Lumen: Date Fields in Programs, Courses, and Structures
Lumen Programs
Proposal Information
If approved, what term should the proposed change start? (usually the next fall term)
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall or spring) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the Student Information System (SIS) four-digit term code. For example, “Fall 2022 (1232).” This field sets the Effective Date, which is the semester and year that a new program and/or changes to an existing program will go into effect. The effective date cannot be a current term and it is typically not Summer (see note below). The Effective Date is used for SIS and informs when the changes will be made in Guide and in the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS). A few additional notes:
- Relative to Guide, the information provided in this field informs the first Guide edition in which the change will publish to Guide. Fall publishes in June, Spring in October, and Summer in January. Both the Spring/October and Summer/January editions are considered mid-cycle updates to Guide.
- In most cases, Fall is the default and preferred Effective Date. This aligns with the start of the academic year and is the term most programs enroll new students. The Summer term is not an option in the drop-down because it is very rare that a new program or program changes go into effect with the Summer Term. If there is a reason a program prefers a Summer Effective Date (e.g., if the program employs the Summer cohort start), please consult with the Academic Planners in DAPIR to discuss.
- If a program is submitting a subplan (e.g., named option) proposal with an accompanying plan (i.e., parent) proposal, the Effective Date on both the plan and subplan proposals should be the same.
- While programs complete this field when initially submitting a proposal, it is possible the Academic Planners in DAPIR will update this date to align with policy and timelines once the proposal has been approved. The date in this field will ultimately be set to match the SIS Effective Date in the “For Administrative Use” section of the form.
Suspension and Discontinuation
What is the date by which you will submit a plan to resolve the suspended status, if approved?
When entering a proposal to suspend a program, options are to suspend-only (meaning formal discontinuation may or may not happen in the future) or the all-in-one suspend and discontinue proposal. If the proposal being entered is to suspend only at this time, the program must provide the term and year and/or specific date a subsequent proposal will be entered either to return the program to active status (i.e., un-suspend admission) or to discontinue the program. Unless alternative arrangements are made with the Director of DAPIR, the date must be within three years of the proposal to suspend.
What is the last term that a student could declare this program?
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the SIS four-digit term code. This field indicates the last term a student could declare the program, meaning the student would start and then be allowed to complete the credential. When responding, consider how long the required course offerings for the program will continue to be offered. This field integrates directly with SIS and will effectively shut-off declarations to the program beyond the term provided. This field also informs when and how the program will appear in Guide.
What is the last term that students may be enrolled in or complete the program?
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the SIS four-digit term code. This field indicates the last term a student could earn the credential, stated differently, the last graduation date for which a credential for the program may be awarded. This field integrates directly with SIS. In the term after the last term students may enroll, the program will move to Inactive status. Once the program is moved to Inactive status, no additional credentials can be awarded. This field also informs when and how the program will appear in Guide.
- Important: Unless there is an extenuating circumstance discussed with the Academic Planners in DAPIR, the last term for completion should always be Summer (i.e., the Summer after final completion) to align with Guide publication and the new academic year. Therefore, if all students will complete the credential in Spring/May 2020, the response to this field should be “Summer 2020.” The program would then be inactivated for Fall 2020.
Basic Information
First term of student enrollment: (Note: Included on new program or program reactivation proposals only)
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the Student Information System (SIS) four-digit term code. The response should be the first term that students will enroll in the new program (i.e., when they will start classes).
When will the application for the first term of enrollment open? (Note: Included on new graduate/professional degree/major, named option, and capstone certificate proposals only)
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the Student Information System (SIS) four-digit term code. Typically, at the graduate level this is one year before students will first enroll and take classes due to the process of applying to a specific program. If the response to the prior question about the first term of student enrollment is “Fall 2022,” typically the response to this application opening question is “Fall 2021.” The response to this field will dictate when the program first appears in the graduate application for admission.
Year of three-year check-in to GFEC (3 years after first student enrollment): (Note: Included on new program proposals only)
All new graduate-level programs undergo a three-year check-in with the Graduate School. This field automatically populates based on the information provided for the first term of student enrollment. The calculation allows for three full academic years of the new program offering with the analysis/check-in scheduled for the end of the fourth academic year. For example, if the program opens for enrollment Fall 2020, it is offered academic years 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. The check-in is scheduled for the end of the fourth year (2023-24), so 2024 is the auto-populated year for this field.
Year of first program review (5 years after first student enrollment): (Note: Included on new program proposals only)
All new programs undergo a first program review five years after implementation. This field automatically populates based on the information provided for the first term of student enrollment. The calculation allows for five full academic years of the new program offering with the analysis/review scheduled for the end of the sixth academic year. For example, if the program opens for enrollment Fall 2020, it is offered academic years 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25. The check-in is scheduled for the end of the sixth year (2025-26), so 2026 is the auto-populated year for this field. The program review year can be overwritten by an administrator (typically one of the Academic Planners in DAPIR) if there is a mutually agreeable alternative year for review, sooner or later. Changes to the date generally align the new program with existing other program reviews in the department.
