Monday 9 February

1. Classes next week: 

Monday:               16 February – no classes

Tuesday:              17 February – Tuesday classes

Wednesday:         18 February – Monday classes

Thursday:            19 February – Thursday classes

2.  All questions about degree requirements must be answered  by your major Department

3.  Art Meets Science - Speed Dating for Artist Collaborations: art_meets_science.htm

4.  Yet another Town Hall Meeting tomorrow: http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=11989

Sunday 8 February

1. Leaving York: 

A.  Talk to your instructors and visit your  Department to make sure that you're not doing something stupid.

B.  Go to the Bennett Centre to make sure that you can get back in.

C.  Make sure that you have dropped all courses so that you don't have failures on your record.

2.  Those who have questions for or about Film should consult with Stephanie Dixon and/or Brenda Longfellow.

3.  Art Meets Science - Speed Dating for Artist Collaborations: art_meets_science.htm

4.  Does anyone have information about an Income Tax Clinic for Students on Campus?

Friday 6 February

1. Changing Majors: 

A.  Visit the Department to which you wish to change and make an appointment about changing your major.

B.  Follow the instructions and fill out the forms. 

C. There are no deadlines but the sooner that you start the procedure the better.  There are no penalties, but you may have to add courses and time in order to satisfy the new major.

2.  Creative writing has been very difficult to locate. Here's a list of name, only one of which seems to able to be reached: cw.htm

Thursday 5 February

1. Dates for dropping courses have been extended.  For courses in Fall Term this extends almost to the end of  the examination period. When you drop a course, you will erase everything that you did (or did not) do in that course.  If you drop the course today, you will have no further obligations.  Courtesy demands that you inform your instructor with a brief explanation. "You're a lousy teacher" is not allowed! 

2.  Art Meets Science - Speed Dating for Artist Collaborations: art_meets_science.htm

Wednesday 4 February

1. Once again, students who are thinking about withdrawing from York, currently have no claim for refunding of fees.  Classes were suspended not cancelled.  There may be a case to be made from special circumstances.  This will have to be made to Student Services in the Bennett Centre.  Such petitions may be more generously dealt with than in normal times. We all agree that the strike was miserable and a hardship for everyone, especially students and those on strike,  but law and precedent, thus far,  seem not to allow for compensation.

2. Post Strike information from York: http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=11964

3. York has invited students to a special town hall meeting today for a presentation on academic remediation and reintegration into student life, followed by a question and answer session. The hosts will be Vice-President Academic & Provost Sheila Embleton and Vice-President Students Rob Tiffin, and panellists will include President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri as well as several deans and senior administrators. The meeting will be held from 4 to 5:30pm. on Feb. 4 in the Moot Court at Osgoode Hall Law School, Keele campus.

Tuesday 3 February

1. Difficulties with your assignments in Fall Term (and Winter Term, too) should be firstly  negotiated very politely with your instructors. Only when this fails should you approach departmental advisors or chairs.  You should be able to describe clearly reasons for your difficulty at every stage of your discussion with your instructors or departments. 

2. Those wishing to discuss their academic/professional futures should contact me pswarney@yorku.ca.  Be sure to mention your majors and where you are now in your academic career.  We may be able to sponsor a general session in March where you can ask both general and specific questions about next and following years at York and in your future.  Most of you will have questions that are shared by many others, or which will help you focus more clearly about where you are headed.   If you are interested in such a session, please send a note to wcmaster@yorku.ca with "Future" in the subject line.

3. Applications to Graduate Studies and professional schools depend entirely on your performance as a student.  The strike is irrelevant.  What counts is the quality of letters sent by your instructors and the quality of your grades.  Those considering applying to Graduate Studies and other professional schools should start planning their applications for next year -deadlines have passed for next September. Look carefully at what is required by the places to which you may apply.  Do they require the Graduate Record Examination or similar tests?  Do you know where to find the Kaplan courses or courses like them which can help you prepare for these examinations? 

4. York has invited students to a special town hall meeting tomorrow for a presentation on academic remediation and reintegration into student life, followed by a question and answer session. The hosts will be Vice-President Academic & Provost Sheila Embleton and Vice-President Students Rob Tiffin, and panellists will include President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri as well as several deans and senior administrators. The meeting will be held from 4 to 5:30pm. on Feb. 4 in the Moot Court at Osgoode Hall Law School, Keele campus.

2 February 2009

1. Welcome back!  Coffee, muffins etc. are available in the Junior Common Room this morning!  If the room is locked, come up to the Masters Office and you shall be served.

2.  York's activities to ease your return: http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=11951

3.  Students wishing to transfer from York must first contact the universities to which they wish to go.  No one at York will be able to initiate the process which depends entirely on the target institution.  You may wish to make an appointment at the other institutions and with your instructors here at York to discuss the wisdom of such a move.  The initiative, the paper work and applications are all yours. 

4. The last date to drop a Fall course is 10 March 2009: http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/importantdates/fw08.htm This may be as puzzling to you as it is too me, since Fall courses and examinations will have ended by this date. We have stated during these many months that accommodation will be made, and so it has.

KALENDAE FEBRVARIAE

1.  Important - Revised Time Table for Fall and Winter Terms: http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/importantdates/index.htm

http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/importantdates/fw08.htm

The features that you should note are that classes begin on tomorrow; the last class for Fall Term will be Thursday 19 February;

Wednesday 18 February will be a Monday which was one of the quirks in the old Fall schedule now still important due to the absence of classes on Family Day, 16 February;  Thursday the 19th will be a Thursday class!

the examination period for Fall term runs from Friday 20 February to Tuesday 3 March;

Winter Term starts on Wednesday March 4 and goes to Thursday 21 May;

examinations begin on Friday 22 May and end on Tuesday 2 June.

The recommended page for York Students is: http://www.yorku.ca/yorkweb/cs.htm  It is sometimes difficult to navigate but all the necessary links are there.

Barring natural disaster, plague, war or revolution, there should be no further disruptions in the foreseeable future!

2. Clarification: the advice given here that you bring late assignments to your first class next week did not imply that rules had been changed in courses where there was no policy about handing in late assignments.  If a late assignment would have been refused had there been no strike, it will be refused now.  Your only hope is to try  to seek as nicely as possible a favour from your instructor.  Such a situation is not at all covered by the remediation documents; it has everything to do with a situation already existing before the strike.

3. For Auditions and application for the Diaspora Workshops: diaspora.htm

4. The bookstore will relax its refund policy due to the extenuating circumstances.  We normally allow a maximum of 14 days to return books, but will extend it for fall/winter books that are no longer being required.  Unfortunately, students need to present books in re-salable, mint condition.  Some books are simply not returnable, such as those with 'broken' or opened Access codes, and so on.  We normally need a receipt but if it is misplaced, we will refund books that appear to have been purchased at the York bookstore.  It would be helpful to have in hand information from the instructors with specifics about any books being dropped.

5.  Notes from 25-31 January:  25-31-jan.htm

Information from CUPE

Information from York

Updates from Winters