Spring 2026 Beginning of Term Reminders

Thursday, April 2, 2026

What's new?

  • NEW – As of Spring 2026, Outline is now required in the Faculty of Arts 
    • Shared in a faculty wide memo on January 23, 2026 
    • Benefits of using Outline include easy access for our students and convenience for instructors (e.g., Required Statements are up-to-date; dates are automatically populated), and AODA compliance (e.g., accessibility through screen-reading technology).   
    • Ontario’s Bill 166 requires course outlines to list the cost of each learning material and indicate whether it's required or optional. This information needs to be reported termly to the government. Outline includes a dedicated field to capture this information for reporting. This information can be automatically extracted from Outline.    
    • Education technology – If your course requires students to use an educational technology tool, please check whether it is a centrally-supported tool. The tools on the centrally-supported list have been verified for compliance with the University’s privacy and security standards. If you are using a tool that is not on this list, please consider replacing it with one of the centrally-supported tools that has the functionality that you need.   
  • NEW – Reminder about re-using existing course outlines 
    • Mandatory and boilerplate content in the existing course outline will be copied over as plain text and not automatically updated. Please use the most up-to-date version of the mandatory and boilerplate content.  
    • Mandatory and boilerplate content includes Absences and their processes. There have been some changes to these processes over the last term, so please ensure your copied-over content is updated.  
  • NEW – Removing students from a course before the add period ends  
    • As stated in the Undergraduate Calendar, students may be removed from a course for non-attendance. Before reaching out to the Registrar’s Office to remove a student, please contact the student to provide them with a chance to explain their absence. Students may have been absent for reasons that can or should be accommodated. Be mindful of drop deadlines when scheduling assessments in your course. We strongly recommend that you provide grades and feedback on one or more assessment(s) at least one week before the 50% tuition-refund deadline (June 25). This is especially important for courses with a large proportion of first-year students. At the very least grades and feedback on some key assessments should be provided well before the WD deadline (July 21). 
  • In-Person Final Exam Refresher from the Office of the Registrar (PDF). 
  • Academic Integrity updates and reminders. 
    • AI in coursework 
      • Turnitin’s AI Detection tool is no longer available. Please note that Turnitin’s similarity report (plagiarism detection tool) remains available.  
      • Instructors are encouraged to review their assessments considering the capabilities of GenAI and to discuss the importance of integrity and originality with students.  
      • CTE can assist with assessment revisions. CTE can support instructors who wish to design assessments to prevent inappropriate AI use as well as instructors who wish to incorporate GenAI literacy skills into their course activities and assessments. 
    • Academic Integrity 
      • Updates have been made to the web-based (publicly-accessible) Undergraduate Academic Integrity Module (UG AIM) which students can easily access and complete in less than an hour. This module focuses on the fundamental values of integrity – honesty, trust, respect, responsibility and courage – in all facets of student life, using real world scenarios. 
      • The Academic Integrity 101 module (self-registration course in LEARN) reviews how to uphold academic integrity at the University of Waterloo and specific strategies to avoid academic misconduct. The module can be completed in less than an hour. There is also a final quiz and students receive proof of completion. Some instructors have given students 1% toward their course grade for completing this module. 
  • Reminder and Best Practices – Severe Weather: cancelled classes and campus closure – In the event of severe weather, classes may be cancelled. Campus may be open or closed during this time. See Weather Closing Guidelines for the full procedures. 
    • The announcement to close campus and/or to cancel classes will be made by 6:00 a.m. of the morning of the day of cancellation.  
    • Cancelled classes can be made up on “the next day on which classes are not scheduled (normally Saturday) at the same time as the missed class” (Weather Closing Guidelines).  
    • Instructors of in-person courses may not elect to replace the cancelled in-person class with a synchronous online delivery of the class during the period of closure. The instructor may replace the missed class with options including a recorded lecture made available to students for asynchronous review, or a relevant asynchronous learning activity.  
    • Any assessments that have a deadline within the period of closure should be extended at least to the same time on the next day the campus is open. This includes LEARN administered quizzes/tests/assignments. The instructor should reach out to students as soon as possible to notify them of the revised deadlines. 

Additional Resources 

  • Generative AI Use resources 
  • Outline: Frequently Asked Questions 
  • Course materials should be available to your students online. Contact the library for help. 
  • W Store continues to provide course materials and services to the campus community. Instructors may place their course adoptions for the winter term online, using W Store’s online adoption system. 
  • Find info shared with students by the Registrar’s Office at the RO’s Mass Communications page. (Registrar’s Office, sign-in required) 
  • Student well-being: Our colleague Dr. Christine Logel (Social Development Studies) has developed a free, online course that provides evidence-based advice for designing course outlines that foster student belonging, equity, and growth. 
  • The WatSEE Instructor and Graduate Student Supervisor Toolbox is a great resource to apply a holistic, developmental lens to student experience in your courses. 

Schedule Highlights 

  • Classes: May 11 to August 5 
  • Victoria Day: May 18 
  • Canada Day: July 1 
  • Civic Holiday: August 3 
  • Make-up day for Victoria Day: Aug 4 [Monday schedule used]  
  • Make-up day for Canada Day: Aug 5 [regular Wednesday schedule used] 
  • Pre-exam study day: August 6 
  • Final exam period: August 7-19 
  • Final examination emergency days: August 9, 16, and 20 
  • Co-op work term: May 11 to August 21 
  • Class enrolment – if students aren’t able to add your class on Quest, consult the Enrolment problems and course overrides page. 
  • New Religious Observance Self-Declaration Form in Quest 
  • Important Dates