5 Things You Should Know
1. Honours Standing
Continuing in Honours
To continue in an Honours program, students must maintain a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 5.0. Students whose Cumulative Grade Point Average falls below 5.0 during the course of their studies may proceed in an Honours program, on warning, provided they meet the year level progression requirements set out in this table:
Ineligibility to Continue In Honours
Students who do not meet the conditions outlined above may continue their studies only in a BA degree program. For Criminology your major would be temporarily changed to UNMA (Undeclared Major). Students who were registered in an Honours BA with a major in Criminology who have not met the minimum grade requirement of B in CRIM/SOSC 1650 9.0, are not eligible to proceed in Criminology and must choose a new major prior to their enrolment access.
Re-Entering Honours
Students who are ineligible to continue in Honours may re-enter Honours if they raise their Cumulative Grade Point Average to 5.0 or above by the time they have successfully completed their 90th credit.
Graduating In Honours
To graduate in an Honours program, students must successfully complete (pass) at least 120 credits which meet Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and program requirements. The Cumulative Grade Point Average must be at least 5.0.
2. The Value of an Arts Degree
Research confirms that employers are looking for graduates who have employability skills. The employability skills acquired through an undergraduate university program in the Arts are academic skills, such as, research, writing and thinking; personal management skills, such as time management; and teamwork skills which are developed daily through group interaction. Some other transferable skills acquired through an undergraduate university program are learning and thinking: coping with new ideas and unfamiliar material; thinking creatively; and an increased ability to pursue education and training.
Communication
Writing reports and essays, expressing ideas clearly and logically; making presentations to groups explaining ideas or results of research work; interviewing others for information.
Critical Thinking
Evaluating arguments and research data critically; making sound judgements based on research and data analysis; supporting decisions with statistics and facts.
Research
Identifying and locating sources of information; gathering, analyzing and interpreting data to support or reject proposals; compiling ideas and facts in a clear, organized and logical manner.
Problem-Solving
Identifying resource materials necessary to the solution of the problem; planning and organizing work leading to the solution of the problem.
Personal Management
Learning in a variety of settings; exposure to a wide range of perspectives and being able to understand more than one side of an issue.
Time Management
Working effectively under pressure; setting and meeting study and research objectives; managing time in order to meet multiple demands, meeting deadlines for papers and reports.
3. Advising
The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies considers academic advising an important responsibility. The term academic advising covers a number of complementary functions related to assisting students with:
- selecting majors and courses
- ascertaining whether they are meeting the Faculty’s academic regulations
- planning for their academic future both before and after graduation
- making the most of talents and interests
These functions may vary in their significance to students at different times of the academic year and at different points in a student’s academic career. Other kinds of advising and counselling services are offered by offices such as the Career Centre, the Counselling and Development Centre, and the Centre for Student Community and Leadership Development.
Advising students is a shared responsibility of the departments, divisions and programs of the Faculty, the Faculty affiliated Colleges, and the Centre for Student Sucess. Students should contact these offices throughout the year for advice and information related to their academic career including academic performance, degree programs, and requirements.
4. Student Responsibilities
Every effort is made to ensure that students in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies have access to sound information and individual advice and guidance. Within this context, and within the framework of Faculty and program regulations, students are responsible for making their own choices regarding courses and programs.
Students should take special care to:
- ensure the courses they choose meet all requirements for graduation;
- ensure the courses they choose meet prerequisites and are not course exclusions of other courses already taken;
- ensure the times of the courses they choose do not conflict;
- ensure the accuracy of their registration records, including all changes;
- note and observe deadlines and procedures, especially deadlines for adding and dropping courses;
- ensure full documentation is provided in support of petitions and other requests for special consideration;
- keep themselves informed about their academic progress, including their performance in individual courses. It is incumbent on faculty members to make available to their students assessments of their work and, if requested, to discuss students’ progress with them. By the first week of classes in the second term, in each 6 and 9 credit course, all first year students must receive back at least one piece of letter graded work. Instructors in 6 and 9 credit courses are required to supply, on request and on reasonable notice, a mid-year letter grade to any first year student before the end of January, based on the whole of the first term gradable work.
5. Grading Scale
Except for courses taken under the Alternative Grading Option, courses in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies are graded according to the following scale:
Percentage Equivalents to Letter Grades
The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies does not have an official table of percentage equivalents for its final letter grades.
Grade Point Averages
The Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies calculates Grade Point Averages for each student by averaging the point values weighted by the credit value of courses. The averages are calculated to two decimal points and are not rounded up.
