Printed on: 04/21/2019. Please go to http://policy.umn.edu for the most current version of the Policy or related document.
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY

Academic Calendars: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester

Responsible University Officer(s):

  • Executive Vice President and Provost

Policy Owner(s):

  • Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education
  • Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education

Policy contact(s):

  • Stacey Tidball

Date Revised:

Apr 17, 2019

Effective Date:

Apr 8, 2009

POLICY STATEMENT

Academic calendars will be established at least four years in advance so that students may plan their schedules and University units may plan events. Revisions to approved calendars must be made no less than two years before the date the calendar goes into effect.

A. Fall and Spring Semesters

  1. There will be two semesters, each of which will include a minimum of 70 days of instructions, a maximum of 75 days of instruction, and approximately one week of final examinations (including Saturdays but not Sundays).
  2. For the fall semester, the exam period will end no later than December 23.
  3. Colleges and campuses may authorize courses shorter or longer than the semester, subject to the approval of appropriate college or academic unit curriculum review committees.

B. Summer Term

Departments may schedule a three-week May session following the end of the spring semester and before the summer session. No department will be obligated to offer courses or academic work during this three-week session.

  1. There will be a standard eight-week summer session. No department will be obligated to offer courses or academic work during this eight-week session. Departments and programs may deliver courses over either shorter or longer periods of time and with starting and ending dates that differ from the standard eight-week and May sessions.

C. Revisions of Calendars

All calendars and any subsequent revisions or exceptions must be approved by the Faculty Senate.

Exclusions

This policy is not applicable to the Duluth campus. Professional schools are permitted to have calendars that vary from the requirements of this policy

REASON FOR POLICY

Establishing an academic calendar at least four years in advance allows students to plan their degree programs and enables University units to schedule events at times that do not conflict with other key activities.

PROCEDURES

There are no procedures associated with this policy.

FORMS/INSTRUCTIONS

There are no forms associated with this policy.

APPENDICES

There are no appendices associated with this policy.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  1. Can each of the campus set its own academic calendar?

    Yes, each campus is responsible for setting its own academic calendar. The Faculty Senate approves the University of Minnesota, Morris and University of Minnesota, Twin Cities calendars. The University of Minnesota, Duluth and University of Minnesota, Crookston calendars are transmitted to the University Senate for information only. The University of Minnesota, Rochester follows the Twin Cities academic calendar.

  2. Can instructors assign work to students prior to the beginning of the academic term?

    No. Instructors cannot assign work until the term starts.

  3. Does the University of Minnesota hold regularly scheduled classes the day before a holiday?

    Yes, scheduled classes, including evening classes, are held the day before a holiday. For example, classes are held the Wednesday evening before the Thanksgiving holiday. Refer to the current academic calendar for University holidays.Schools and programs must follow the standard, approved campus calendar with an exception provided for professional school programs (i.e., D.D.S., D.V.M, J.D., L.L.M., M.D., Pharm.D. degrees).

CONTACTS

SubjectContactPhoneEmail
Primary Contact(s) Stacey Tidball 612-626-0075 tidball@umn.edu
Crookston Campus Ken Myers 218-281-8200 kmyers@crk.umn.edu
Duluth Campus Vickery French 218-726-7104 vfrench@d.umn.edu
Morris Campus Darla Peterson 320-589-6015 petersdk@morris.umn.edu
Rochester Campus Diane Douglas 507-258-8008 douglasd@r.umn.edu

DEFINITIONS

There are no definitions associated with this policy.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Office of the Registrar
Submits the academic calendar proposal annually to the Faculty Senate.
Faculty Senate
Reviews and approves final University calendar.

RELATED INFORMATION

Campus Calendar Information

Each campus publishes dates and deadlines on their One Stop website.

HISTORY

Amended:
April 2019 - Comprehensive Review, Minor Revision. 1. Incorporates minor edits to improve understandability and removes the December 23rd date for end of fall term due to equity concerns. 2. Re-wrote summer term section to increase accuracy across all our campuses and remove extraneous information about sessions.
Amended:
December 2009 - Policy now applies to the Crookston campus.
Effective:
April 2009
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