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Course Intentions

Course intentions is the process where returning students indicate the courses they wish to take in the upcoming academic year.

Course intentions are used to generate students’ course schedules, which are released ahead of the start of the fall and winter terms. 

The course intentions period occurs in March for the upcoming fall and winter terms. Course intention changes can be made during the course intention adjustment periods in the spring (May) and fall (August to September).

 Upcoming Course Intention Period - Winter 2025

Monday, August 19, 2024 at 6 a.m. to Friday, September 13, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.

You will be able to select or adjust your winter 2025 term course intentions during the fall term Open Enrolment Period.

Participate in Course Intentions

Participation is mandatory for all undergraduate students in full-time programs.

Course intentions assist your faculty with their course planning for the next academic year. The courses you choose will inform how many classes of a particular subject will be offered and how many seats will be allocated.

You must participate in course intentions if you are a(n):

  • undergraduate student enrolled in a full-time program planning to take courses in the upcoming academic year
  • first-year student who is planning on taking courses in the winter term
  • Centennial or George Brown Collaborative Nursing student in your second year who will be studying at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in the upcoming academic year 

Even though course intentions are mandatory, there are many benefits to participating:

Based on your course intentions, you will be automatically scheduled into courses ahead of the fall and winter terms. You will be able to adjust your schedule during the enrolment period. Participating in course intentions will greatly increase your chances of being enrolled into your preferred courses.

Students who do not select course intentions will not be assigned a priority enrolment appointment, and must wait until the open enrolment period to select their courses.

If you are receiving OSAP, you will likely receive your OSAP Confirmation of Enrolment faster, ensuring you have access to your funds sooner.

If you received a Guaranteed Renewable Entrance Scholarship, the eligibility conditions require that you maintain a full-time course load (i.e. four or more billing units) in both fall and winter semesters. Please refer to the Entrance Scholarship FAQ page for more details.

To confirm full-time enrolment, the university looks at fall enrolment and uses course intentions for winter to ensure students are enrolled full-time.  

  • Students must complete their course intentions for both the fall and winter semesters in order to meet the full-time course load requirement (i.e. four or more billing units in both the fall and winter semesters)
  • Students who do not select course intentions (i.e. demonstrate full-time enrolment in both the fall and winter semesters) will risk forfeiting all or part of their entrance scholarship for the academic year

You may be required to confirm your enrolment status at TMU for the upcoming school year in order to access services at TMU and with other organizations, such as financial institutions, consulates, etc. Completing course intentions ensures you can access these services and confirm your enrolment for the upcoming semesters in advance.

Select Your Course Intentions

As a student, you are responsible for selecting course intentions that meet the curricular requirements for your academic program and plan/major of study. Please refer to the "Understand Your Curriculum Requirements" tab below for more information.

How to Select Your Course Intentions

  1. Go to the Student Center in MyServiceHub (opens in new window) 
  2. Declare your plan/major (if applicable). Please refer to the "Declaring Your Plan/Major" tab below for details.
  3. Run an Advisement Report. This will assist you in planning your course intentions by identifying the curriculum requirements that you have satisfied and the requirements that remain outstanding.
  4. Select My Classes Offered from the Shopping Cart section in the Student Centre to display and select fall and winter term courses that are offered to your program and plan.
  5. Click the Finish Enrolling button. If you prefer, you may also use the regular enrolment functions of searchadddrop and swap to submit your course intentions.
  6. Re-run your Advisement Report. It will now apply your course intentions. You will be able to see and validate the application of your course intentions to your curricular requirements.

Access the following resources to help you understand your program requirements:

  • The current version of the undergraduate calendar confirms the curriculum for all undergraduate programs
  • Undergraduate Program Requirements provides an overview of the undergraduate program curriculum and outlines the various requirements you will need to meet to obtain your TMU degree
  • The Advisement Report that is accessed via MyServiceHub confirms the requirements for your program, and your progress toward meeting your graduation requirements
  • Your academic program advisor is available to support you with questions about course selecting and meeting your program requirements

Courses with Prerequisites

To submit course intentions for a course that requires a prerequisite, you must have either successfully completed that class previously or be enrolled in the course during the current term.

If you have yet to complete the prerequisite course, or if you are not currently enrolled in the prerequisite course, you will not be allowed to complete course intention selections for the following course for the upcoming terms.

If you do not complete a prerequisite course that was used to enrol into a class, this will prevent your course from being scheduled. If this occurs, you are required to adjust your course intentions during the course intentions periods in the spring and fall and select a different course or select another class during your enrolment period. 

Multi-Term Courses

When selecting a multi-term course during the course intention process, e.g., POL47A/B or NSE11A/B, you select part A and you will automatically be enrolled in part B in the subsequent term.

Liberal Studies Requirements and Restrictions

Liberal Studies are a core program requirement for all undergraduate programs, and should be selected during the course intentions process.  

Students should be aware that some Liberal Studies courses are restricted for some programs. Please refer to Table A - Lower Level Restrictions and Table B - Upper Level Restrictions for details.

