December 19, 2021 – IMPORTANT UPDATE on 2021 Winter Term 1 Final Exams
In response to growing concerns from many of you about the Omicron variant and trepidation about writing remaining in-person exams, as well as recent announcements from UBC, we are informing undergraduate students of updated decisions that will impact you if you have exams scheduled between Sunday, December 19 and Wednesday, December 22. We have done our best to summarize things for you, and encourage you to read this carefully.
*If you have already finished your exams or did not have any scheduled finals this term, the details below may not be fully relevant for you, but we still encourage you to read it.
LFS Online Exams Proceeding as Scheduled:
All remaining LFS online exams will continue as originally planned. These include:
- FNH 200 – 101
- FNH 200 – 99A
- FNH 355 – 001
- FNH 370 – 001
Please participate in the online exam for these courses, as scheduled.
LFS In-Person Exams Proceeding as Scheduled:
Some LFS in-person exams cannot be accommodated in an online format or are administered by another Faculty, and will proceed as scheduled. These courses are:
- FNH 300 – 001
- APBI 327 – 001/BIOL 327 – 101
All efforts are being made to ensure a safe writing environment for you. You can choose to attend the in-person exam, as scheduled, or apply for Academic Concession (see below for details).
LFS In-Person Exams Being Rescheduled:
To alleviate concerns you may have about attending in-person exams under these circumstances, and to ensure your safety, exam integrity and equity, some LFS in-person exams scheduled between Monday, December 20 and Wednesday, December 22 will be rescheduled to take place the week of January 4-7, 2022 (the week before the start of term two) and will be changed to an online exam. The impacted courses are:
- FNH 350 – 001**Barbara Stefanska, professor, will be administering an ONLINE exam during original time. CHECK your emails, please.**
- FNH 398 – 001**Liz Novak, professor, will be administering an ONLINE exam during original time. CHECK your emails, please.**
- FNH 405 – 001
- FNH 472 – 001
We appreciate this solution may not be perfect for all students, but moving these exams to January will also ensure those tracking to graduate will be able to close out their courses in time and that pre-requisites for term two courses can be completed before the start of term two, and the safety concerns of students can be addressed.
The schedule for these exams will be circulated to all impacted students as soon as it is ready.
Online Exams for Courses Outside of LFS:
It is our understanding that most final online exams administered by other Faculties will also continue as planned. Please monitor your Canvas site and personal email (including junk folders) to ensure you are aware of any plans to reschedule, or be prepared to participate, as scheduled.
In-Person Exams for Courses Outside of LFS:
Currently scheduled in-person exams offered by other Faculties may be moved to an online format, or will continue as planned. This includes the following course administered by the Faculty of Science, even if you’re in the APBI 351 section:
- APBI 351 – 001/BIOL 351 – 101/FRST 311 – 101
As each Faculty’s approach may be different, and we know many of you are taking courses across multiple Faculties (Science, Arts, Forestry, etc.), you are encouraged to closely monitor your email (including your junk folders) and Canvas site for announcements to ensure you are aware of any changes that may be made in advance of commuting to campus.
Feeling unwell or unsafe – apply for Academic Concession (SDs):
If you are feeling unwell or unsafe, and do not write one or more of your exams, you can apply for Deferred Standing (SD) by completing the online Academic Concession Request Form to notify LFS Student Services as soon as possible. This form must be submitted for any course you are requesting concessions for, including those administered by other Faculties.
- Feeling unwell? Select “Medical Grounds” from the ‘Grounds for Academic Concession’ pull-down menu
- Feeling unsafe? Select “Feeling unsafe to attend in-person exam (Dec 19-22)” from the ‘Grounds for Academic Concession’ pull-down menu
Deferred Standing (SD) will be granted for both types of requests under these challenging circumstances.
LFS Student Services will work with you to review and mitigate, as best they can, any impacts SDs may have on timelines for graduation and/or year promotion.
We appreciate your patience as LFS Student Services processes increased volumes of requests – Academic Advisors will respond to all students as quickly as they can with an email to confirm approval and to outline next steps/timelines for writing the SD exam(s).
You will also want to familiarize yourself with the information we posted on what to do in case of medical or emotional difficulties during the exam period on our website here, as well as UBC’s Academic Concession policy in the UBC Academic Calendar here.
Supports and resources:
We appreciate that continued concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to increased feelings of anxiety during an already stressful time, and we want to reassure you that we are here to support you as you navigate the coming days. Monitoring health and wellbeing is important, and resources are available here. You are also welcome to connect with LFS Student Services to discuss any concerns or questions you may have. Details of how and when to connect with the team can be found here. LFS Student Services hours:
- OPEN Monday, December 20 to 12pm, Friday, December 24
- Monitoring emails to respond to urgent inquiries only Monday, December 27 to Friday, December 31
- CLOSED Monday, January 3
- OPEN Tuesday, January 4 onwards
Details of UBC’s response to COVID-19 can be found here.
Your health and safety are our priorities, and we hope these changes will help alleviate some of the apprehension you may be feeling about attending exams in person. We promise to communicate with you again if any additional information becomes available, and appreciate your continued patience as we all respond to this evolving situation.
Tagged with: 2021, Undergraduate