Tri-County Technical College Committees: Academic Calendar Considerations

Academic Calendar Considerations

Revised January 19, 2017

· Academic calendars are created based upon specific guidelines/considerations previously approved by the Academic Leadership Team (ALT) and Executive Staff. Decisions that extend beyond the routine practice of creating the calendar are presented by the Registrar to the ALT for consideration. The final exam schedule is created by a subgroup of the Academic Calendar Committee. The approved academic calendar is presented to ALT for communication.

With the exception of the “grades due” date the purpose of the academic calendar is to communicate important dates/deadlines of the semester to students. It is not intended to list all dates pertaining to employees. Departments are encouraged to use the academic calendar when scheduling their work to minimize disruptions for students when classes are in session.

· Parts-of-Term

Spring	Summer	Fall
Session A – 14 weeks	Session A – 10 weeks	Session A – 14 weeks
Session B – 6 weeks	Session B – 5 weeks	Session B – 6 weeks
Session C – 6 weeks	Session C – 5 weeks	Session C – 6 weeks
Session I – 7 weeks (WLD, MLT only)	Session E – 3 weeks	Session I – 7 weeks (WLD, MLT only)
Session J – 7 weeks (WLD, MLT only)	Session LBC – 8 weeks	Session J – 7 weeks (WLD, MLT only)

· Sessions/terms should have the same number of Mondays, Tuesday, etc. for ease of scheduling lecture and lab courses and to ensure that all classes meet the required number of minutes. This may necessitate the need to have more than the required number of days for any given session/term. On occasion to meet the required number of Mondays, Tuesdays, etc., a day of the week may be substituted for another day.

· Criteria for tuition due dates, advising for registration timeline, priority admissions deadlines, priority financial aid deadlines, and priority residency deadlines are maintained by the Academic Calendar committee with input from stakeholders.

· Drop and Add Periods

o 3 week class – add period – 1 day

o 3 week class – drop period – 1 day

o 4 week class – add period – 1 day

o 4 week class – drop period – 1 day

o 5 week class – add period – 1 day

o 5 week class – drop period – 2 days

o 6 week class – add period – 2 days

o 6 week class – drop period – 3 days

o 7 week class – add period – 2 days

o 7 week class – drop period – 3 days

o 8 week class – add period – 2 days

o 8 week class – drop period – 3 days

o 10 week class – add period – 2 days

o 10 week class – drop period – 3 days

o 14 week class – add period 3 days

o 14 week class – drop period 5 days

NOTE: The drop & add periods are prorated for terms of varying lengths to coincide with the equivalent of the first three/five instructional days of a semester (Add – 4.28% of instructional days; Drop – 7.14% of instructional days [round days as needed]).

· Exams are included in the academic calendar, but they do not satisfy instructional time requirements. Preferably, the exam schedule should be established so that students do not have exams back to back, and to the extent possible students should not have an exam the day following the last day of class.

Spring	Summer	Fall
Session A – 5 exam days	Session A – 3 exam days	Session A – 5 exam days
Session B – 1 exam day	Session B – 1 exam day	Session B – 1 exam day
Session C – 1 exam day	Session C – 1 exam day	Session C – 1 exam day
Session I – 1 exam day	Session E – 1 exam day	Session I – 1 exam day
Session J – 1 exam day	Session LBC – 1 exam days	Session J – 1 exam day

· All withdrawals must occur prior to completion of 60% of the academic session. The establishment of the 60% date excludes the exam schedule. All calendar dates are included except five+ day breaks (e.g., Spring Break).

· Sufficient time (3 full BD) should be incorporated between semesters/terms to ensure that all the Financial Aid and Registrar Office end of term processes are complete (i.e., grades, clearing students for graduation, SAP process, etc.) Adequate time for IT maintenance and other technological needs should be considered as well.

· Commencement should be as close to the end of term as possible (while permitted, weekend commencement exercises should be avoided if possible).

· Incomplete deadline is 20 BD from the 1^st day of the subsequent session.

· Friday deadlines should be avoided. If the deadline is required, per calendar considerations, ending times should be noted on academic calendar for the following:

o Drop period

o Add period

o Financial Aid priority date

o Withdrawal deadline

o Tuition due date

o Application priority date

o Residency priority date

o Change of Major

Tri-County’s spring break will be the same as Clemson’s spring break. Clemson’s fall break should be considered when scheduling our fall break.

A faculty/staff development (in-service) day will be incorporated into fall/spring terms This day will not coincide with a scheduled no class/college closed day; nor will it be calculated in advising/registration dates. Given that the state says we are closed on election day; we will recognize that as a professional development day.
Grades are due at 9:00am two BD days after last day of final exams.
Procedure 8-3-101.1 (Faculty Non-Work Days) must be considered in creating the academic calendar. The Assistant Vice President of Human Resources or designee is responsible for ensuring compliance to this procedure.
Include College closed dates on Enrollment Calendar.
Holiday Schedules
- Executive Staff approves holiday schedule for the College. The Assistant Vice President of Human Resources or designee informs the Calendar Committee.
- Holidays do not have to be observed on the date they fall.
- If July 4th falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, Memorial Day is moved to July 3rd or 5th to allow a longer break for students and employees.
- The College must be closed to the public every even year on General Election Day.
- 2017-2020 Approved Holiday Schedule:

