Academic calendars approved and published

Details and links to the new academic calendars for 2024-2025, 2025-2026, and 2026-2027 are below. The calendars were informed by the thoughtful work of the Academic Calendar Committee and consultation with the University Registrar, Enrollment Management, and the Council of Deans. The calendars create the highest level of consistency over the three-year period, are well–aligned with SEC peers, and the start-and-end dates for semesters are advantageous to faculty, staff, students, and families. Thank you to the Academic Calendar Committee for the many hours of hard work throughout the calendar process.

— John Zomchick, provost and senior vice chancellor

View the calendars

View the future academic calendars for 2024-2025, 2025-2026, and 2026-2027.

About the calendars

The Academic Calendar Committee met throughout the 2022-2023 academic year and established the following goals for the development of academic calendar proposals: 

• Envision an academic calendar that aligns with the strategic vision of the University, providing enhanced access to learners while meeting the pedagogical and instructional needs of academic programs. 
• Balance the consideration of providing multiple entry points for students by utilizing various terms/modules within the academic calendar while understanding the critical need to structure the calendar to enhance the likelihood of successful student learning outcomes. 
• Create a collection of semesters, sessions, etc. that are consistent for academic programs in their planning of educational content, so that course offerings can be developed to fit those sessions and be replicated throughout the academic calendar and across academic years. 

The Committee submitted several calendar options to the Provost and Chancellor. With campus leadership refinement and feedback, the calendars have been approved. 

Items of Note for the 2024-2025 Academic Calendar: 

• There are four (4) different types of replicated sessions throughout the calendar:  
• 1. Full Semesters (Fall & Spring)  
  2. Embedded Sessions (Fall 1^st & 2^nd Session, Spring 1^st & 2^nd Session, Summer Full)  
  3. Mini-Terms (Winter Mini, May Mini, Summer 3)  
  4. Summer Sessions (Summer 1^st & 2^nd Session). 

• Fall Break is scheduled on a Monday and Tuesday in October (October 7 & 8) and occurs within Fall Break for Knox County Schools. 
• The addition of Election Day (Tuesday, November 5) as a day without class offerings in the fall. 
• Mini-Terms are all standardized to 10 instructional days (weekdays), allowing condensing of the overall calendar length. 
• Spring Break is scheduled for the week of March 17 – 21 and aligns with Spring Break for Knox County Schools. 
• Summer sessions have been adjusted: 

• • Full Summer is the same length as the embedded sessions in Fall and Spring. 
  • 1^st & 2^nd Summer were lengthened to meet the needs of several disciplines. 

If areas would like more information about the academic calendar process, changes from previous calendars, or more details about the specifics of the 2024-2025 Academic Calendar, Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives & University Registrar Brian Coldren would be happy to meet with your areas. Contact Brian at bcoldren@utk.edu.