Academic Standing
The Faculty of Science operates under a 'unit-weight" system in which student progress is measured by units successfully completed rather than by years. Students who have passed fewer than five units successfully will be considered Year One students; those with at least five but fewer than ten, Year Two; those with at least ten but fewer than 15, Year Three; and those with 15 or more, Year Four. At the end of each term, the Examinations and Standings Committee of the Faculty of Science determines the academic standing of each student in the Faculty. Academic standings are then posted by the Registrar on Quest.
In determining the academic standing of a student, the Examinations and Standings Committee uses the following definitions.
WD – (withdrew after the course drop deadline) has no effect on average or credit calculations.
WF – (withdrew/failure) is assigned for courses dropped after week eight. WF will be weighted for averaging purposes as a mark of 32.
"Attempt" is a course completed, whether passed or failed, or recorded as INC or DNW. Courses dropped before the official deadline are not considered as attempts and do not appear on the transcript.
Satisfactory, Good, or Excellent Standing
A student who meets, or exceeds, the minimum required standards of any Academic Plan will be placed in "Satisfactory", "Good", or "Excellent" standing. Assuming all other program requirements are met, for most programs in Science,
if the cumulative average is ≥ 60% and <70%, the standing is "Satisfactory"
if the cumulative average is ≥ 70% and < 80%, the standing is "Good"
if the cumulative average is ≥ 80%, the standing is "Excellent"
Please consult individual program descriptions for exceptions.
Conditional Standing
A student who marginally fails to meet the required standards of any Academic Plan will be placed in conditional standing for one term only. During this period the student must regain at least satisfactory standing in that Plan or will subsequently be withdrawn from it.
Failed – Required to Withdraw
A student will normally be Failed – Required to Withdraw from the Faculty of Science after failing 1.5 units in any academic term or five cumulative units, or after failing to achieve an overall cumulative average of at least 55% and a cumulative average of 55% in all Science courses, or if unlikely to profit from further study, in the opinion of the Examination and Standings Committee.
Students who have been "Required to Withdraw" from the Faculty of Science must withdraw for at least two academic terms.
A formal application for re-admission should be submitted to the Science Undergraduate Office two months prior to your requested term of re-admission. Applicants must include an electronically printed statement along with their application outlining why they are now likely to succeed.
Re-admission if granted will be with conditional standing.
Students will be readmitted into General Science and must maintain a 55% cumulative GPA and a 55% Science average. This is based on a minimum of five lecture courses that must be taken in a maximum of two terms. These students will do a minimum of two approved Science lecture courses, plus any related labs where applicable, each term. If these conditions are met the conditional standing will be removed. Anyone not meeting the conditions will be Failed Required to Withdraw – May Not Be Readmitted to Faculty.
Repeating Courses
In cases where a course (failed or passed) is repeated, both marks will be used in calculating the student's cumulative averages. If a passing grade is achieved more than once in the same course, it will still only count as one course passed towards the total necessary for graduation. Students will not normally repeat courses they have passed.
Normally, no course or its equivalent may be repeated more than once.