How to Select Your Liberal Studies Course Intentions

  1. Visit the Course Offerings section on the Liberal Studies website to find the band charts and course offerings relevant to your program. Keep in mind:
    1. Lower Level Bands are for Lower Level Liberal Studies courses (Table A)
    2. Upper Level Bands are for Upper Level Liberal Studies courses (Table B)
  2. Complete your course intentions following the step-by-step instructions on this page

Liberal Studies Selections for Part-Time Students

Part-time undergraduate students participating in the course intention process will be eligible to select only Required and Professionally-Related courses as part of their course intention selections for the upcoming academic year. Liberal Studies courses may be enrolled during the open enrolment period for the term via MyServiceHub (opens in new window) .

Please contact your program or school's academic advisor if you have any concerns or questions about your course intention plans.

Liberal Studies Placement Tests

To add your first course in Arabic, French, or Spanish to your course intentions, all students must take a placement test. Please note that this includes ARB 101, CHN 101, FRE 101, and SPN 101. If you do not have the appropriate test score you will be blocked from adding the course to your intentions. 

Students who have previously taken the placement test or already completed a course in a language should not take the test again.

  1. Please complete a Placement Test prior to the course intentions period. Tests can take several business days to be evaluated at peak times of year so it's important to take your test as soon as possible
  2. Check for your test score in MyServiceHub > My Academics > Test Scores Summary
  3. Once you have a score, confirm your eligible courses in the Placement Test Score Guide and add the course to your intentions. Students will not be able to add a course unless it is indicated for their score in the guide

Visit Languages, Literatures, and Cultures for further details.

If you require assistance, please contact Wendy Crolla at wcrolla@torontomu.ca

Declaring your plan is necessary for students who are finishing their first or second year of certain programs. Whether this is mandatory or optional is based on your program. Selecting your plan will allow you to see and indicate your course intentions for the plan you have chosen.

Some programs have a 'common' first or first two years of study that is completed before you select the plan (major) that you will complete for graduation. You can find complete details for your program in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Declaring Your Plan by End of Year 1
Mandatory:
  • Undeclared Arts
  • Undeclared Engineering
  • Undeclared Science
  • Business Management – Undeclared
  • Language and Intercultural Relations
Optional:
  • Arts and Contemporary Studies
  • Mathematics and its Applications
  • Chemistry
Declaring Your Plan by End of Year 2
Mandatory:
  • Accounting and Finance – Undeclared
Optional:
  • Biology
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
  • Fine Arts (Image Arts) Film Studies
  • Fine Arts (Image Arts) Photography Media Arts
  • Mechanical Engineering

New students are automatically enrolled into their fall and winter term required courses in early August, if they are admitted into the first semester of a full-time program and have confirmed their Offer of Admission by mid-July.  

During the fall term open enrolment period (late August through late September), first year students should select their winter term course intentions for liberal studies courses and/or professionally related courses.

Students currently in a TMU undergraduate program who have recently accepted an Offer of Admission for another undergraduate program should note that course intention selections are associated with the program and plan they are currently active in, and not the new program. 

Students meeting all the requirements and conditions on an offer of admission will formally be enrolled in the new program in late July. Course intentions from the previous program are dropped at this time. 

All students will be able to make adjustments to their schedule during their enrolment period.

In the event that you require advice or encounter a full required course, you are advised to contact your new program department advisor for assistance once you have been formally admitted into your new program.

Next Steps

Students who participate in the March course intention period have another opportunity to adjust their fall course intention selections in the spring (May). Winter course intention selections may be adjusted in the spring (May) and during the fall adjustment period (August to September).

If you decide not to return to TMU after submitting your course intentions, you must submit a Short-Term or Permanent Withdrawal. This will ensure that you are not enrolled into classes, and that you avoid any tuition fee charges or negative academic standing impacts.

Course schedules are released in early August for the fall term and in late November for the winter term. While TMU makes every effort to enrol students into courses based on course intentions, there are occasions where a course intention selection cannot be accommodated. If your intentions are not scheduled, don’t worry, you will still be able to enrol into courses during your enrolment period.

Reason Definition

Class scheduling conflict

The course is scheduled at the same time as a course you are already enrolled in. Note: enrolment into required courses is prioritised over enrolment into “elective” courses, such as Professionally Related and Liberal Studies courses.
Class enrolment capacity All of the spaces in the course are full. Spaces may open up during the course during your enrolment period. 
Course requirements not met Course requirements, such as prerequisites and co-requisites, must be met in order to enrol into a course.
Course intention selections in the Shopping Cart not completed Course intentions may have been added to the Shopping Cart in MyServiceHub, but not successfully completed by selecting the Finish Enrolling button.
Account Holds Holds that block course enrolment may be applied to a record, and prevent further enrolments until satisfactory arrangements have been made. Holds and their impacts can be accessed via the Holds section of the Student Center in MyServiceHub.
Courses not available to your program and plan During the Course Intention Period, some courses are reserved for certain program majors/plans, and this is indicated by a “Not available to your program and plan" error message.  You may be able to access open seats during your enrolment period.

If your course intentions are not scheduled, you will have an opportunity to make changes to your schedule during the course enrolment period. Note that the university is unable to manually adjust course enrolments that do not align with your course intentions. 

Visit Course Enrolment for more information on adjusting your course schedule and enrolment dates.

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