Undergraduate Catalog Process Guide

During the annual Catalog Update Cycle, a process that runs from early January to approximately mid-May, faculty and staff assist with the catalog editing process by reviewing draft catalog content for accuracy and reporting needed informational updates to the Undergraduate Catalog Editor.

The Undergraduate Catalog Editor makes changes to catalog content according to content type . Informational changes can be requested via an email to the Catalog Editor at undergrad-catalog@ohio.edu . If the change requested is a curricular change – a change to the academic requirements of a program, introduction of a new program or course, etc. – it can only be implemented to the catalog through the University Curriculum Council (UCC) approval process. Both processes are explained in further detail in the section “Catalog Content Review and Editing Process.”

The following sections explain the different types of catalog content to be updated during the annual catalog update cycle. Please note that “Informational” and “Curricular” content are edited via separate processes. 

Informational Pages

Informational pages are pages containing information about the University’s mission, values, policies, initiatives, leadership and institutional organization, offices, contact information, student services, and non-academic programs and services. Additionally, certain informational content is contained in academic college, department, and program pages.

College, Department, and Program Pages – Informational Conten t

Below is a partial list of informational content that can be found on college, department, and program pages:

College:

• Campus office location
• Office phone/fax number
• College website URL
• Deans/leadership team and contact information
• Mission/Vision/Values statements
• Academic Departments
• Degrees, Majors, Minors and Certificates offered (approved programs only)
• Departmental Honors

Department:

• Campus office location
• Office phone/fax number
• Department website URL
• Chair/Director/leadership team and contact information
• Mission/Vision/Values statements
• List of programs offered within the department (approved programs only)
• Departmental scholarship opportunities
• Departmental clubs and student organizations

Programs:

• Campus office location
• Office phone/fax number
• Department website URL
• Leadership and contact information
• Program Overview
• Opportunities Upon Graduation

Review and Editing Process for Informational Pages  

At the beginning of the Academic Catalog update cycle in early January, the Catalog Editor emails college/office points-of-contact with a request that they review informational pages and/or information in college, department, and program pages, and provides a review deadline.

Reviewers are responsible for inspecting each assigned page within their area. Reviewers should review contact information (phone numbers, websites, emails, et al) and informational sections of pages in their purview (for colleges, departments, and programs, things such as "Program Overview" and "Opportunities Upon Graduation").

Any needed informational edits should be returned to the Catalog Editor by the stated deadline. When requests for edits are received, it is the responsibility of the Catalog Editor to review, make any needed edits to draft catalog pages, and return a final draft of these pages before the catalog is published, ensuring all edits meet the expectations of the point-of-contact and their college office.

Curricular Changes and UCC Approvals

The Catalog Editor is responsible for updating program requirements and other curricular changes solely from UCC and (where applicable) higher-level approvals. Requests for edits to curriculum should not be made directly to the Undergraduate Catalog Editor, except when changes to program requirements are needed to accurately reflect existing (not pending) approvals.*

Content under the "Requirements" section of a program – or any other curricular information in college, department, program, or course pages – cannot be changed until the specific change in question has been formally approved by UCC. Therefore, “Requirements” sections should be checked for accuracy based on current and not anticipated approvals. Any pending curricular changes will be incorporated into the catalog through a separate process only after they have obtained the appropriate level of approval.**

After edits have been made by the Catalog Editor, program pages with UCC-approved changes will be sent to both the Ocean 1.9 program contact and the college's main points-of-contact for review. This ensures that the approved changes are formatted in a manner consistent with the wishes of the program contacts while making college points-of-contact aware of the changes. Requested edits inconsistent with catalog-formatting practice or contrary to (or unwarranted by) the UCC-approved documentation will not be made.

* If there are errors or issues with a “Requirements” section, college personnel in the appropriate college should notify the Catalog Editor. The Catalog Editor will 1) research and make changes solely based on approvals and 2) ensure there are no other impacted pages to be corrected. If a specific program change has not been approved by UCC, it will not be made in the Academic Catalog.

**In some cases, UCC approval may not be sufficient to incorporate new or update existing curricular information. A new program, program change, new course, course change, or other updates may require additional higher-level approval through the Ohio University Board of Trustees (BoT), the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), and/or the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) before implementation to the Academic Catalog.

The Undergraduate Catalog Editing Cycle begins in early January – when the Catalog Editor sends an email request to catalog content reviewers for updates to informational pages – and ends with publication of the catalog in mid-to-late May.

The Undergraduate Catalog is published immediately prior to Bobcat Student Orientation. This timeline ensures that 1) incoming students are aware of program requirements for the upcoming academic year and 2) catalog publication is synchronized with the University Curriculum Council (UCC) approval timeline for changes to curriculum to be included in the new catalog.

Once published, the Undergraduate Catalog should not be edited. Students and the faculty and staff who support them rely on the Academic Catalog for timely and authoritative program guidance. Throughout their time at OHIO University, students should be able to refer to the catalog from their first academic year as a degree-seeking student for reliable information regarding academic program requirements. For this reason, and with rare exception, the only edits that can be made to a published Academic Catalog are to update incorrect contacts/contact information, to correct broken/incorrect website links, or to resolve minor typos.

Catalog Production Timeline

This timeline provides a general idea of when events will occur as part of the upcoming Catalog Editing Cycle. Please note that dates provided are subject to change:

Date	Timeline Description
Jan. 5, 2026	Catalog Editor sends first email requesting informational edits to the draft Academic Catalog for the coming Academic Year, including either a weblink or editable file of the relevant page within the current Academic Catalog. Note: course and program information may not be up-to-date if certain course and/or program changes are pending approval through UCC.
Jan. 30, 2026	Catalog Editor imports courses to the draft catalog from OCEAN with all changes through the December UCC meeting. A second and final import will follow the final UCC meeting for spring, in mid-April.
Feb. 2, 2026	Catalog Editor sends second email requesting edits to informational page content, including either a weblink or editable file of the relevant page within the current Academic Catalog.
March 2, 2026	Catalog Editor sends third and final email requesting edits to informational page content, including either a weblink or editable file of the relevant page within the current Academic Catalog
Apr. 3, 2026	Deadline for needed edits to Informational Pages.
Apr. 10, 2026	Catalog Editor completes Informational Page edits as well as all Informational edits to College, Dept., and Program Pages. The edited pages are sent back to colleges for final review by this date (though in general, pages will be edited and returned for approval as soon as possible after being received). Note: Any updates to information on the Faculty catalog pages need to be submitted to the Office of the Provost by this date.
April 14, 2026	Any pending program proposals that require UCC approval must be approved at this meeting if they are to be incorporated in the Academic Catalog for the upcoming Academic Year. Additional higher-level approvals (BoT, ODHE, HLC) may apply, and may in some cases prevent a UCC-approved program proposal from being incorporated in the Academic Catalog for the upcoming Academic Year.
April 15, 2026	All UCC-approved Program Pages (except for those changes approved by UCC in April) finalized by the Catalog Editor by this date, if not before.
May 1, 2026	Final course import to Acalog from OCEAN, including edits approved in the April 16 UCC Meeting.
May 4, 2026	Final deadline for any edits to Informational Pages based on final review copies sent out by the Catalog Editor.
May 15, 2026	Catalog Editor implements all approved program changes by this date. Timelines for draft page review will be short. The Catalog Editor recommends and communicates, based on reasonable expectation, a deadline for final edits to be submitted. Changes to program and curricular content will not be made after this date.
May 19, 2026	Catalog Editor publishes the Undergraduate Catalog prior to Bobcat Student Orientation training.