Additional course and financial costs
For some courses, participating students may be expected to make financial contributions to defray material/travel costs. The estimated costs are listed at the end of each course description in the undergraduate calendar and included in the course outline.
Course descriptions
Current planning course descriptions are located in the undergraduate calendar.
Course offerings/schedules (terms given)
Not all of the courses listed in the University Calendar are offered each year. Students should consult the schedule of classes to determine which courses are being offered in a particular term.
Course weights
All courses in Planning are term courses and most have a weight of 0.5 units; some, however are weighted as 1.0. Courses that are weighted 1.0 unit are sometimes referred to double-weighted courses. These courses are equivalent to two courses, and the grade achieved is calculated twice into your average. The course does not span over two terms.
Taking courses at other universities - letter of permission
Students who are in good academic standing may request permission to take up to 10 courses at another university for credit towards their University of Waterloo degree. A Letter of Permission Form must be submitted to the undergraduate advisor for approval prior to enrolling in the course. Course descriptions must also be included for credit assessment and equivalency. It is the student's responsibility to provide documentation through a comparison of calendars, and other official university documents if the course is equivalent to a Waterloo course. Care should be exercised in the selection of courses to be taken on a letter of permission to avoid course duplication. Failure to do so could result in credit not being granted for a completed course.
On completing the course, the student must submit an official transcript within two months to the Registrar's Office indicating the grade received. If the grade of at least 65% is achieved, a grade of CR (Credit Received) will then be entered as a transfer credit on Quest but the grade will not be included in average calculations.
Cross-registration with Wilfrid Laurier University
Cross-registration enables Waterloo students to take courses at both Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. All cross registration-requests are subject to approval of the student's academic advisor and availability of space in the course. Normally, approval will not be given to requests where the equivalent course is available at the home university.
Students pay all fees at their home university regardless of the number of courses taken by cross-registration. A student's overall academic standing is determined solely by the home university. Regulations concerning the dates for adding or dropping a course, as well as petitions for cross-registered students, are governed by the student's home institution.
Centre for extended learning/online courses
Online courses are available to students and a growing number of them are being offered through the Centre for Extended Learning. In the Faculty of Environment, students on work terms are, normally, only permitted to enroll in one (.50 unit) online course which is done via Quest. For a list of online courses, refer to the Centre for Extended Learning or view the schedule of classes which includes online courses that are identified under the campus location.
Environment courses
In order to emphasize the multidisciplinary approach that is necessary to solve the complex problems facing society, a number of courses of an integrative nature have been evolved for students in the Faculty of Environment. These courses are offered in areas such as field ecology, research methods, and environmental and planning law. All the Faculty of Environment (ENVS) courses are considered to be "Planning" courses and will be included in the calculation of the major cumulative averages for Planning students.
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