This update is provided for archival purposes only.

Public Health guidance and University of Waterloo operations may have changed. For the most up-to-date information, please visit our COVID-19 frequently asked questions.

Revised guidance from associate deans to Arts instructors

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

This message was originally sent to instructors in the Faculty of Arts by Katherine Acheson, associate dean, undergraduate, and Martin Cooke, associate dean, undergraduate.

We are writing with a revision to yesterday’s information. The update and revised section is highlighted below.

General information about the University’s plan and actions with regard to COVID-19 can be found at https://uwaterloo.ca/coronavirus/academic-information. Communications from the Registrar’s Office (RO) to undergraduate students are archived at https://uwaterloo.ca/registrar-resources-staff-and-faculty/; you need to log in and go to “Mass email communications – undergraduate students,” where you will find all the COVID-19 emails. And please remember: no in-person class activities are permitted on or off campus!

  1. Closing out the Winter term
    1. The WD deadline has been moved from March 20 to March 30. This is to give students a bit longer to assess their chances at success given the changes in courses that have been made this term.
    2. The final date for the submission of grades is May 3. As usual, it is very helpful to the RO if you get your grades in earlier so that they can run Academic Progression for students. Please try and get them in by May 1. This applies to all courses, whether or not they have a final exam in the exam period.
    3. If you decide you want to shift the grading basis of your course from numerical to CR/NCR, let the ADs know. We will make sure that Kathy Giles in the RO has the information so that she can make the change in the system, and you can upload your grades as you are used to.
    4. International students have been advised to return home, which means that they may be working on your course in a different time zone. It is up to you if you want to accommodate students who ask to meet deadlines and submit assignments, including tests and exams, according to their waking hours. Information about how to alter the display of times in Learn to conform to the student’s time zone can be found here: https://uwaterloo.ca/learn-help/instructors/account-settings#AccountSettings.
    5. INC grades should be avoided unless they would normally be warranted – that is, a student experiences a setback and you and they complete the INC form and submit it to the RO.
    6. Courses cannot be graded with a mix of CR/NCR and numerical grades.
    7. Changing the grading basis to CR/NCR: If you have enough information about student learning to determine that students have acquired sufficient knowledge to pass the course (or not), but not enough to confidently give numerical grades, you can have the grading basis for the course changed to CR/NCR. Please ask the Associate Deans Undergraduate Studies (Martin Cooke and Katherine Acheson) to forward your request to the RO.
    8. REVISION to guidance re students with inadequate internet connections:Please advise these students to submit a petition after the end of Winter term.
    9. The cancelation of in-person tests applies to tests facilitated by AccessAbility Services. As such, the Exam Centre in AccessAbility Services is closed until further notice. For students who have accommodations that allow them extra time to complete assignments, you can change the amount of time for individual students through this page: https://uwaterloo.ca/learn-help/instructors/additional-topics/special-access.  
    10. Library buildings are now closed. If your course requires access to the physical Library to complete, you’ll have to re-design activities. Contact your subject Librarian through this page: https://uwaterloo.ca/library/services/librarians-subject.
    11. Print course reserves are not available to students. You might consider replacing them with digital versions; consult your subject Librarian for help.
  2. Student matters
    1. Shortened co-op work terms count: “A student with 8-16 weeks and a minimum of 280 hours will earn their co-op credit (completed before the start of fall academic term) and a student with fewer than 8 weeks and fewer than 280 hours will be able to petition for credit” (March 16 memo to students).
    2. Co-op work terms required may be reduced: “Across all programs, for any students whose work term(s) is/are impacted by COVID-19, the minimum number of work terms required by the program will be reduced by one, with a minimum of three work terms in undergraduate programs, and one in master’s degree programs” (March 16 memo to students).
    3. Students, including international students, are asked to leave residence by noon on March 20. Students who need to continue in residence after March 20 may make arrangement to stay; essential services (such as food) will still be available for them.
    4. Students on exchange have received messaging from Waterloo International, and are advised to return home; we will work with the host institution to secure what credit we can for their work abroad.
    5. Students should be advised that investigations and decisions in petitions, grievances, and academic discipline cases may take longer than usual, but that our processes remain the same.

In closing, these are exceptional days. No one expects you, our students, or our staff to be as productive or efficient or brilliant as usual. Stay compassionate and help yourselves and others. Please let us know if you have any questions or need help with something: we probably don’t know the answers, but we will try our best to find the people who do.