--- title: "Coming Soon: Improvements for Managing Program Catalogue Data for the Next Application Cycle (2027/2028)" slug: "coming-soon-improvements-managing-program-catalogue-data-2027-2028" updated: 2026-05-06T16:02:47Z published: 2026-05-06T16:02:47Z canonical: "help.ocas.ca/coming-soon-improvements-managing-program-catalogue-data-2027-2028" excludeFromExternalSearch: true --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.ocas.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Coming Soon: Improvements for Managing Program Catalogue Data for the Next Application Cycle (2027/2028) > [!TIP] > Overview > > - This year, we’re improving the process for collecting and loading college programs for the Next Application Cycle (NAC). This is sometimes referred to as the “rollover process”. > - The new process will have more convenient self-serve options for college partners and provide greater flexibility on when to start and complete the changes. > - We’re simplifying the Excel file and improving some of the capabilities for updating program and start date data for the Draft cycle. > - We’re here to help! If you have any questions about these changes, please contact Lucy Batista at [batista@ocas.ca](mailto:batista@ocas.ca) or our support team at [service@ocas.ca](mailto:service@ocas.ca). ## More Options and Flexibility This year, we’ll implement a new process for collecting programs for NAC2027, which goes live in October 2026. The proposed process is as follows: - In late June / early July, we’ll release updates to the Partner Portal to enable colleges to access the 2027-2028 application cycle in **Draft.** (Programs in the draft application cycle are not visible to applicants.) - Colleges will be able to generate an Excel file from the Partner Portal containing their draft programs (with start dates and semesters) using program information from the current (2026-2027) active application cycle. The overall Excel file layout and look and feel are similar to what you’ve seen in previous years; however, we’ve simplified it to focus on start date and semester information with only basic program-level information. - Colleges then update their program information in Excel and save the file. - Currently, there are no imposed timelines, although we encourage colleges to start as soon as possible and complete their updates by late August / early September. This allows time for OCAS teams to complete a final review / verification. (More details to come.) - Colleges can import the Excel file back into the Partner Portal and view the information. ### Demonstration Video The following video demonstrates the process for adding and updating program details. Here are a few highlights from the video: - How to access the new feature in the Partner Portal for creating your college’s Excel rollover file - Some examples of typical updates in the Excel file, including the built-in validation to minimize the chance of errors - A sample of what you might see if you have errors in your Excel file, and instructions for how to fix them - What you’ll see when your file is imported successfully - The new list of programs and start dates in the Draft application cycle [Embedded content](https://www.loom.com/embed/36d12bb9c5c84e9796b4ba982515f41e) [Video transcript (text version)](/partners/docs/nac-program-rollover-video-transcript) ### How the New Process Works Here’s what to expect from the updated program rollover process: 1. **Getting started** – We’ll notify you when access to the draft application cycle becomes available in the Partner Portal. 2. **Exporting program and start date data** – Instead of receiving a spreadsheet from us by email, you’ll generate one directly from the Partner Portal with draft programs pre-populated using data from the current active cycle, including start dates and semesters. 3. **Updating start dates and semester level information** – You’ll review and edit your program information in the spreadsheet, then import it back into the Partner Portal. If you need to add new programs that didn’t exist in the previous cycle, refer to the [Adding New Programs](/partners/docs/coming-soon-improvements-managing-program-catalogue-data-2027-2028#creating-new-programs) article. 4. **Validating your Excel file** – The system will validate your file for required fields, duplicates, and other business rules, with errors clearly flagged on screen. If there are errors, you’ll need to cancel out of the import screen, identify the error in the Excel file (based on the details), and re-save and import the file again. Once the file passes validation, you’ll see a confirmation screen and your program and start date data will be reflected in the draft cycle. 5. **Ongoing edits** – After the initial import, you can continue to make individual changes directly in the Partner Portal or use the spreadsheet export / import workflow for bulk edits. ### Changes for This Year The new process will focus on adding, updating, or deleting Start Date and Semester data for **existing** programs. Here’s a summary of the capabilities: **Start Dates: Includes Start Date, Status, Length, Highly Competitive*, Special Code, URL** - Add New Start Date for an existing program (and define required fields) - Remove existing entry(s) (if those programs are not offered at the specified start dates) - Update start date information - *This year, the Highly Competitive flag will be defined at the Start Date (intake) level **Semesters: Semester(s), Availability, Expiry Date, Expiry Action** - Add New Entry (one or semester(s)) (includes Adv Entry and Degree Completion), for an existing start date - Update existing semester information - Remove one or more semesters (and associated information) **Programs** - Select from existing program codes and titles and create an entry for that program at a different campus or for a different delivery type - Remove a program if it’s no longer offered at one or more campuses or has one or more delivery types ### Creating New Programs If you need to make a new program or change program level information, you can do this in the following ways: - For a few (individual program) changes, you can use the existing tools available in the Partner Portal. For more details, see the [Managing Programs - A Guide for College Partners](/partners/docs/managing-programs-a-guide-for-college-partners) section. Note: To access the information, you must log in with your Partner credentials. - For creating or updating a larger number of programs, we’ll provide a new import programs feature that should be available with the release that includes these changes. More details to come. Some examples of scenarios that would fall into this process include: - Adding a new program (with an MCU code that exists) - Editing program level information (any of the program fields) - Creating a new program code (or title) for an existing MCU program ### Other Changes for This Year: Highly Competitive Flag The Highly Competitive flag will be moved from the program level to the start date (intake) level. More details to come on this! ## Next Steps **Important**: Please monitor your email for release notices about the new changes in our upcoming Domestic Maintenance Releases. We’ll also reach out to schedule some training and demo sessions before launch. If you have any questions, please contact Lucy Batista at [batista@ocas.ca](mailto:batista@ocas.ca). ## FAQs **When does the process start this year? When does it end?** We’ll release the new features in June / July. You’ll then be able to begin making changes in the Partner Portal and continue to do so into August / early September. **Why is the process changing this year?** In previous years, we had to start the process in spring and conclude in early summer due to the manual work involved in collecting, verifying, and loading program datasets for all 24 colleges. These timelines aren’t ideal for most colleges, since their programs aren’t yet finalized. The previous process also didn’t allow for easy changes in late summer /early fall and required a lot of manual work from the OCAS support team. **What is changing in the Excel file?** This new process will focus on updates (add, remove, update) to the start dates, semesters, campus, and delivery options for existing programs. There will be a separate process for creating new programs or editing program-level information. We’ve done this for several reasons: - Creating new programs would require us to add many more fields to the spreadsheet, complicating the file, increasing development effort, and introducing more opportunities for user error and frustration. - The Partner Portal has separate functionality for creating programs. In the future, we’ll introduce the option to import program data. (This will be helpful for bulk updates to program information.) - Based on our analysis from last year, most colleges didn’t create new programs (e.g., new MCU codes, titles, etc.) during the NAC rollover process. **What types of changes are considered creating a new program?** Here are a few examples: - Creating new program codes for existing programs - Adding a new program with an MCU code - Adding a new program title for an existing program offering **What should I do if I need to change to my campuses or add new MCU Codes or Special Codes?** Please reach out to our OCAS Support team at [service@ocas.ca](mailto:service@ocas.ca) for these changes.