Approvals
Approvers should enter relevant approval dates in the “Enter any notes about approval here,” field. This typically is a meeting date, for example, the program was approved at the 15 May 2020 Academic Planning Council meeting. For the “Date entered” field, approvers should enter the date the approval information was entered into the Lumen form.
For Administrative Use
SIS Effective date:
This administrative field will be completed by the Academic Planners in DAPIR and represents the SIS Effective Date. Options for the Effective Date field are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the Student Information System (SIS) four-digit term code. The Effective Date is the semester and year that a new program and/or changes to an existing program will go into effect. For new programs, the effective date is the same as the first semester for which students will apply. The effective date for changes cannot be an active or past term. The Effective Date is used for SIS and it influences what happens withing Guide and DARS. Important: The date in this field is the date the Office of the Registrar uses as the SIS Effective Date. This SIS Effective Date is a key field in the SIS database as it allows the university to maintain an accurate history of information in SIS. Effective dating allows the university to store historical data, see changes in the data over time, and enter future data.
Effective Guide Edition:
This administrative field will be completed by the Academic Planners in DAPIR. Options are academic years (e.g., 2021-22), which correspond to Guide editions. The information provided in this field matches the first Guide edition in which the new program and/or changes to an existing program will publish in Guide.
Effective Guide term:
This administrative field will be completed by the Academic Planners in DAPIR. Options are academic terms (e.g., Fall, Spring, Summer), which correspond to Guide publish cycles (new and mid-cycle updates). The information provided in this field matches the first Guide edition in which the new program and/or changes to an existing program will publish in Guide.
Tuition Start term:
This administrative field will be completed by the Academic Planners in DAPIR. For programs that exited prior to Lumen Programs and have not had tuition adjustments since, will have Migration as their tuition date. If there has been an adjustment of tuition, this field articulates the term in which that tuition charge starts.
- For new programs, the tuition start term will always coincide with the SIS effective date (although no students will be in it).
- For a plan adding subplans where the tuition moves from parent to child, the change in the plan's tuition will coincide with the first term of student enrollment in the subplan(s). Additionally, this change should also instigate any CAF values associated to tuition that coincide with the same date in SIS.
- For plans removing subplans where the tuition moves from child to the parent, the change in the plan's tuition will coincide with the first term of student enrollment in the plan (even if there are students still in the subplans). Any CAF values associated with the tuition must align with the current status of the plan/subplan. For example, if a plan has subplans with students declared and the teach-out allows for enrollment in the plan and subplan at the same time (graduate example), the plan's tuition CAF would be NPO until the subplans are slated to be inactivated. At that time, the parent CAF related to tuition will match only the plan.
- It is unprecedented that a plan with subplans that are revenue generating would move to only having enrollment at the plan and continue being a service based pricing program.
Lumen Courses
First Available Term:
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the SIS four-digit term code. This field indicates the first semester the new or revised course will be available. The availability of terms/options is dictated by the publication deadlines for the Schedule of Classes. New courses will not be published to or available in Guide until the term indicated in this field. For this reason, programs often choose to use the next available term for this response, even if the course will not be taught for several more semesters, so students can see the course and it can be included into new curricular plans and program requirements in Guide. For course discontinuation proposals, courses will be discontinued for the current term, or if the term is nearing completion, the next term. Courses will not be discontinued many semesters in advance. If a course discontinuation proposal reaches the University Curriculum Committee and it is for a future term, the course will be rolled back requesting the discontinuation to be submitted for either the current term or for the school/college to hold onto the course until the future term becomes the current term.
Lumen Structures
Approval Date:
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the SIS four-digit term code. While field entry is not restricted to administrators, Academic Planners in DAPIR will complete this field indicating when governance action was taken to approve the proposal.
SIS Effective Date:
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the SIS four-digit term code. Not Applicable (N/A) is also an option as not all actions taken in Lumen Structures are effective-dated. If a SIS update is needed as a part of the proposal, this is the date that will be used in SIS.
Effective Guide Edition:
Options here are academic years (e.g., 2021-22), which correspond to Guide editions. The information provided in this field matches the first Guide edition in which the new program and/or changes to an existing program will publish in Guide. Not Applicable (N/A) is also an option as not all actions taken in Lumen Structures are included in Guide.
Lumen Exams
First Available Term:
Options here are combinations of terms (i.e., fall, spring, summer) and years (e.g., 2020) followed by the SIS four-digit term code. This is the first term the exam will be available to students.