Establishing Term and College Academic Calendars

Illinois Central College (ICC) relies upon several calendars, which are developed by multiple stakeholders including the Board of Trustees, the Executive Cabinet, the Academic Calendar Committee, Student Services and Financial Aid, and Academic Affairs. Developing these calendars and coordinating their alignment are critical for student success.

Operational Standard/Purpose

Illinois Central College (ICC) relies upon several calendars, which are developed by multiple stakeholders including the Board of Trustees, the Executive Cabinet, the Academic Calendar Committee, Student Success and Financial Aid, and Academic Affairs. Developing these calendars and coordinating their alignment are critical for student success. Furthermore, these calendars must comply with numerous regulatory bodies including the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) {See Additional Provisions/Information}, Department of Education, Department of Veteran Affairs, and Higher Learning Commission (HLC) guidelines.

The following Standard Operating Procedure serves to assist in guiding the development and coordination of the foundational calendars: the Term Calendar and the College Academic Calendar.

•  Term Calendar – This calendar includes the semester start and semester end dates so that all other detailed dates may be planned accordingly.
• College Academic Calendar – This calendar includes the detailed dates built around and in compliance with the approved Term Calendar to meet the needs of students for academic and financial aid purposes.

Developing a Term Calendar with standardization of the start dates and end dates for the Fall, Spring, and Summer Semesters will allow for all stakeholders across the college to plan appropriately. In addition, Financial Aid is based on a Summer-to-Summer academic year, so the College needs term start and end dates for Summer, Fall, Spring and Summer each year to offer Financial Aid for the following year. 

For example, by October of each year, the Student Success division needs to know the following term year’s calendar (i.e., in October 2024, the College needs the Term Calendars for Summer 2025, Fall 2025, and Spring 2026 and Summer 2026 to offer Fall 2025 aid).

After the Term Calendar is established and approved by the Board of Trustees, the College Academic Calendar will be produced with the necessary details for additional stakeholder planning such as days the college is closed for, observing holidays. The College Academic Calendar recommendation is approved by the Executive Cabinet.

Scope/Applicability

This covers the Academic Calendar Committee, Academic Affairs, Instructional Technology, Marketing and Institutional Advancement, Administration and Finance, Student Success, and Workforce Development.

Procedure(s)

Term Calendar Process

A Term Calendar will be produced and recommended by October for a minimum of two years in advance by the Academic Calendar Joint College Committee. The Term Calendar will establish the Fall, Spring and Summer start dates and end dates for each of the three semesters.

Standard Term Dates:

The Academic Calendar Committee has determined that the Term Calendar will have the following standardization when developing the annual academic calendar.

• Fall Semesters are anticipated to start around the third week of each August. The start of the Fall semester will be calculated from the end date of the semester based off the winter shut down (first day the college shuts down before the Christmas Eve Holiday) and the minimum time needed (4 to 5 business days) by Student Success staff to complete end of semester processes. A 5-business day Fall Break between the 1st 8- weeks duration and 2nd 8-weeks duration of the Fall semester will be included in the Fall semester. All approved Board of Trustees observed holidays will be recognized in the planning of the Fall semester: Labor Day, Election Day (every even year), Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve Day, and Christmas Day. 
• Spring Semesters are anticipated to start either the week before or the week of Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The start of the Spring semester will be calculated based off the winter shut down and the college re-open dates and the minimum time needed (4 to 5 business days) by Student Success staff to complete end of semester processes. A 5-business day Spring Break between the 1st 8- weeks duration and 2nd 8-weeks duration of the Spring semester will be included in the Spring semester. All approved Board of Trustees observed holidays will be recognized in the planning of the Spring semester: New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr..
• Summer Semesters are anticipated to start the first week in June to allow for an 8-week Summer Semester session. The start of the Summer semester will be calculated based off the end of the Spring semester and the observed holidays to allow for an 8-week Summer semester and sufficient time between both Spring and Fall semesters. All approved Board of Trustees observed holidays will be recognized in the planning of the Spring semester: Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and Independence Day. 

College Academic Calendar Process:

The College Academic Calendar will align with the Term Calendar and follow Board of Trustees established days for observing holidays that the College is closed. 

The co-chairs of the Calendar Committee will complete the Joint College Advisory Committee Recommendation Form and attach any proposed Term Calendar(s) and proposed College Academic Calendar(s) to present post to the ICCHUB for the minimum of two weeks for the College wide feedback. After reviewing the college wide feedback, the Calendar Committee may need to adjust the proposal. The co-chairs will send the proposal to the Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs (EVPAA). The EVPAA will present the Joint College Advisory Committee Recommendation Form and the proposals to the Executive Cabinet for their review and recommendation. If recommended, the EVPAA will present the Term Calendar proposals to the Board of Trustees (BOT) for approval at the October BOT meeting.

The EVPAA will inform the Calendar Committee’s co-chairs of the BOT’s decision. The Calendar Committee’s co-chairs will inform the Calendar Committee of the decision. 

• If approved, the Curriculum and Scheduling staff will submit an ICCHUB Ticket to post the approved Term Calendar(s) on the ICCHUB. 
• If approved, the Curriculum and Scheduling staff will alert the Marketing and Institutional Advancement Staff of the need to post the College Academic Calendar on the ICC’s Calendar web page. The College Academic Calendar will also be published in the College Catalog.
• If not approved, the Calendar Committee will take the BOT recommendations and make revisions as needed to either the Term Calendar or to the College Academic Calendar as needed to present to the BOT at the Calendar Committee’s earliest opportunity and follow the same pathway for approval.

Additional Provisions/Information

Illinois Community College Board Administrative Rules December 2019 Section 1501.303 Program Requirements: Academic Calendar

1. A college shall operate on an academic calendar that provides at least two academic terms consisting of at least 15 weeks (at least 75 days of instruction each), three academic terms consisting of at least 10 weeks (at least 50 days of instruction each) or a different combination of academic terms consisting of at least 30 weeks (at least 150 days of instruction). 
2.  The days of instruction prescribed in subsection (e)(1) shall include all days when there is a full schedule of classes and support services, but will exclude holidays, Saturdays, Sundays, and days scheduled exclusively for registration, orientation, collegewide placement or assessment testing, faculty workshops, and final examinations. 
3. Colleges may include terms during the summer or any other time during the year, in addition to the ones identified in subsection (e)(1). 
4. Courses/classes may be scheduled between academic terms, spanning academic terms, for a shorter time frame than the academic term, or for a longer time frame than the academic term, if the schedule provides sufficient duration and contact hours to meet the requirements in Sections 1501.309(b) and 1501.507(b)(10).
5. If an emergency such as a fire, flood, or strike makes it necessary for the college to shorten one of its academic terms, the college may request that the Executive Director approve a shorter term. In such cases, the length of the term may be shortened, but only to the extent that enables all courses to meet the contact hours specified in Section 1501.309(b).
6.  Colleges must have a plan in place to address modifications to the academic terms in the event of an emergency. This plan must be approved by the Board of Trustees.