Here’s your timely & targeted compilation of key events, noteworthy news and important dates for the upcoming week.
This edition of This Week @ York provides resources relating to COVID-19’s impact on your studies and student life. Please note that any information found in this newsletter has already been communicated to the community and can be found at York’s Coronavirus Information and Update website. All this information is accurate at the newsletter’s time of publication. Given the fluidity of this situation, there may be changes to some of the information below between publications. Please see #21 and #22 for items not related to COVID-19.
If you don't have time to read This Week @ York, or would like to refer to it again, every edition can be found here.
ANNOUNCEMENT
York University is committed to providing a proactive approach in communicating all information concerning the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) to the York community. To stay updated:
- Visit the Coronavirus Information and Update website as a central source for York community information.
- Follow links to expert health agencies, organizations and resources for additional information.
- Check the website frequently: we will communicate with all York community members by email, social media or yFile when the University has posted a community update.
IMPORTANT DATES
Information about Summer courses will be available no later than April 17, 2020.
The course drop date has been extended to Saturday, May 9 (excluding students in the JD program).
The deadline to Withdraw from a Course Without Receiving a Grade for F/W 2019-2020 and W 2020 courses has been extended to Saturday, May 9.
The deadline for students to opt in or out of the Pass/Fail grading option has been extended to the last day of the final examination period: Saturday, May 9.
Here are some other things to keep in mind this week:
| 1 | Course Drop Update. As noted above, the course drop date has been extended to Saturday, May 9 (excluding students in the JD program). If you wish to drop a course that was in session at the time that the COVID-19 pandemic began, please log in to the Registration and Enrolment Module to do so. If you withdrew from a Fall/Winter 2019-2020 full year course or a Winter 2020 term course using the Withdrawn from Course option (“W”), the “W” notation on that course will be removed from your transcript.
Note: Dropping a course may impact your OSAP funding. Note: If you applied to graduate, please be advised that dropping a course may impact your ability to graduate. |
| 2 | Pass/Fail Grading Option Update. The deadline to choose the Pass/Fail grading option has been extended to Saturday, May 9. See the Senate Executive Committee’s decision at the link above, with more details to follow. You can delay your final choice until Saturday, May 9. You may wish to speak to your Faculty advising office before making a final decision.
Note: Choosing a Pass/Fail option may impact program progression and your scholarship/award eligibility. |
| 3 | REMINDER: York recognizes that students may be experiencing a variety of circumstances as a result of COVID-19, and we are here to help. Senate Executive has agreed to waive, until further notice, the requirement for students to submit a doctor’s’ note or Attending Physician’s Statement in support of a request for deferred standing or petitions. |
| 4 | Emergency Bursaries. York has established bursaries to help students who require immediate short-term financial relief because of unexpected expenses in March and April 2020: The York University Emergency Bursary and the York University Emergency Travel Disruption Bursary. Graduate students can apply for assistance through the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) Emergency Bursary. Learn more at the link above. |
| 5 | Join President Lenton and a team of York’s senior leaders in this Virtual Town Hall to ask questions about the University’s evolving response to COVID-19 in terms of academic, research and professional work. Submit your questions in advance by using this submission form. The event will be hosted via Zoom, which you can download and learn about here. The webinar will also be livestreamed at the “Virtual Town Hall” link above. |
| 6 | UIT Update: Please be advised that as of Monday, March 30, normal expiry of passwords in Passport York has been suspended until further notice. This change is temporary to help avoid user issues due to password expiry during the Covid-19 events. To be clear, this only affects the normal annual or 90-day expiry of passwords and has no effect on user-initiated password changes or forced password changes for other reasons such as known credential exposure. |
| 7 | Changes to Summer 2020 Term. Due to the unprecedented extenuating circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, Summer 2020 terms will be delivered exclusively by online/remote learning formats. Learn more about the changes at the link above. |
| 8 | Student Loan Information: The Governments of Canada and Ontario announced a six-month interest-free pause on the repayment of federal student loans and Ontario provincial student loans for all those in the repayment process. For more details, visit the National Student Loans Service Centre website or call 1-888-815-4514. |
| 9 | Stay engaged with the Registrarial Services website for updates and changes to the way York will be delivering these services to you. |
| 10 | REMINDER: Check for available self-serve tools and resources on My Online Services. Get what you need, from wherever you are, at almost any time of the day. The list of available resources is growing daily as new online and mobile methods are introduced to deliver services and resources you need. |
| 11 | As all courses have moved online, your friends at Learning Skills Services have compiled a number of online learning resources to help you succeed as an online learner during COVID-19 and beyond. You can also check out York’s Student Guide to eLearning for information and tips on how to get started, what to expect and how to be a successful online learner.
