Program of Study Data Standard

Intended Audience and Contact Information

Change Log

Standard Version Date	Change Log
2022-03-11	1.0 Program of Study Type Name and Acronym First Year Gateway Program - FYGP changed to Specialized Program Academic Opportunity SPAO

Purpose

Contact	Chief Data Officer, Office of the CIO
Intended audience:	Internal UBC
UDM Domain	Academic

This standard aims to achieve consistency around the data collected for a Program of Study, and the format in which it is collected and stored.

A program of study is a path of studies that a learner applies to through either an application or registration process and are admitted into, and which leads to a specific outcome or credential following the completion of a number of requirements.

This standard is derived by UBC and applies to all applications collecting Programs of Study. Exceptions are listed in the Dispensation section.

Standard

Program of Study Attributes

The following are the data elements and accepted values associated with creating a Program of Study:

Data Element	Definition	Format
Program of Study Name*	A name for a program of study.	Text See the Program of Study Code and Name section for more information on the naming convention for Program of Study name.
Program of Study Type*	A classification of a program of study used to control functionality, such as registration and application processes.	Reference List See Program of Study Types section for more details on accepted values.
Program of Study Code*	A unique identifier for a program of study.	Alpha-character See the Program of Study Code and Name section for more information on the naming convention for Program of Study code.
Educational Credential	Conveys UBC's recognition that a program has been successfully completed. Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates are all types of Credentials.	Reference List Crosswalk
Academic Level*	See the Academic Level Data Standard for more information.	See the Academic Level Data Standard for more information.
Owning Academic Unit*	The academic unit that assigns requirements and assessments to a Program of Study. This is typically at the faculty or school level.	Reference List
Coordinating Academic Unit*	May be same as the owning academic unit or a subordinate unit within it.	Reference List
Effective Date*	The date that controls which version of the Program of Study is available in the system. The version with latest effective date no later than the current date is the active version.	YYYY-MM-DD
First Entry Date*	The earliest date a Program is offered and students can matriculate (enroll) into the Program.	YYYY-MM-DD
Last Entry Date	The last date a Program is offered.	YYYY-MM-DD
Educational Taxonomy Code	The Canadian Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code.	Reference List?
Senate Location a.k.a. Allowed Locations	The Senate that approves the Program of Study. This attribute is referred to as Allowed Locations in Workday.	See the Senate Data Standard for more information.

*Required fields in Workday

Program of Study Types

Below are the types of Program of Study:

Program of Study Type Name	PoS Type Acronym	Type Description
Certificate Program	CERT	A Senate Curriculum Committee approved program of study that is typically equivalent to one half-year to one year of study, consists of credit and/or non-credit courses, and may be non-academic, or at the academic undergraduate or graduate levels.
Degree Program	DEGR	A program of study recognized as a degree by the Province of British Columbia that typically consists of at least a year of study, and may be at the undergraduate or graduate level.
Diploma Program	DIPL	A Senate Curriculum Committee approved program of study that is typically equivalent to one to two years of study, and may be at the upper-division undergraduate or graduate level.
Secondary Pathway	SCND	A program of study consisting of a second specialization* that can be added to a Degree Program and cannot exist as a stand-alone program. *with the exception of Minors
Vantage One	VONE	A specially-designed pathway for an international student who does not yet meet the English language admission requirements for direct Faculty entry to UBC
Undeclared Degree Program	UNDC	A Degree Program in which the student has not selected a field or program of study to focus on.
Access Studies	ACST	A program of study for a student who has not completed a degree and is taking courses for general interest or for professional reasons, not toward a UBC degree, diploma or certificate.
Exchange	EXCH	A program of study for a student registered at UBC under a Senate-approved student exchange program and enrolled in studies for transfer to a degree program at that institution. The student pays tuition fees to their home institution.
Residency Program	RESP	A program of study for postgraduate training.
Unclassified	UNCL	A program of study for a student who has completed a degree and is enrolled in studies not intended to lead to a particular degree, diploma or certificate.
Visiting	VIST	A program of study where a learner is enrolled in studies or conducts research for transfer to a program of study at another recognized post-secondary institution. The student pays tuition fees to UBC.
Co-operative Education	COOP	A program of study that involves a partnership between a student, an employer and UBC, that formally integrates a student's academic studies with paid, approved, career-related work experience in participating employer organizations.
External Auxiliary	EAUX	A program of study specific to Workday used to track UBC's portion of a program with an external institution used to track academic requirements, tuition and/or fees.
Specialized Program Academic Opportunity	SPAO	A program of study used to track a program that allows for an alternate way of completing a component of a Degree program resulting in a transcript notation, and does not exist as a standalone program.
Qualifying Program	QLFP	A program of study that allows a student to complete requirements for full admission to their degree program.
Minor	MINR	A pathway of smaller specialization outside the primary Major, Combined Major, Honours or Combined Honours program.
Visiting Agreement	VISG	A program of study used to track a student in various agreements with other external institutions which may have an impact on tuition and does not exist as a standalone program.
Advisory	ADVS	A program of study specific to Workday used to track academic requirements, tuition and/or fees, where the program does not appear on a student's transcript until a set of conditions are met.
Joint Program	JNTP	A program of study that consists of a single credential program delivered by UBC and another institution.
Dual Credential Program	DCGR	A program of study that consists of two official credential programs delivered by UBC or in partnership with another Institution, where a student must complete requirements for both programs to obtain a credential for each.

