were also given until the last day of classes to declare a class pass/fail. This deadline was subsequently further extended to the end of the grade-submission period.

This fall, I permanently extended the deadline to declare a class pass/fail from the end of the third week of the semester to the end of the 10th week—this semester, that date is Oct. 30 (prorated for shorter-term classes). Other than this significant extension of the deadline, we have returned to pre-COVID-19 guidelines and limits on pass/fail credit.

I have heard and considered at length the requests from our students to replicate last spring’s expansion of pass/fail options. After much consideration about the long-term implications to your academic and professional careers, I believe that continuing to expand pass/fail options would not be the most productive solution. At the same time, I have urged our faculty to take other steps to decrease stress on our students this semester. Let me explain.

My decision was made with input from deans and faculty who are in charge of the grading system. In our discussions, our faculty shared the following concerns:

Given the uncertainty of COVID-19, if we were to continue to expand pass/fail options in the “COVID-19 semesters” of fall 2020 and spring 2021, similar to last spring, students could have as many as three semesters with few or no letter grades recorded. This could do considerable harm to students’ transcripts and future plans.
Reports from many students from spring 2020 indicated that they lost their motivation to learn once they knew they had the option to take just about any class pass/fail.

While I am convinced that replicating spring 2020’s expansion of pass/fail options is not the best choice for this fall semester, I do urge all of our instructors to show compassion for the stress our students are feeling as a result of this year’s less than optimal teaching and learning conditions.

For all who are teaching this semester:

Please understand that many of our students are finding remote and online learning more difficult than traditional in-person learning. Build as much contact with students as possible into your remote and online courses.
Remember that our students may be dealing with changes in their living situations, difficulty in internet access, or the needs of their own or their family’s mental and physical health. Please be generous and compassionate about student requests for extending deadlines or taking make-up exams.
Reach out to students who are struggling and respond promptly to students who seek your help. If you supervise teaching assistants, please mentor them in how to help students.
Examine your syllabus and make adjustments if you have assigned more work than is typical for the course (homework, discussion posts, problem sets, etc.). Students are reporting to us that remote and online classes this semester are more assignment-heavy than the equivalent in-person courses.
Make sure you return graded work promptly so your students are up to date about how well they’re doing in your courses.
If your pedagogy seems not to be reaching your students in the way you’d like, seek guidance from the Center for Teaching and Learning. For the use of teaching technology, the Office of Information Technology has provided a variety of instructor trainings and workshops.

In turn, I urge our students to reach out to instructors and TAs for help. What we learned from spring 2020 is that taking a class pass/fail isn’t the best solution for doing better. More dialogue between students and faculty is the solution. For students who are having trouble expressing your needs to your instructors: please talk to your academic advisors or department chairs, who are more than willing to help convey any issues you are facing to our faculty.

Students, you have earned your spots at a top-notch public research institution. Our faculty and staff are committed to ensuring your academic success. We are only halfway through the semester, and there is plenty of time for us to come together in our efforts. Together, I know we can make this semester a positive teaching and learning experience for all.

Russell Moore
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

While I am convinced that replicating spring 2020's expansion of pass/fail options is not the best choice for this fall semester, I do urge all of our instructors to show compassion for the stress our students are feeling as a result of this year's less than optimal teaching and learning conditions.

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In-Person/Hybrid Instruction Resumes Oct. 14

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 21:55:27 +0000

In-Person/Hybrid Instruction Resumes Oct. 14 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/07/2020 - 15:55 Chancellor Phil DiStefano

/chancellor/newsletter/chancellor/shifting-back-personhybrid-instruction

With sincere gratitude for the outstanding work of our student body, we will transition from our temporary remote teaching mode and resume in-person/hybrid teaching on Wednesday, Oct. 14. We expect most classes to fully return to their original fall 2020 instructional modes by this date, with exceptions based on specific public health requirements and individual faculty requests, subject to department chair and dean approvals.

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Updated Fall 2020 Business Hours

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Updated Fall 2020 Business Hours Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/15/2020 - 00:00 Office of the Registrar

As of Monday, Sept. 14, our updated business hours are:

Front desk: Mondays and Thursdays only, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Email, phone and LiveChat: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

On Mondays and Thursdays, most of our staff will continue working remotely to decrease density on campus; therefore, we're continuing to encourage faculty, staff and students to contact us by email, phone or LiveChat, rather than in person.

See our Contact Us page for contact information and a list of online services. For information about other enrollment management offices, see Enrollment Services Hours & Contact Info.

As of Monday, Sept. 14, our updated front desk hours are Mondays and Thursdays only, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

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Revised Spring 2021 Registration Dates

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 15:14:25 +0000

Revised Spring 2021 Registration Dates Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/02/2020 - 09:14 Office of the Registrar

A revised Spring 2021 registration schedule is now reflected in the Fall 2020 academic calendar and on the academic calendar webpage (see side-by-side date changes below).

The full Spring 2021 academic calendar is still in production; we'll let you know as soon as it's published.

Fall 2020 Event	Previous Date(s)	Current Date(s)
Assigned enrollment dates post for current degree-seeking students	Oct. 12	Oct. 19
Schedule of classes & shopping cart available	Oct. 12	Nov. 2
Course reservation forms accepted	Oct. 26–30	Nov. 2–6
Registration begins for current degree-seeking students	Nov. 2	Nov. 9
Registration begins for new & readmitted students	Nov. 30	Dec. 7

A revised Spring 2021 registration schedule is now reflected in the Fall 2020 academic calendar and on the academic calendar webpage (see side-by-side date changes below).

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