Winter 2026 Beginning of Term Reminders

Friday, November 28, 2025

What's new?

  • Reminder and Best Practices – Please note that in the event of severe adverse weather, classes may be cancelled. Campus may be open or closed during this time. See Weather Closing Guidelines for full procedures. 
    • The announcement to close campus and/or to cancel classes will be made by 6:00 a.m. the morning of the day of cancellation.  
    • Whether or not campus is closed, 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 that allows students to experience the missed learning outcomes.  
    • Any assessments that have a deadline within the period of closure should be extended 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 submission deadline.  
  • NEW - Be mindful of drop deadlines when scheduling assessments in your course(s). 
    • We strongly recommend that you provide grade feedback on one or more assessment(s) at least one week before the 50% deadline (February 20). This is especially important for courses with a large proportion of first-year students. This enables students the opportunity to speak with their advisor(s) before the 50% deadline about their course performance. At the very least, grade feedback on some key assessment(s) should be provided well before the WD deadline (March 20). 
  • NEW - In-Person Final Exam Refresher from the Office of the Registrar (pdf).
  • NEW - Outline reminders and mandatory statements.
    • As you know we strongly encourage Arts instructors to use Outline and we provide a list of benefits on the Undergraduate Teaching Term Information site.
    • Also, a reminder that Outline and Arts mandatory statements had a major update in Winter 2025. If you are copying from previous outlines we recommend deleting all content under the Administrative Policy section and reselecting to ensure you have the most up-to-date content. This will also ensure you are not duplicating content that is now included in the mandatory section. 
  • Updates and reminders from The Office of Academic Integrity. 
    • AI in coursework 
      • Turnitin’s AI Detection tool will no longer be 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 and the Office of Academic Integrity can assist with promoting integrity. 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 publicly accessible web-based Undergraduate Academic Integrity Module (UG AIM) which students can easily access and complete in less than an hour (note: completion is not tracked). 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. 
  • Effective Spring 2025, self-declared Covid absences have been discontinued. Covid is being treated like any other illness; students can use their short-term 2-day absence without documentation or obtain a VIF to submit through the Absence system. 
  • WatSEE Instructor and Graduate Student Supervisor Toolbox - The WatSEE framework applies a holistic, developmental lens to student experience. Instructors are encouraged to draw on this valuable toolbox of resources to integrate WatSEE principles and practices into their courses and promote student flourishing. 
  • Ontario’s Bill 166 requires that every course must include the individual cost for each textbook or other learning material and indicate whether it is required or optional. 
    • Outline.uwaterloo.ca has a dedicated field for this information, making it easier to generate data for reporting.  
    • If you don’t use outline.uwaterloo.ca, staff in departments and the AUO will collect this information from your course outlines. This takes significantly longer than downloading the field from outline.uwaterloo.ca. Please consider using Outline to help streamline this process and save time. 
    • Outline and the resources on the teaching term information website now include mandatory statements that are to be included in all course outlines

Additional resources

  • Generative AI Use resources 
  • Outline: Frequently Asked Questions 
  • Course materials should be available to your students online. Contact the library for help, or check the Course Reserves page for more information.
  • W Store continues to provide course materials and services to the campus community. Instructors may place their course adoptions for the fall 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. 

Schedule highlights

  • Classes: January 5 to April 6
  • Reading Week: February 14-22
  • Family Day: February 16
  • Pre-exam study days: April 7 and 8
  • Final exam period: April 9-23
  • Final examination emergency days: April 12, 19, and 24
  • Co-op work term: January 5 to April 24
  • 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