Academic Regulations

Students taking courses in the period May through August are governed by the academic regulations that are published in the 2012-2013 University Calendar. In particular, the academic regulations requiring a minimum 2.00 grade point average do apply to Summer Session. See 2012-2013 Calendar, “Standing.”

Course Load

A student may register for up to 9 units in the period May through August. Exceptions to this require prior written approval of the Dean of the Faculty.

Academic Writing Requirement (AWR)

Strong reading, writing, and research skills are essential to academic success. Regardless of whether they are native speakers of English or have learned English as an additional language, all students need to develop these skills so that they are able to meet the expectations of advanced literacy associated with university-level academic studies.

To ensure that students are prepared to meet these expectations, the university requires all undergraduate students enrolled in a degree program to complete a 1.5 unit AWR-designated course. The designated courses are ENGL 135, 146, 147 and ENGR 110.

Certain students may have already satisfied the requirement in one of the following ways.

A score of at least 86% on the B.C. English 12 Provincial Examination, or English 12 First Peoples Provincial Examination, within the three years immediately prior to admission.

A final grade of at least 86% in an approved English 12 equivalent from other Canadian provinces within the three years immediately prior to admission.

1.5 units of transfer credit for ENGL 135, 146 or 147, ENGR 110, or level credit satisfying the AWR.

A degree from a recognized Englishspeaking university.

Selecting an AWR-Designated Course
All students who have been admitted to the university may register in the first-year English course of their choice. The English department offers four courses that satisfy the AWR.

ENGL 135 Academic Reading and Writing (1.5 units).

ENGL 146 Introduction to Literary Genres, Themes and Styles (1.5 units).

ENGL 147 Introduction to Literary Traditions and Transformations (1.5 units).

ENGR 110 Design and Communication I (2.5 units), for Engineering students only.\ To increase their proficiency, students may also benefit from registering in one or both of the following preparatory courses prior to completing successfully an AWR-designated course.

ENGL 099 Remedial English Composition (0.0 units).

ENGL 101 Fundamentals of Academic Literacy (1.5 units).

NOTE: These courses do not satisfy the AWR.

An on-line self-placement questionnaire is available at www.registrar.uvic.ca/awr to help assist students in determining the course that best matches their level of proficiency.

Timeline for Completing the AWR
To gain the greatest benefit to their degree studies, students who have not satisfied the AWR are expected to register in a 1.5-unit, AWR-designated course as soon as possible. For most students, this will be before the end of the third term of registration or prior to completing 30 units of credit. Please note that many faculties require students to satisfy the AWR before they can declare their degree program with an academic adviser.

Transfer students who are admitted to UVic for the first time as third-year students must complete the AWR during their first Winter Session. Nursing and block-transfer students should consult their academic advisers for information about their deadline for completing the requirement.

Examinations

Examinations are held in the class period on the last day of the course in which a student is registered. Supplemental and Deferred examinations are scheduled by arrangement through the Department concerned. For the regulation concerning Deferred Status — please consult the 2012-2013 Calendar.

NOTE: Examinations for Co-op (Term “1”) section courses are held in the August 7-17, 2012 period.

Academic Concessions
A student who is affected by illness, accident or family affliction should immediately consult with Counselling Services, University Health Services or another health professional. In such cases, the student may apply for an academic concession due to illness, accident or family affliction.

Applications must be accompanied by supporting documentation in all cases.

An academic concession may be:

• a deferral of a final examination, test or other course work
  
  
• a drop of course(s) without academic and/or fee penalty after the published withdrawal deadline, including withdrawal from the academic session
  
  
• an Aegrotat (AEG) grade

Students may request, directly from the course instructor, deferral or substitution of a mid-term test/ examination or of other work which is due during the term. Arrangements to complete such missed or late work must be made between the student and the instructor. If the request for deferral or substitution of term work is denied, the student may appeal as described under Appeals, 2012-2013 Calendar. If the due date for the deferred work is beyond the end of the term, the student must submit a Request for Academic Concession to Undergraduate Records (see Deferred Status, below).

Students requesting consideration for a drop of courses without academic penalty after the published withdrawal deadline should submit a Request for Academic Concession to their faculty or program advising office.

Students requesting that a status of DEF (Deferred) or a grade of AEG (Aegrotat) be entered for a course on their academic record at the end of a session must submit a Request for Academic Concession to Undergraduate Records (see Deferred Status, below).

Deferred Status

• A student who becomes ill during an examination or misses an examination because of illness, an accident or family affliction may be eligible for a deferred examination.
  
  
• A student who completes all course requirements, including writing the final examination, is not eligible for an academic concession. Exceptions may only be considered by the Dean (or designate) of the student‘s faculty if there is supporting documentation that the student was not medically or otherwise fit to make a decision on whether or not to write the examination. A Request for Academic Concession must be submitted to Undergraduate Records as soon as possible after the examination and before the results of the examination are known.
  
  
• A student may also apply for deferred status to complete a required work term.
  