Program of Study Name Standard

The following general rules are applied when entering a Program of Study name.

Enter the Program of Study name in full.
Abbreviations are not allowed except for approved acronyms that are listed here. Abbreviations can obscure the meaning of a term.
Use Title Case for all prime words.
Cannot contain special characters with the exception of apostrophe.
Cannot contain any embedded information if not part of the name e.g. inactive flag or status.
Cannot be concatenated with the program of study code in the distinctive name field.
Single word names (such as Kinesiology) are not sufficiently distinct from other names containing the same word and hence, are not allowed.
Numerals may only be used if it is part of the distinctive element / not allowed
Refer to Data Entry In Free-Form Text Fields for more guidance.

Program of Study Name Components

Name components are dependent on certain conditions. Below are the three main component structures for a Program of Study name.

Where a Program of Study contains an educational credential ONLY e.g. an undeclared, degree, a degree program that does not require a declaration, a certificate or diploma:
```
CredentialDescription¹ (SenateName²)
```
Where a Program of Study contains an Educational Credential (with the exception of B.Ed. Programs) and a Specialization and/or Pathway selection in one or more subjects.
```
CredentialName¹, SpecializationName³ in SubjectName⁴, PathwaySelectionName³ in SubjectName⁴ (SenateName²)
```

Where a Program of Study is for Bachelor of Education program:

CredentialName¹, Teaching Level⁵, SpecializationName³ in SubjectName⁴, PathwaySelectionName³ in SubjectName⁴ (SenateName²)

Where a Program of Study is a Joint program:

CredentialName¹, SpecializationName³ in SubjectName⁴ (SenateName²>)

Where a Program of Study is a Dual Credential program offered by UBC only, use one of the following depending on the nature of the program:
- ```
 CredentialDescription1¹, CredentialDescription2¹ (SenateName²)
```
  Example: Master of Science in Craniofacial Science, Diploma in Orthodontics (Vancouver)
- ```
CredentialDescription¹, CredentialName¹ in SubjectName⁴ (SenateName²)
```
  Example: Bachelor of Laws, M.B.A. in Finance and International Business (Vancouver)
- ```
CredentialName1¹ in SubjectName¹, CredentialName2¹ in SubjectName⁴ (SenateName²)
```
  Example: M.A. in Asia Pacific Policy Studies, M.A. in Planning (Vancouver)
Where a Program of Study is a Dual Credential program offered by UBC and another institution:
```
Format: TBD
```

¹Refer to appendix A for diagram showing sample data distinguishing Credential Description and Credential Name. Find a list of educational credentials here <link-TBD>.
² Enter "Vancouver" for a UBC Vancouver Senate-approved program and "Okanagan" for UBC Okanagan Senate-approved program.
³ Refer to the Specialization and Pathway Names and Codes section for a list of specialization and/or pathway selection names.
⁴ Find the Subject List and their respective subject codes here <link-TBD>. Where a 'subjectname' and its respective 'subjectcode' are not available in the <Subject List> a request will need to be made to the <Senate Secretariate> to add the subject name and code to the subject list even if it is not for a Senate approved subject.
⁵ Enter "Elementary" or "Elementary and Middle", or "Middle", or "Middle and Secondary" or "Secondary" as appropriate.
⁶ TBD: Use a recognized Institution Acronym e.g. "BCIT" for the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Appendix A

Representation of Educational Credential in a Program of Study Name

Use the Educational Credential Description where a program of study name contains an educational credential ONLY.
Examples:

Bachelor of Arts (Okanagan)
Certificate in Infant Development and Supported Childcare (Vancouver)

Use the Educational Credential Name where a program of study* name contains:

an educational credential in a subject,

an educational credential with a specialization in and/or pathway selection in or within a subject.
Examples:

Acceptable	Not Acceptable
B.Sc. Applied Biology, Honours in Sustainable Agriculture and Environment (Vancouver)	B.Sc. (APBI), Honours Sustainable Agriculture and Environment (Vancouver)
B.A., Concentration in French (Okanagan)	Bachelor of Arts, Concentration in French (Okanagan)

Eliminate brackets where an Educational Credential Name contains them. See example above.