The Writing Centre is now online! Their writing instructors are available to help you with your writing assignments online through 50-minute one-to-one appointments via video chat as well as asynchronous etutoring, where you upload your paper to their website and an instructor will reply with feedback within 24 hours. If you’d like to book an appointment, visit the Writing Centre schedule. Career Centre services are available online, over the phone and via skype ONLY. The Career Lounge remains open online and Career Peer Educators will be online on Zoom during dedicated Lounge hours. One-to-one appointments are available over the phone or Skype. The Career Centre website also has online resources and tools to help you with your job search and career questions. |
| 12 | It is important to stay up-to-date with the Government of Canada’s current travel advisories. Any member of the York Community who is impacted by the current travel restrictions, please contact goglobal@yorku.ca immediately for further guidance. More details are available in the Travel FAQs on the Coronavirus Information & Update website.
York International and other services across campus are still available to support international students. This includes International Student Advisors, Immigration Specialists, UHIP staff and more. There is also a page on FAQs for International Students about COVID-19. York International’s Coffee Breaks are going virtual! Join student leaders on Zoom and meet other students from various programs, Faculties, countries and cultures to connect and get to know each other! No appointment required. Every day, Monday to Friday, 2 to 4 p.m. YI is also hosting a series of virtual meet-ups where students at home and abroad can join together and have some fun during these uncertain times. Some topics include: Game night, Virtual Museum Tours and more. Visit their calendar at the link above to see all events and how to join. If you have any questions about the virtual events, reach out to yuabroad@yorku.ca. |
| 13 | Exams Information: York has cancelled all in-person exams during the formal winter exam period of April 7 to 25, 2020. More information will come from the Provost and Deans regarding alternatives to in-person exams. There are exceptions for Osgoode Hall Law School—those students will receive information from their course directors.
The Alternate Exam Centre has suspended operations. All previously booked tests and exams have been cancelled and instructors notified. Students should connect with their instructors to discuss what the method of evaluation will be such as a take-home or online exam. |
| 14 | Student Accessibility Services remains OPEN to support you.Students are encouraged to contact the office by phone and/or email to arrange a phone or video call. Accessibility Counsellors will continue to book appointments over email, phone or video conference call. You may also e-mail sasinfo@yorku.ca. |
| 15 | Student Counselling and Development (SCD) is now offering telephone counselling for single session, crisis and emergency support, which you can receive by calling 416-736-5297. Details and additional support resources are available at the link above.
For additional and after-hours support, our partners at Good2Talk have advised us that they are remaining remain open at this time, and in addition to telephone support, have introduced a new texting feature. |
| 16 | Your Academic Advisors are here–virtually–to assist you with your advising needs during the COVID-19 situation. Visit the Academic Advising website, find your Faculty and click to see updated service information. |
| 17 | Here’s a list of what’s closed on campus:
Here’s a list of what’s open on campus:
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| 18 | All York University Libraries are CLOSED. All research and instruction questions and consultations are virtual. Interlibrary loans are also not available; however, there are a number of services still available. During the period of closure, York libraries will not collect late fees for overdue books, you can still renew books online, and e-books, journals and other resources can still be accessed online. |
| 19 | Note about YU-Cards: In the case where a YU-Card machine is malfunctioning when purchasing food at an on-campus vendor, each location should have a meal voucher form for you to complete for later billing. |
| 20 | York understands that social isolation can occur with no in-person classes and physical distancing measures. In addition to the resources above, you can stay connected through online communities. Stay informed and in touch with @yorkustudents and @studentlifeyu to get the latest information. Learn about some of the student service moving online in the latest #YUBlog post! |
| 21 | Vote online now for the student nominees to the Board of Governors. Following the recent call for undergraduate student nominations to the Board of Governors, three undergraduate student nominees will be running for this position. The candidates and their personal statements can be found on the Secretariat website. All registered students are eligible to vote. Voting is open until the window closes on Friday, April 3 at 5 p.m. Cast your ballot at the link above. |
| 22 | Free Virtual MUV Classes. Are you looking for a way to stay healthy and active while maintaining physical distancing as you help plank the COVID-19 curve? Why not try a FREE online MUV fitness class? Starting Monday, March 30, Campus Recreation is bringing your favourite MUV class to you via Zoom. Check the schedule at the link above and use the Zoom code to join. |
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