  
• A student must apply for Deferred (DEF) status or Aegrotat (AEG) status by completing a Request for Academic Concession at Undergraduate Records normally within ten working days of the end of the examination period. Supporting documentation must accompany the request. Undergraduate Records will ask the instructor concerned to consider the request. If deferred status is not granted, the instructor will submit a final grade. In cases where the instructor does not give a deferred examination but assigns a final grade based on an assessment of the student‘s performance on the course work, the grade will appear on the student‘s record with the notation AEG (see Grading, University Calendar). If deferred status is granted, any required course work (including exams) must be completed by the end of the following term.
  
  - Courses ending in December must be completed by April.
  
  - Courses ending in April must be completed by August.
  
  - Summer Session courses must be completed by December.
  
  - Deferred Exams for courses in the Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Software Engineering programs will be written approximately four months following the deferral of the exam.
  
  
• Deferred status may be granted or extended beyond the above deadlines only in exceptional circumstances and only with the written permission of the Dean (or designate) of the student‘s faculty.
  
  
• For courses that finish in December and are prerequisite to courses starting in January, deferred final examinations are normally held by the end of the first two weeks in January. For courses that finish in December and are also offered in the second term, deferred final examinations are normally given in April, and for courses that finish in April, deferred final examinations scheduled by Undergraduate Records are normally held the last three (3) working days of July. Students will be notified of the date of their deferred examination by Undergraduate Records.
  
  
• If the deferred examination is not to be handled through the department, arrangements will be made through Undergraduate Records. Undergraduate Records will email the student and direct them to the online Application Form to write a Deferred Exam. The student must fill out the application online and submit it to Undergraduate Records, accompanied by the necessary fees, by the end of the third week in June.
  
  
• Deferred examinations organized through Undergraduate Records may be written at the University as well as at various centres inside and outside British Columbia (locations are normally restricted to universities or colleges).
  
  
• The fee for each off campus deferred exam is $60.00. There is no fee for deferred exams written on campus.
  
  
• Instructors and departments also may schedule deferred final examinations by direct arrangement with the student.
  
  
• Students who are assigned deferred standing in their graduating year must contact the Records Officer for their faculty (c/o Undergraduate Records) if they intend to complete their deferred course(s) before the normal deadline in order to qualify to graduate.
  
  
• The final grade obtained in a course in which deferred status has been granted will be used in calculating the sessional grade point average. If the work is not completed by the specified date, the final grade for the course becomes N.

Grades

You can view your grades on your unofficial transcript by going to www.uvic.ca/mypage, select Student Services and then under Grades and Records choose Unofficial Transcript.

Review of an Assigned Grade
Requests must reach Undergraduate Records within 21 days after release of final grades. The grade review fee of $25 is required; this fee is refundable if the grade review is successful.

For more information on grading, please consult the 2012-2013 Calendar.

Standing

Cumulative Grade Point Average

Undergraduate, excluding Law:

Since September 1992 the cumulative grade point average, which normally appears at the end of a transcript, is based on courses taken or challenged at UVic in session(s) where a final sessional grade point average has been determined. Excluded courses are those with grades of COM, F/X, N/X; courses taken on exchange since 2003 Summer; undergraduate supplemental grades.

Law:

The Law cumulative grade point average, which normally appears at the end of a transcript, is based on courses taken in sessions where a final sessional grade point average has been determined except where a revised grade point average exists. In these cases the revised GPA is used. Excluded courses are those with grades of COM, F/X, N/X.

Undergraduate, including Law:

If a student takes courses beyond a first undergraduate degree, or transfers to the LLB program, a further cumulative grade point average will be calculated excluding those courses completed prior to the granting of the first degree or entry to the LLB program.

Sessional Grade Point Average
The sessional grade point average is based on all courses completed in a session which have a unit value. Courses bearing the grade COM are not included in the calculation of the grade point average.

(A grade point average is found by multiplying the grade point value of each final grade by the number of units, totalling the grade points for all the grades, and dividing the total grade points by the total number of units.)

Minimum Sessional Grade Point Average and Academic Standing
The following regulations apply in all faculties and all sessions, including Summer Session.

Undergraduates must maintain a sessional Grade Point Average of at least 2.0 (or equivalent if a UVic student takes courses elsewhere for credit towards a UVic program).

University Probationary Status
Regardless of registered course load, students whose sessional Grade Point Average is 1.00 to 1.99 are considered to have unsatisfactory standing and will be placed on university probation for the next session attended. Students should note that individual faculties may require a higher sessional Grade Point Average. Failure to achieve the faculty GPA requirement will result in the student being placed on Faculty Probation.

Undergraduate Records will notify students that they have been placed on probation through the addition of a notation to their academic record. Students on probation should contact the appropriate Advising Centre or Counselling Services for assistance, or take the Learning Skills Course or other workshops offered by Counselling Services see http://www.coun.uvic.ca.

Students who are on university probation and who achieve a sessional Grade Point Average of 2.0 or above at UVic will clear their probation status at the end of the session, except as noted below.

