The purpose of this Health Sciences Center Operating Policy and Procedure (HSC OP) is to assist TTUHSC with the alignment of academic calendars across TTUHSC schools. It identifies responsibility for the maintenance and update of the official Academic Calendar, including annual review, revision, adoption, reporting, and publishing of Academic Calendar dates that affect Student Information setup and Financial Aid awarding.
This HSC OP will be reviewed by September 1 of every even-numbered year (ENY) by the Registrar, Student Affairs Committee, Academic Affairs and Curriculum Committee, and Academics Council.
1. Background: The academic calendar indicates key dates and deadlines for important academic requirements and/or activities including, but not limited to, the start and end dates of classes, holidays, exam days, and registration dates.
2. Terms: TTUHSC academic programs operate on the term system with the academic year (AY) divided into fall, spring, and summer terms. The Financial Aid Office operates under a summer header meaning the Financial Aid Year starts with the summer term and ends with the following spring term. Per Department of Education (ED), guidelines for calculating federal student aid, fall and spring terms must be at least 30 weeks total in length but no more than 42. At least five business days between terms is necessary in order for the Registrar’s Office to process end of term procedures and for the Financial Aid Office (FAO) to process Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) procedures.
a. Fall and Spring terms: Traditional fall and spring terms are 16 weeks or more in length. Fall and spring terms may begin on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
b. Summer terms: Full summer terms are generally 12 weeks in length. Summer terms may begin on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. and may have parts of term with durations other than 12 weeks.
c. Schools and/or individual programs may be granted exceptions to the above in coordination with the Registrar and Office of the Provost.
3. Term: All classes associated with a term will start and end within that term. Some exceptions exist for clinical rotations. Tuition calculations, financial aid, and registration processes are based on classes taken during the assigned term. Terms, and courses within a specific program, may not overlap due to Financial Aid and Enrollment Reporting regulations. term
a. Eight Week Terms: Fall and spring terms may have terms that are 8 weeks long each. These terms will have differing start and end dates as well as census dates but must fall withing the dates of the full 16-week traditional term.
b. First and Second Summer Terms: Summer terms may have terms that are 6 weeks in length each to total 12 weeks. These terms may have differing start and end dates as well as census dates but must fall within the dates of the full 12-week summer term.
4. Inclusion of Clinical Work in a Standard Term:
a. Periods of clinical work such as medical and education program work which is conducted outside the classroom may not be included in a standard term, unless all of the following apply:
(1) All students in the program must participate in the practicum or clinical experience, and they must be required to complete the practicum or clinical experience as a condition for applying for licensure or authorization to practice the occupation they intend to pursue;
(2) The school has little or no control over the length or start/end dates of the practicum or clinical experience. This may be due to constraints imposed by outside licensing bodies or the need to accommodate schedules of entities with which students are being placed (e.g., school districts or hospitals)
(3) Credit hours associated with the practicum or clinical experience must be associated with the term in which most of the training occurs, even if the starting and ending dates do not exactly align with the term dates and/or overlap with another term.
b. If the clinical work meets all the above criteria, terms which include such clinical work are not required to be considered nonstandard, nor are such programs required to be considered non-term, even if the clinical work overlaps another term.
c. This flexibility is limited to required clinical periods associated with standard term programs in medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, occupational therapy, nursing, etc.
d. TTUHSC programs with clinical periods that precede the start date or extend beyond the end date of the term, must provide the applicable start and end dates for clinical work to the Registrar’s Office to ensure these dates are included in the Academic Calendar and that federal regulations are being followed.
5. Principles of Academic Calendar Development: The academic calendar impacts every aspect of university life and every function across divisions of the university. Therefore, the following principles will guide setting future academic calendars.
a. The calendar should support student transferability across programs and institutions.
b. The calendar should seek consistency in the identity of the academic year.
c. There should be provision for sufficient class meetings or other coursework times over the course of a term to meet the Carnegie Commission definition of an academic unit sufficient to qualify for the number of credits the course carries.
d. All calculated class days for didactic instruction are Monday through Friday for all schools. Clinical rotations and other experiential learning activities are developed in accordance with program requirements and clinical site operations and are not bound by the Monday–Friday class-day framework. New student orientation may be held prior to or after the official start date for the term.
e. Fall and spring terms should be a minimum of 16 weeks, including 15 weeks of instruction followed by one week of final examinations.
f. The summer term should be no less than 12 weeks in duration.
g. Official TTUHSC holidays are indicated on the Calendar. Some dates are tentative and will be finalized when the Registrar receives approved holiday schedules from the Board of Regents.
h. There may not be less than five business days between terms.
i. Final grades for graduating students are due by noon two days prior to the end of term for all schools
j. Final grades for non-graduating students are due by 3:00 PM CT the second business day following the end of term (Schools and/or individual programs may be granted exceptions in coordination with the Registrar and Office of the Provost).
k. The calendar will include the last day to add/drop classes, receive a refund, and withdraw from the course or institution.
6. Oversight, Review, and Adoption of Academic Calendar: Dates in the Academic Calendar are established by the Registrar, in coordination with school officials, and presented to the Academic Affairs and Curriculum Committee (AACC). The AACC shall establish procedures consistent with this policy and be responsible for the oversight of the academic calendar. The Registrar will provide the AACC with draft academic calendars, approved by relevant school and campus representatives, for the next four years. The AACC will submit any proposed revisions to the Registrar, who will then coordinate with school and campus representatives to finalize and implement changes. Each year, by October 1, the AACC submits the proposed calendar for the fifth year to the Academics Council (AC) for review and recommenddations.
7. Publication and Dissemination: The approved academic calendar shall be published on the Office of the Registrar’s website at ttuhsc.edu/registrar under Important Institutional Deadlines. The AACC shall make available the draft academic calendars for the subsequent three years; through available to the campus community, these subsequent calendars are draft and subject to change until the campus formally approves them in accordance with section 5 of this policy.
8. Revisions: During the first week of October, the Registrar reviews the Academic Calendar for the upcoming academic year and makes necessary revisions (e.g., the TTUHSC holiday schedule).
All requests for substantive revisions must be submitted by the School Dean or designee to the Registrar who will review the requested change with the Financial Aid Office, Student Business Services, and Classroom Support. Once reviewed, the Registrar will present substantive changes to the AACC, and in some cases further that to AC.
No revisions or changes may be made to an academic calendar after December 1 prior to the following AY in order to meet the following deadlines:
a. Course and section building deadlines outlined in HSC OP 56.05.
b. National Student Clearinghouse enrollment reporting deadlines and setup
c. Financial Aid awarding and disbursement
No school, department, or other unit may change or supplement the academic calendar online, or in print, or include its own degree requirements in a separate listing that differs in content from the official academic calendar.
9. Emergency Adjustments to the Academic Calendar: In the event of unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters, IT outages, or public health crises, the Registrar, in consultation with the Deans and the Provost is authorized to modify the academic calendar to ensure the safety and continuity of instruction. Adjustments will be developed and communicated promptly through official channels, with input from key stakeholders as necessary. All changes will be documented in the official academic calendar and reviewed for effectiveness to ensure transparency and accountability.
10. Evaluation of Calendar Effectiveness: The effectiveness of the academic calendar will be evaluated through periodic reviews conducted by the Registrar, TTUHSC Student Affairs Committee, and AACC. This evaluation will assess how well the calendar meets the needs of students, faculty, and staff, and will consider feedback from stakeholders. The AACC will use this information to make necessary adjustments and improvements, ensuring that the calendar remains responsive and effective in supporting the institution’s academic goals and operational requirements.