*With the exception of Bachelor of Education Programs.

Representation of a Subject, Specialization and Pathway in a Program of Study* Name

Enter the subject name, specialization name and/or pathway name in full.
Where an educational credential is included in the program of study name, the educational credential name must appear before a subject (if available), specialization name and/or pathway name.
Where both a specialization and a pathway are available in a program of study name, the specialization name must come before the pathway name.
Where available, a subject name related to the specified specialization or pathway must come after the specialization name or pathway name.
Use a coma to separate the combinations of educational credential name in a subject(s) (if available), specialization name in a subject and/or pathway name in a subject.
Use "in" before a subject name.
Use "and" only when it is part of the subject. Use "and" instead of "&".

Examples for above rules include:

Acceptable	Not Acceptable
B.A., Combined Major in Art History and Visual Culture, Cultural Studies (Okanagan)	B.A., Comb Maj in Art Hist & Vis Culture & Cultural Stds (Okanagan)
B.A., Honours in Classical, Near East and Religious Studies, Emphasis in Archaeology (Vancouver)	B.A., Hon Classical:Near East&Religious Stud Emp Archaeo (Vancouver)
B.Com., Option in Accounting (Vancouver)	B.Com.,Accounting Option (Vancouver)
Option in Finance (Vancouver)	Finance Option (Vancouver)

*With the exception of Bachelor of Education Programs

Program of Study Code Standard

A Program of Study code will be used to derive reporting and analytics, as well as integrations with downstream applications that will consume data from the system of record.

Program of Study Code Structure

Component1:Component2:Component3:Component4

Below are the contents and requirements of each component:

Component 1	Component 2	Component 3	Component 4
Required	Required	Required	Required
PoS Type Acronym¹	Educational Credential Code²	Defined Rules related to presence of Specializations, Subjects, and other edge cases.³	Senate/Approving Body Acronym⁴

Below are the rules for the component structure and their respective components:

The code must always consist of four components
Use colon ":" to separate components.
Use dash "-" to separate sub-components.
Cannot contain any space. Use underscore "_" within sub-components.
"_V" or "_O" present in a subject code must be left as-is.
Can only contain uppercase alpha characters.
Cannot have numeric or other special character values.

Program of Study Component Rules

Below are the conditions and rules for the structure of the Program of Study code. For examples, see Program of Study Code Scenarios and Examples.

'X' indicates that the component is required. Complete the information with the appropriate value.

