Definition of a course unit

According to Academic Regulation A-2, a course is a set of teaching and learning activities whose calendar definition has been approved by Senate. A course unit (known until 2016 as a credit) is the numerical value assigned to an academic activity. Except for co-op work terms, intensive practicums covering extended periods and research projects, a course unit generally represents 45 hours of work, including class attendance (lectures, labs, practical training), online presence, personal work, practical assignments and exam preparation. For a typical 3-unit course, this means 135 hours of work spread over 12 weeks, amounting to 11 hours and 15 min of work per week. Using a student workload estimator can be quite an eye-opener, and it is a highly recommended exercise.

Catalogue of courses

Should you look for a brief description of courses and a list of their prerequisites, please check the course catalogue.

Note that, as of September 2022, all courses, whether passed or failed, may be attempted up to three times (Academic Regulation B-4.5). For the third attempt, students must consult the Undergraduate Studies Office of their faculty. Only the last grade obtained is used in the calculation of the cumulative grade point average (CGPA). A failing grade can replace a passing grade.

Course timetable

A course timetable can be found here.

Expectations regarding student behaviour and participation

As of May 2022, University Policy 130 defines student rights and responsible conduct. In addition, according to the Faculty of Engineering Academic Regulations:

1. Faculty of Engineering students are expected to exhibit professional behaviour at all times during their studies.
2. Faculty of Engineering students are expected to be knowledgeable about best practices in health and safety, academic integrity, sexual violence prevention, as well as equity, diversity and inclusion. As such, they may be required to take training sessions (whether for-credit or not) at different times during their studies.
3. Active participation (whether in-person or online, if available) in a minimum of 80% of the scheduled course components is required for students to be eligible for a passing grade in courses. If professors wish to apply specific attendance policies and/or use a grading scheme to encourage active participation, they must indicate so on the course syllabus distributed at the beginning of the term.

Students’ responsibilities

• participate in the various learning and assessment activities associated with each of their courses
• review the academic calendar, regulations and procedures to comply with them
• understand what constitutes plagiarism and academic misconduct
• consult uoZone (the student portal of uoCampus) regularly to check their registration status, final marks and transcript issued at the end of each session
• comply with Policy 116 on the use of computer services and computing facilities
• regularly check their inbox at their assigned (@uottawa.ca) email address, as the University uses this address for all communications
• visit with Accommodation Services if they have special needs. Accommodation Services will inform them of services available and policies for accommodation.

Professor’s responsibilities

Academic freedom means that professors cannot be told how to teach as long as they follow professional standards. The specific content of the course, on the other hand, is subject to the control of the Academic Unit (Department or School) through its Curriculum Committee, the Faculty and, ultimately, the Senate of the University. It is the professor’s responsibility to select the textbook(s) required for their courses. According to the Faculty of Engineering Academic Regulations, professors are responsible for the process of marking final assessments or exams, and for assigning course grades. Teaching assistants may only participate in marking final assessments or exams when questions have objective and unambiguous answers.

The Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP) mandated by the province regularly monitors the quality of individual programs. In addition, for the professional accreditation of its programs, the Faculty of Engineering answers to the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), and the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS). For instance, CEAB’s continual improvement process mandates the longitudinal monitoring of course learning outcomes in a certain number of courses in each undergraduate engineering program, so that yearly program-level reports can be drafted and corrective actions documented. As a result, your Academic Unit may provide you with specific instructions to report the performance of students in these course learning outcomes, in addition to the course grades. It is also important that you make the students in your course aware of these course learning outcomes (the course outline is the right place to do so), and of the general accreditation process. Should you need more information about the accreditation processes, please contact your Program Coordinator (Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies) of your Academic Unit, or the Director or Chair of your Academic Unit.

Professors should keep in mind that the use of copyrighted material for teaching purposes is strictly regulated.

Important dates

The academic calendar specifies the important dates for the school year. Please refer to it for holidays, deadlines for registering or dropping courses, course start dates, etc.

At the University of Ottawa, a term must be 60 days (or 12 weeks) in duration. If statutory holidays prevent the expected number of teaching activities in a term, a make-up day is announced, or a day is cancelled by the Registrar’s Office after the term has started.

Evaluation of teaching and courses

All courses involving at least nine contact hours with the same professor will be subject to an evaluation by students, regardless of the number of students and the teaching method used. The evaluation is done online, at the time you choose within the course evaluation period that takes place at the end of each term. You will need to plan a 10-minute segment in the classroom and without you present, so that students can evaluate the course.

Class duration

All classes must start and end at the times indicated in the official schedule. Please do not give extra time to students during in-person exams/tests: an exam/test could also be scheduled in the course that follows yours.

Bilingualism

The University of Ottawa being a bilingual institution, Academic Regulation A-1 states the following: « […] all students have the right to produce their written work and to answer examination questions in the official language of their choice, regardless of the course’s language of instruction. » Required readings should be in the official language of the course. In cases where you would like to use readings in the other official language, you need to explain the essential points in the language of the course so that students can pass their exams without being penalized.

Enrolment, dropping a course, and maximum number of students in a course

Any student who wishes to enroll, withdraw from a course, or change course sections must do so within the time limits prescribed in the academic calendar and in accordance with established procedures. Any student whose name does not appear on the class list of a course in uoCampus is NOT officially registered in that course. If so, the student must regularize his or her status as soon as possible. Any change of course or section is subject to the availability of seats in a course, and compliance with its prerequisites. It should be noted that the enrolment in a course is governed by criteria established by the Academic Unit and the Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Office, as the case may be, in accordance with safety rules. Professors cannot accommodate special requests or sign a personal authorization for a student to access a course.

Discussion of a student’s academic record

Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), only the following information may be provided to any person upon request:

• a student’s name
• their registration status
• their field of study
• the degrees they obtained from uOttawa

Any other information contained in the student’s academic record may not be disclosed without the student’s written consent. Therefore, a student who wishes to obtain a letter of recommendation from a professor must first complete a third party authorization form.

French immersion stream

For your information, some undergraduate students in our software engineering and computer science programs are enrolled in the French Immersion Stream.