Documentation:Distance Learning Support/Policies and Procedures for Instructors

Learner Registration

Learners who enrol in courses offered via distance education are typically UBC undergraduate students who, for a variety of reasons, require the flexibility that distance courses offer. Some fully online graduate programs are also available. Learners register in distance courses just as they do for other courses at the Student Service Centre.

Access Studies provides an avenue for enrolment for learners who require a limited number of courses. For more information, please visit the Student Services website.

Course Withdrawals

Withdrawal procedures for learners are outlined in the Learner Support section on this website. Students are referred to this information in their course package, as well as in the introductory email they receive prior to the course start. For your reference, here is a summary:

Learners withdraw via the Student Service Centre (SSC) until approximately 6 weeks or so into the term in which the course starts. To check specific dates, students are referred to UBC Student Services.
Until the mid point of the course, learners may withdraw without reason. No refunds are possible. Learners apply to the Learner Support Advisors in Brock Hall, to their Faculty, or Access Studies, and a “W” appears on the transcript.
Following the mid point in the course, learners apply for withdrawal to their Faculty, or Enrolment Services, with a reason and supporting documentation. Any requests will be forwarded to the individual’s Faculty or Access Studies for consideration. Late withdrawals are rarely granted without justification for academic concession.

Note: Once withdrawals are approved, students will disappear from your classlist on the Faculty Service Centre website. Any queries about withdrawn students should be forwarded to Paul Poole at Enrolment Services. They can assist by checking a student’s record to determine whether or not a withdrawal request is in progress.

Course Extensions

Guidelines for extensions are listed in the Learner Support section. An extension past the course end date is considered an academic concession.

Requests for extensions must be made in writing to the Learner Support Advisors at Brock Hall, or the respective Faculty Advising office. Learners enrolled in Access Studies, should contact Enrolment Services for advising. The process is as follows:

Instructors are consulted by advising staff to determine the learner’s progress in the course.
If advisable, the extension will be processed.
If not advisable (i.e. no work completed), the student will be asked to apply for withdrawal.

Note: Extensions for online courses should ideally only be for the exam component, with the rest of the course work already completed. Learners should download their discussion postings and personal work before the course end date as they will only have access to the course content. Please make sure to advise your extended learners accordingly.

Course Repeats

Learners may choose to repeat a course either to improve their GPAs or to gain mastery over subject matter that is important to their degree and academic goals. However, before repeating a course, students should be advised to discuss this with their Faculty. Each Faculty may have different regulations and policies about repeating courses. In any case, the grade received for the course first time around will remain on the student’s academic record.

If a learner is choosing to repeat your course, consider the following:

Is the student aware of the regulations for his/her faculty? Refer them to: Learner Support: Policies & Procedures: Course Repeats.
Have you discussed the requirements for repeating your course with the student? For example, do you plan to accept the student’s previously submitted coursework with revisions? Or, do you expect the student to complete new assignments - which you will then need to prepare? You may want to discuss this with your department head if you are unsure of departmental practice.

Learners are encouraged to inform the instructor if they are repeating in order to avoid misunderstandings that could lead to a repeat failure. It may be useful to remind students of this in your start of term communications.

Here are some links to UBC policy regarding academic advancement, for your reference:

Vacation/Leave

You may need to be away during the course of the year for vacation, research, or leave of absence. Should this occur, you will need to make arrangements for sufficient support for your course so that it can carry on without you. This includes any arrangements for grading assignments, facilitating discussions, or answering content related questions.

In the event of any planned or unplanned absence, please:

Notify your department head of the dates of your intended absence and discuss the arrangements that you have made for your students.
Notify your instructional designer of the dates of your intended absence. He or she will ensure that any helpdesk queries are re-routed during your absence.
Notify students of any short-term or unplanned absence. You can do this via the EMAIL ALL function on the Faculty Service Centre. Also, notify your students within your online course via an Announcements posting and be sure they are informed of the arrangements you have made for them and for the course in your absence.

Note: It is important that you try to avoid planning vacations or travel during the start of term or peak exam periods prior to graduation (late April-mid May and August).