State 2017	TCTC 2017	State 2018	TCTC 2018	State 2019	TCTC 2019	State 2020	TCTC 2020
2-Jan	2-Jan	1-Jan	1-Jan	1-Jan	1-Jan	1-Jan	1-Jan
16-Jan	16-Jan	15-Jan	15-Jan	21-Jan	21-Jan	20-Jan	20-Jan
20-Feb	27-Dec	19-Feb	27-Dec	18-Feb	27-Dec	17-Feb	29-Dec
10-May	28-Dec	10-May	28-Dec	10-May	20-Dec	10-May	30-Dec
29-May	3-Jul	28-May	28-May	27-May	5-Jul	25-May	25-May
4-Jul	4-Jul	4-Jul	4-Jul	4-Jul	4-Jul	3-Jul	3-Jul
4-Sep	4-Sep	3-Sep	3-Sep	2-Sep	2-Sep	7-Sep	7-Sep
11-Nov	29-Dec	11-Nov	31-Dec	11-Nov	31-Dec	11-Nov	31-Dec
23-Nov	23-Nov	22-Nov	22-Nov	28-Nov	28-Nov	26-Nov	26-Nov
24-Nov	24-Nov	23-Nov	23-Nov	29-Nov	29-Nov	27-Nov	27-Nov
22-Dec	22-Dec	24-Dec	24-Dec	24-Dec	24-Dec	24-Dec	24-Dec
25-Dec	25-Dec	25-Dec	25-Dec	25-Dec	25-Dec	25-Dec	25-Dec
26-Dec	26-Dec	26-Dec	26-Dec	26-Dec	26-Dec	28-Dec	28-Dec

“Session Dates” section include the exam period [Session Dates (First day of class through the last day of exams)]
Include drop/withdraw definitions: “NOTE:

Matriculations Dates for the Enrollment and Academic Calendar
Event	Summer/Fall Dates	Spring Dates
Advising for Currently Enrolled Students	Last week in February for 20 BD (excluding spring break or days that faculty/staff are NOT available)	First week in October for 15 BD
Registration Opens for Currently Enrolled Students	15 BD after Advising begins for current students (excluding spring break or days that faculty/staff are NOT available)	10 BD after Advising begins for current students (excluding spring break or days that faculty/staff are NOT available)
Enrollment Process Begins for New, Returning, and Transfer Students	20 BD after Advising begins for current students (excluding spring break or days that faculty/staff are NOT available)	16 BD after Advising begins for current students (excluding spring break or days that faculty/staff are NOT available)
Registration Opens for Transient and Non-Degree Students	15 BD after Enrollment process begins for new students (excluding spring break or days that faculty/staff are NOT available)	13 BD after Enrollment process begins for new students (excluding spring break or days that faculty/staff are NOT available)
Financial Aid Priority Processing Date	(Fall) 26 (Summer) 12 BD before 1st day of class (exclude holidays) Students with incomplete files after “FA Priority Deadline date” must make payment arrangements prior to “Payment Due date”. See "Payment Due" details below.	20 BD before 1st day of class (exclude holidays) Students with incomplete files after “FA Priority Deadline date” must make payment arrangements prior to “Payment Due date”. See "Payment Due" details below.
Residency Priority Processing Date	5 BD before Tuition due date	5 BD before Tuition due date
Admissions Deadline	6 BD before 1st day of class	6 BD before 1st day of class
Payment Due; Student Schedules Deleted for Nonpayment ___________________________________ Fall – Payment Plans Enroll online by August 1 - $0 down and 4 payments: August – November After August 1 – 25% down and 3 payments: September – November Spring – Payment Plans Enroll online by January 1 - $0 down and 4 payments: January – April After January 1 – 25% down and 3 payments: February – April Summer – Payment Plans Enroll online by May 1 - $0 down and 3 payments: May – July After May 1 – 25% down and 2 payments: June - July	4 BD before 1st day of class Students will lose their schedules if payment arrangements are not made by this date. Between “day after payment due date” and “day prior to the first day of class”, payment for additional credit hours or schedule changes must be paid by “first day of class”, 6:30 p.m. After “day prior to the first day of class”, payment for additional credit hours or schedule changes must be paid by “last day of drop”, 2:00 p.m. Students with incomplete financial aid files must enroll in the college's payment plan by the payment due date or pay in full by cash, check or credit card. Students may pay online under Step 6 of the eTC Get Set tab. Students re-registering for classes due to schedules cancelled for nonpayment will be assessed a registration fee of $40. This fee does not apply to schedule changes (adds and/or drops) made during this time.	4 BD before 1st day of class Students will lose their schedules if payment arrangements are not made by this date. Between “day after payment due date” and “day prior to the first day of class”, payment for additional credit hours or schedule changes must be paid by “first day of class”, 6:30 p.m. After “day prior to the first day of class”, payment for additional credit hours or schedule changes must be paid by “last day of drop”, 2:00 p.m. Students with incomplete financial aid files must enroll in the college's payment plan by the payment due date or pay in full by cash, check or credit card. Students may pay online under Step 6 of the eTC Get Set tab. Students re-registering for classes due to schedules cancelled for nonpayment will be assessed a registration fee of $40. This fee does not apply to schedule changes (adds and/or drops) made during this time.
Eligible Senior Citizens May Register for Tuition-Free Courses	6 BD before 1st day of class - Last BD before Class begins	6 BD before 1st day of class - Last BD before Class begins
Last Day To Register (ALL STUDENTS)	Last BD before Class begins	Last BD before Class begins
Last Day for Major Changes	Noon on Last Day to Add Classes for Session A	Noon on Last Day to Add Classes for Session A

Tri-County Technical College Committees

Committee Minutes (posted in chronological order)

Monday, January 23, 2017

Academic Calendar Considerations - Revised January 19, 2017