Below are the policies for Software Engineering. You can view the University policies and guidelines on their site.
For engineering specific policies check out these links:
Software Engineering Policies and Guidelines
Taking an extra course at UW during a co-op workterm
Students are permitted to take an additional course on their work terms. Courses taken by students during work terms will not be included in the average for any term. Also, courses taken during work terms may not be used to reduce the number of courses taken in any subsequent term. There are a number of different scenarios that can be addressed:
- If the student is not living/working in the Waterloo area, then the course must be an online class. The list of online classes available for a given term is available on the Centre for Extended Learning website.
- If the student is living and working in the Waterloo area, the employer must approve the course (either day or night). The student may also take an online course.
- If the student is living in Waterloo and did not find employment, the student may take one or two courses, either on campus or online.
If one of the above criteria is met, the student may then take:
- Any non-core SE course, including all linkage, general and technical electives.
- Any course that the student has failed and needs to retake provided it is scheduled during the student's non-academic term.
If the course criteria are met, the student then fills out a course override form.
Taking an extra course at another university during a co-op workterm
A student may take one course at another university if they are on a workterm and they have not already registered for a course at UW. Students must get permission from the Associate Director of Software Engineering before registering at the host university. To obtain permission and to make sure that the credit counts, the student must submit a Letter of Permission Form along with detailed information about the proposed course to the Associate Director of Software Engineering for approval. Students must fill out this form no later than two calendar months prior to the start of the term that the course is to begin. For example, if the course is for the spring term, then the letter of permission must be in the registrar's office by March 1st.
Taking an extra course during a school term
In some cases, the program administration will allow exceptional students to take a sixth course in a given school term so that they may pursue areas of personal interest. In order to qualify to take a sixth course, a student must satisfy one or both of the following criteria:
- An average of 80% in the previous school term.
- A cumulative average of 80% over the student's university career.
The Associate Director of Software Engineering will decide on a case-by-case basis if one or both of the criteria need to be satisfied. If these criteria are met, then the student must fill out a course override form and submit it to the Associate Director for approval.
Missing exams
If a student has missed a final exam then the instructor has the option to:
- Grant the student an AEG (aegrotat) if the student has demonstrated sufficient knowledge and a satisfactory understanding of the course but was ill according to medical evidence.
- Grant the student an INC (incomplete) and allow the student to write another final exam within six months from the end of the term, either one in the upcoming term or a newly generated exam.
- Grant the student a DNW (did not write) if the student did not complete a sufficient proportion of the assignments, tests, and examinations for an evaluation to be made.
It is up to the instructor to decide if the reason is legitimate or not and whether it warrants one of the first two resolutions. A legitimate reason usually constitutes a medical illness, a death in the family, etc… Neither the Director nor the Associate Director of Software Engineering can overturn the decision made by the instructor.
If you miss an exam due to illness then must attend UW Health Services or your family physician during the illness and have them complete the UW Verification of Illness Form.
Technical Presentation Milestone (TPM)
The Technical Presentation Milestone (TPM) consists of a 15 minute presentation followed by 5 minutes of questions. As a student registered in Software Engineering you are required to satisfy the TPM requirement during your 2B term. If you were admitted to the Software Engineering program after 2B, then you must satisfy this requirement before the end of you first academic term in the program. The presentation topic should be technical and is normally based on the results of your 2B work term. Students who feel they are not proficient at making technical presentations should consider taking SPCOM 223 during their 2A or 2B term, to help prepare for the TPM in term 2B.
