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2009-2010

The Undergraduate Calendar

 

 

Faculty of Arts

Arts Academic Regulations and Advice

Grading System
Terminology  
  1. Numeric grades: All Arts courses are evaluated with a numeric grade. Please refer to the University "Grading System" for a complete explanation.
  2. Range of failing grades: Failing grades in the Faculty of Arts may range from 0-49%. In order to preserve consistency and continuity with historical grading practices, for students in the Faculty of Arts, grades from 0-32% will be calculated at 32% for the purpose of determining a student's average(s).
  3. WD and WF grades: See Course Add/Drop Deadlines in the "Class Enrolment" section of this chapter for a full explanation of assignment of WD and WF grades.
  4. Repeated courses: When a course is repeated, the two marks are not averaged together. Rather, both marks are entered with all other marks in calculating the student's cumulative overall average.
    • a failed course may be repeated once,
    • a passed course may not be repeated except under exceptional circumstances, and then only once and only under the following conditions:
      1. if the student's academic advisor recommends the repetition,
      2. if, in the event that the course in question is not within the student's major, the department offering the course also recommends the repetition, and
      3. if the Examinations and Standings Committee approves the petition for repetition of the course in advance of registration for the repetition.
      Only one of the two attempts will count for credit towards the degree.
  5. Credit/No Credit basis: In all normal circumstances, students are expected to take the courses of their major requirements on a graded basis rather than on a Credit/No Credit basis. Any request for exception to this rule is subject to the specific approval or disapproval of the student's discipline, as well as the course instructor. Some disciplines of the Faculty of Arts permit no credit-graded courses at all among the courses presented in satisfaction of the discipline's major or Honours requirements. Once a student has received permission to take a major course on a CR/NCR basis, he/she must communicate the decision in writing to the Arts Faculty Examinations and Standings Committee, using a standard petition form, before the end of the two week add period. In satisfaction of the minimum degree requirements, students in BA General plans may present up to three units with a grade of Credit (CR) in courses outside their major. Students in BA Honours plans may present up to four units with a grade of Credit (CR) in courses outside their Honours area. Courses taken on a CR/NCR basis will be counted towards the maximum allowable limit of non-graded credits as specified in the Arts Faculty residency requirements.

    Note: Students in Computing and Financial Management may not take courses on a CR/NCR basis.

  6. Incomplete grade (INC): Normally all courses should be completed within the term in which they are offered. This grade may be assigned by an instructor in exceptional circumstances, with the consent of the department. This extension of completion date is granted to students as a privilege for a limited and specified time and in normal circumstances shall be no longer than three months.

    If the course is not completed within the prescribed period, the grade will convert to FTC (Failure to Complete, no credit granted) and 32% will be recorded in the average calculations.

    Students should make themselves familiar with the internal procedures established by their discipline in handling incomplete courses.

  7. In Progress grade (IP): There are a number of courses in the Faculty of Arts which are essentially year courses (of two or three terms duration) although they are listed as two or three separate courses. Grades are not awarded until the second or third segment of the course is complete and then the same grade is applied to all terms. An In Progress grade (IP) is assigned to the initial courses until a grade is designated for the final course, at which point the IP grades will be replaced with the final grade.

    The use of the IP grade is normally limited to 400-level courses which are Senior Honours Theses or Senior Seminar courses and which normally require eight months to complete. The grade may be used in other courses only with the prior approval of the Undergraduate Affairs Group of the Arts Faculty.

  8. Under Review grade (UR): This grade may be imposed by the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, while an alleged offence is under investigation or appeal. Once the discipline case is resolved, the UR grade will be replaced with the final grade. Where disciplinary penalties are being considered or have been imposed for an academic offence committed in a course, the student may not drop the course in question. The student is responsible for all course material and assignments until the case is resolved.
  9. Outstanding INC, IP, and/or UR grades: A student with one or more of these grades on her/his record will be unable to graduate until the INC, IP, and/or UR has been replaced by a grade and the grade has been factored into the averages. In such cases, the student must meet all graduation requirements, including grade averages and number of courses.
  10. Audit status (AUD): Students may request to register for Audit status (AUD) in a course taught on campus. No credit is granted for a course in which an AUD grade is awarded. Students interested in an Audit must consult with the course instructor at the beginning of the course to ascertain what conditions are attached to the granting of an AUD by the course instructor. Audits must be approved by the course instructor and the student's advisor during the two week add period. Failure to satisfy the conditions of Audit will result in the course being dropped from the academic record.
  11. AEG mark (Aegrotat, credit granted due to illness): An AEG may be awarded in an Arts course on petition to the Arts Examinations and Standings Committee accompanied by appropriate documentation. The AEG mark is granted only under extraordinary circumstances.
  12. Overlapping Content: Some courses which are listed under separate subjects or catalog numbers have sufficient overlapping content that students are not permitted to take both courses for credit towards their degree. Where this is the case, the information is designated in the Calendar in the following manner:

    • antirequisite;
    • cross-listed;
    • formerly;
    • credit will only be granted for one of a pair of courses.

    Overlapping Content Table for Statistics and Research Methods Courses
    A student in the Arts Faculty may take only one course from each set for credit.

    Set A – Basic Statistics Courses
    ARTS 280; BIOL 460*; ECON 221; ENVS 271*, 277*, 278; ISS 250A/250B, ISS 250R; KIN 222; PSCI 214; PSYCH 201*, 292; REC 371, 371A*; SMF 230; SOC 280; STAT 202, 204*, 206, 211, 221, 231, 241

    Set B – Advanced Statistics Courses
    BIOL 461; PSYCH 391; STAT 205*, 322, 430

    Set C – Research Methods Courses
    ISS 251R; KIN 330; PSCI 315; PSYCH 291; REC 270, 270A*; SOC 281*, 321

    *No longer offered

  13. Cross-listed course: Students wishing to have a cross-listed course fulfil the BA Breadth Requirement (students enrolled prior to September 2008 refer to Group A and B Requirements) which does not correspond to the course discipline in which they are registering must notify the Faculty of Arts Examinations and Standings Committee (by petition) of their intention within the first two weeks of the term in which the course is to be taken.
  14. Antirequisite: Courses noted as being antirequisites to each other are NOT considered to be equivalent as is the case with cross-listed courses.
  15. Double-counting: For any degree granted by the Faculty of Arts, up to three courses may count towards any two plans or sub-plans (e.g., A major/minor combination). Counting the same course towards more than two plans or sub-plans is not allowed under any circumstances.


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