Graduate and undergraduate academic calendars, course catalogs, class and final examination schedules, and records of their development.
Responsible Unit | Information Steward | Information Confidentiality Classification | Retention | Disposition | Authority | Retention Rationale | Version Information
Content & Scope
The graduate and undergraduate calendars provide official information about academic courses, programs, plans, and related policies and regulations, as well as general information about the University. The course catalog is the source for course listings in the academic calendars and the schedule of classes, and includes current course descriptions and the history of course changes.
Class and final examination scheduling are iterative collaborative processes involving the Registrar's Office, the Centre for Extended Learning (responsible for administration of distance education courses and examinations for online courses), and academic units.
The official records are the final versions of academic calendars, course catalogs, class schedules, and final examination schedules (preliminary versions/drafts and related communications are transitory records).
Responsible Unit
- Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs, for graduate calendars, graduate course catalog, and records of their development.
- Registrar’s Office, for all other records.
Information Steward
- Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs, for graduate calendars, graduate course catalog, and records of their development.
- Registrar, for all other records.
Information Confidentiality Classification
Public
Retention
- Academic calendars and course catalogs: Permanent.
- Schedule of classes and final examination schedule: 5 years.
- All other records: until superseded or obsolete.
Note: copies of calendars published in paper are also retained in the University archives by the Library Special Collections & Archives department.
Disposition
Destruction.
Notes
- Responsible Units should document the disposal/destruction of official records using the University records destruction form or equivalent documentation, to verify that we are following our records retention rules.
- Preliminary drafts and related communications are transitory records classified as confidential, and should be securely destroyed.
Authority
- University of Waterloo Act, 1972.
- University of Waterloo Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar: Assignments, Tests, and Final Exams.
Retention Rationale
Academic calendars are an important component of the contractual agreement between the student and the University. Since students are governed by the regulations for their academic program at the time they commence studies in that program, calendars must be retained as a permanent record of these regulations. Course catalogs are of continuing administrative value to the University.
Under Review Date
27 January 2020
Previous Version
26 July 2010
(This records retention schedule replaces TL05 – Academic Calendars, TL27 – Course Catalog, TL80 – Examination Schedules, and TL82 – Schedule of Classes)