To: Department Chairs, Faculty and Student Affairs Officers

Dear Colleagues:

The Undergraduate Council has approved changes to the Undergraduate Distance Education Policy for online courses offered during summer only.

Effective Fall 2026, departments planning to offer existing undergraduate courses in online format during summer only must submit course approval requests via the Curriculum Management System (CMS). CMS submission replaces the annual summer online course authorization process previously coordinated by UCLA Summer Sessions.

Summer-only online courses require approval by College and School Faculty Executive Committees (FECs). Courses approved for summer-only online instruction may not be offered during the regular academic term (Fall, Winter, Spring) without separate FEC approval.

Departments intending to offer online courses during the regular term must follow the approval process outlined in Section A of the Undergraduate Distance Education Policy. Courses approved for online instruction during the regular term may be offered in the approved format during the summer.

The Registrar's Office will provide additional information about the summer-only online course approval process.

We encourage departments to proactively plan summer undergraduate course offerings and submit summer online course approval requests in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Luke Yarbrough
Chair, Undergraduate Council

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