#	Condition	Component 1 PoS Type Acronym	Component 2 Educational Credential Code	Component 3 Rule	Component 4 Senate Acronym
1A	Type is UNDECLARED, DEGREE, or CERTIFICATE or DIPLOMA, and name includes an educational credential only.	X	X		X
1B	Type is DIPLOMA, and name includes an educational credential and a subject (if available).	DIPL	X	SubjectCode⁵ (if available)	X
2A	Type is DEGREE and Name DOES NOT INCLUDE a Specialization and INCLUDES one or more subjects.	DEGR	X	SubjectCode1-SubjectCode2⁶	X
2B	Type is DEGREE and Name INCLUDES a Specializations or Pathway Selection in one or more subjects (with the exception of B.Ed. Degree Programs).	DEGR	X	SpecializationCode⁷-SubjectCode1-SubjectCode2 Or PathwaySelectionCode⁷-SubjectCode1-SubjectCode2	X
2C	Type is DEGREE in a subject and Name INCLUDES a Specialization or Pathway Selection in one or more subjects (with the exception of B.Ed. Degree Programs)	DEGR	X	SubjectCode1-SpecializationCode-SubjectCode2 or SubjectCode1-PathwaySelectionCode-SubjectCode2	X
2D	Type is DEGREE and program is a B.Ed. Degree Program with a specialization in a subject(s)	DEGR	BED_ELE or BED_ELE_MID or BED_MID or BED_MID_SEC or BED_SEC	SpecializationCode-SubjectCode1-SubjectCode2-SubjectCode3¹	X
2E	Type is DEGREE and Name INCLUDES a Specialization and Pathway Selection within the subject (with the exception of B.Ed. Degree Programs)	DEGR	X	SpecializationCode-SubjectCode1-PathwaySelectionCode-SubjectCode2	X
2F	Type is JOINT PROGRAM, and may have a Specialization or Pathway Selection in one or more subjects.	JNTP	EducationalCredentialCode_OtherInstitutionAcronym	SubjectCode* Or SpecializationCode-SubjectCode1* Or PathwaySelectionCode-SubjectCode1* *If available.	X
2G	Type is ADVISORY and program of study is a Dual Credential Program.	ADVS-DCGR	X	SubjectCode* or SpecializationCode-SubjectCode* *If available.	X
2H	Type is ADVISORY and program of study is a JOINT Program.	ADVS-JNTP	X	SubjectCode* or SpecializationCode-SubjectCode* *If available.	X
3A	Type is MINOR in one or more subjects.	MINR		MIN-SubjectCode1-SubjectCode2-SubjectCode3	X
3B	Type is MINOR and Name INCLUDES a Specialization and a Pathway Selection within the subject	MINR		MIN-SubjectCode1-PathwaySelectionCode-SubjectCode2	X
4A	Type is SECONDARY PATHWAY and Name INCLUDES a Specialization in one or more subjects.	SCND		SpecializationCode-SubjectCode1-SubjectCode2¹	X
4B	Type is SECONDARY PATHWAY and Name INCLUDES an Educational Credential and a Specialization or Pathway Selection within the subject.	SCND	X	SpecializationCode-SubjectCode1-PathwaySelectionCode-SubjectCode2	X
4C	Type is CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION and Name INCLUDES a Pathway Selection within the subject.	COOP	X	PathwaySelectionCode-SubjectCode1	X
5	Type is ACCESS STUDIES, ADVISORY, EXTERNAL AUXILIARY, EXCHANGE, SPECIALIZED PROGRAM ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITY, QUALIFYING PROGRAM, VANTAGE ONE, VISITING, VISITING AGREEMENT OR UNCLASSIFIED.	X		FirstLetterOfEveryPrimeWord⁸ excluding prepositions (don't include Senate)	X

¹Refer to the Program of Study Types section for PoS Type acronym.
²Refer to the list of Educational Credentials here <link-TBD> for the Educational Credential code.
³Refer to the Program of Study Component Rules section for more information.
⁴See UBC Senates and Other Curriculum Approving Bodies Data Standard for appropriate acronym value. ⁵Find the Subject List and their respective subject codes here <link-TBD>. "_V" or "_O" present in a subject code must be left as-is.Where a 'subjectname' and its respective 'subjectcode' are not available in the <Subject List>, submit a request to the <Senate Secretariate> to add the subject and subject code to the subject list even if it is not for a Senate approved subject.
⁶Where a Program of Study name contains multiple subjects, or combination of Specializations and subjects, list the SpecializationCodes and SubjectCodes in the order in which they appear in the name.
⁷For a list of specializations and pathway selections and their respective codes, refer to the Specializations and Specialization Codes section.
⁸If a duplicate PoS code exists, use FirstTwoLettersofEveryPrimeWord excluding prepositions.

Specialization and Pathway Names and Codes

A specialization or pathway selection is a discrete set of academic requirements that makes up a component of a program. Below is a list of accepted values and the respective codes for specializations:

Specialization Type	Code
Major	MAJ
Combined Major	CMJ
Honours	HON
Combined Honours	CHN
Minor	MIN
General	GEN

Below is a list of accepted values and the respective codes for pathway selections:

Pathway Selection Type	Code
Concentration	CON
Emphasis	EMP
In	IN
Option	OPT
Stream	STR
Concentration	CON

Compliance

This standard must be complied with every stage of the data lifecycle with the exception of any dispensations (see Dispensation section):

All applications must collect date as recommended in this standard.
Enterprise Data Integration must adopt this standard.

Reference Data Compliance for Data Integration

The use of accepted reference data values in this standard for data integration among applications must comply with the enterprise integration pattern of leveraging the reference data common service API (Application Programming Interface) published in UBC MuleSoft Exchange.

Any application that intends to access real-time, case-level reference data should have the application owner or manager complete and submit a Request API Access form.

For any compliance questions or requests for a dispensation temporarily, please contact the Enterprise Data Governance Team.

Dispensation

Workday

Program of study types in Workday may not align with the types listed in this data standard.

Legacy Systems

Legacy systems are exempt from this data standard. As systems are replaced, adoption of this standard is required. Examples of legacy systems are:

Student Information System (SIS)