Students registered in less than 4.5 units in a session whose Grade Point Average is less than 1.0 (or equivalent if a UVic student takes courses elsewhere for credit towards a UVic program) will be placed on “Dean’s” probation. The Dean of the faculty concerned will review the student’s record for the next session attended rather than requiring the student to withdraw. The student will be informed of the Dean’s decision. Under these circumstances, a student who is placed on a Dean’s probation and who then obtains a Grade Point Average of 2.0 or greater in the next session will not be taken off probation automatically.

Students who are on probation, or whose standing is withheld in their most recent session because of deferred status, are not eligible for reregistration until their sessional Grade Point Average for the latest/deferred session has been determined as satisfactory, except as noted below.

If a student’s projected sessional Grade Point Average for the latest/deferred session, including a grade of 0 for all deferred courses or outstanding grades, is determined to be above the minimum by the faculty concerned, the student will be authorized to register. The projected Grade Point Average is calculated towards the end of the session prior to registration in the next academic session. Students are advised to check ‘Holds & Alerts’ by going to www.uvic.ca/mypage prior to registration. The projected Grade Point Average does not appear on a student’s academic record.

Depending upon a student’s performance during the period of probation, the Dean may at any time either remove the student from probation for the remainder of the session or, acting on a decision of the faculty, require that the student withdraw from the University (see Withdrawal.)

Requirement to Withdraw from the University
A student who is on academic probation and whose Winter Session or Summer Session Grade Point Average falls below 2.0 (or equivalent if a UVic student takes courses elsewhere for credit towards a UVic program) will have failed to clear their probation status. These students will be required to withdraw regardless of the registered unit total, normally for one academic year.

Students registered in 4.5 units or more in a session whose Grade Point Average is less than 1.0 (or equivalent if a UVic student takes courses elsewhere for credit towards a UVic program) will be required to withdraw, normally for one academic year. If a student has started courses before receiving notice of unsatisfactory standing in the most recent session, registration for those courses in the present session will remain on the student’s record, but the student will be required to withdraw following completion of the course(s), normally for one academic year. Registration in courses that have not started by the time the required to withdraw standing is determined will be dropped automatically.

All students who have been required to withdraw must apply to reregister if they wish to resume studies at the University. Permission to reregister will normally be granted to students who have:

1. completed the required withdrawal period; and
   
   
2. since their last registration at UVic, completed a minimum of 6.0 units of transferable non-duplicate course work with a C+ (3.0) average in ALL transferable courses attempted, including currently in-progress course work. All students returning after a requirement to withdraw will be placed on probation for the next session attended.

Students who have grounds for appeal as noted under Appealing Admission/ Reregistration Decisions, 2012–2013 Calendar may appeal to the Senate Committee on Admission, Reregistration, and Transfer, stating why they should be considered for reregistration.

A student who is permitted to reregister following a requirement to withdraw will be on academic probation for the duration of the session in which UVic studies are resumed.

A student who is required to withdraw a second time will not be permitted to register for credit courses at the University for at least five academic years.

Accumulation of Failing Grades
An email will be issued when five failing grades are accumulated throughout a student’s entire undergraduate academic record. The notice is for information only and carries no academic penalty. The notice contains information that may assist students in avoiding assignment of further failures.

Withdrawal

A student may be suspended or required to withdraw from the University at any time for failure to abide by the University’s regulations. (For the regulations of individual faculties concerning mandatory withdrawal, refer to the Calendar entry for the faculty.)

Withdrawal for Unsatisfactory Progress
Undergraduate students who have been placed on probation and whose progress is considered unsatisfactory may be required by their faculty to withdraw from the University for the remainder of the session. Students required to withdraw for unsatisfactory progress will be notified by Undergraduate Records. They may ask the Senate Committee on Admission, Reregistration and Transfer for a review by lodging a written appeal with the Committee, c/o Records Officer, Undergraduate Records, Office of the Registrar.

Voluntary Withdrawal
An undergraduate student who after registration decides to withdraw from the University should drop their courses online and notify Undergraduate Records. Students are encouraged to visit Counselling Services to discuss their decision and their Faculty Advising Centre to discuss their academic status and prospects before going to Undergraduate Records. Also, see Academic Concessions. Students in the Faculty of Law should speak with the Dean. Students who are unable to withdraw in person must do so by letter addressed to Undergraduate Records or email reghelp@uvic.ca.

Note: A sessional grade point average and academic standing are assigned at the end of the session and are based on final grades awarded (including N grades) in the session or term attended. Please see the calendar entry Sessional Grade Point Average and Academic Standing for information regarding minimum sessional grade point average standards.

Students must obtain clearance from the University, to the satisfaction of Undergraduate Records, before being recommended, where applicable, for a fee refund. Graduate students wishing to withdraw must apply in writing to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

For further information, contact Undergraduate Admissions and Records:

250-721-8121 phone
250-721-6225 fax