COVID-19 U of T Engineering Graduate Students FAQs

The university will reopen on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, as planned. Essential services and supports will be available.  The first day of classes for graduate-level engineering courses has been delayed by one week and will be Monday, Jan. 11, 2021.  SGS sessional dates remain the same. See Dean Yip's letter here when this was announced.

This functionality will be available on ACORN for Winter 2020 courses, from June 5th to June 30th.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Toronto is allowing graduate students to elect pass/fail grades to appear on their transcripts as CR/NCR in their Winter 2020 courses that are normally graded with a letter. This has raised the question of how these CR/NCR grades will impact the evaluation of incoming transcripts in the admissions process and also competitiveness for scholarships and fellowships.

Many post-secondary institutions across the world have similarly modified their grading systems for the courses offered in the Winter 2020 semester. Consequently, evaluation and ranking criteria for admissions in academic programs and for scholarship applications have been adapted with the objective to avoid penalizing graduate students who were enrolled in courses during the Winter 2020 semester. In addition, many institutions, including the University of Toronto, will add a notation on transcripts for the Winter 2020 session grades to indicate that a significant disruption had occurred during that session. This notation will inform and remind reviewers that there was during this session an abrupt transition to other modes of instruction and significant disruptions to all aspects of student life.

In general, in Engineering, substituting a letter grade for a CR/NCR is less likely have an unexpected impact for students in professional graduate programs such as the MEng and MHSc, in particular when these students are not planning on continuing to study after completing their programs. However, evaluating the potential impact of substituting a CR/NCR for one or several winter 2020 courses is more complex for students in research stream programs (MASc and PhD), in particular if these students are planning to compete for national or international scholarships or when they intend to apply in the future to academic programs in other institutions across the world.  In their decision, these students should consider the following:

• Eligibility criteria for scholarship applications usually include a minimum GPA in each of the two most recent years of study (e.g. usually a 3.7 GPA for NSERC, CIHR and OGS)

• Eligibility criteria for admissions in academic programs usually include a minimum GPA over one or two most recent years of study (see this link to the SGS calendar for University of Toronto programs)

Courses graded with a CR/NCR are not included in the GPA calculations. Consequently, depending on the method used in a given unit or institution for determining if an applicant meets the minimum GPA requirement, students can be impacted in different ways. For example, in the GPA calculations, one institution might choose to calculate the GPA based on the remaining graded course during the same time period while another institution might replace the recent courses graded CR/NCR with graded courses completed earlier in the academic history (e.g. to base the GPA calculation on a fixed number of graded courses).

For instance, in terms of the admissions process for PhD applicants, the University of Toronto requires an average grade equivalent to a B+ (GPA =3.3) or better in the previous Master’s degree program. The admission officers will exclude the CR/NCR grades of the Winter 2020 session from the averaging calculation. In that case, the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) recommends that the admission officer calculates the average based on the remaining course grades. If there are very few graded courses available, the recommendation is to place an increased emphasis on reference letters and other indices of academic achievement such as publications, presentations, honours, and awards.

In terms of the admission process for Master’s applicants at the University of Toronto, the SGS minimum requirements for admission to a Master’s program include an average grade equivalent of at least mid-B or better in the Bachelor’s degree, demonstrated by an average grade in the final year or over senior courses.  Normally, the average for admission to a Master’s program is calculated using the five full-course equivalents taken in the last year of the program. In cases where the final year includes CR/NCR grades, SGS recommends that the graduate unit select courses from the 2018-19 academic year to use for averaging purposes. If there is not a desirable set of five full-course equivalents, SGS recommends that the graduate unit prepares a non-standard admissions case.

In summary, there are many factors a graduate student should consider before deciding to convert one or some of the letter grades received for the Winter 2020 courses into a CR/NCR notation. The admissions process noted above regarding calculation of GPA on CR/NCR course, only applies to University of Toronto graduate programs.  The evaluation of applications and ranking criteria for admissions in academic programs and scholarship competition can vary significantly between institutions and programs across the world. Accurate assessment of the impact of substituting a letter grade to a CR/NCR for Winter 2020 courses requires an individual approach that considers the specific program, institution or scholarship a student might be considering applying to. When applying to institutions outside of University of Toronto, it is recommended you reach out to the admissions officer of the program you are applying for to gain clarity on the admissions process.

You may elect to receive a CR/NCR grade on ACORN between June 8^th and June 30^th for any 2019/20 full-year courses, or Winter 2020 courses.

Instructions on how you can do this on ACORN can be found here.

The “dial-in” option for BB Collaborate is based on a US-based phone number and users (including students) will incur long-distance charges in US dollars. Joining via the browser is strongly recommended.

Here are some tips from UofT to navigate some of the challenges of remote learning. Please see this useful article here.

There is a new enhanced online learning experience for international students in mainland China –Alibaba Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN). This network service is located in the People’s Republic of China and will allow for a fast, reliable and consistent connection to U of T’s network and in turn its online learning resources such as Quercus, Collaborate Ultra etc. This optional service became available for use at the University of Toronto as of July 9, and will meet some of the challenges, such as high latency connectivity to the internet, faced by international students located in mainland China. It is also available for use by faculty located in mainland China, provided they have a valid UTORid. If you require technical support or help with the Alibaba Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) service visit here. More information about the features and benefits of this service is also available on the ITS website.

Some FAQ questions regarding this service here.

The Faculty’s primary motivation as we plan for January is to protect the health and wellness of our community — this includes undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, researchers, industry partners, alumni and friends. That’s why we are focused on ensuring that we deliver an excellent semester through remote learning.

With all classes, lectures, and course events offered online, we are able to make a remote access guarantee, which will allow every one of our students to complete all academic requirements, including final assessments, without delaying their graduation. The remote access guarantee means that for those who cannot be in Toronto, or choose to stay home, you will be able to continue your programs uninterrupted. Students will not be required to attend classes, labs or tutorials in person during the 2021 Winter Term.

We are planning to augment remote learning with limited, optional in-person experiences*, including, perhaps, physically-distanced office hours, in-person lecture, tutorial or practical sections, access to common rooms, group projects, and extra- or co-curricular opportunities. However, we continue to take guidance from public health authorities and the government and cannot forecast when it may be safe to do so in a format that contributes in a meaningful way to our students’ learning. If we are able to safely offer in-person experiences in the 2021 Winter Term, we will likely not be able to confirm those details until later in the 2020 Fall Term.

A reminder: all timetable information related to the 2021 Winter Term is subject to change due to the evolving nature of COVID-19.

This information is specific to Engineering courses, and does not apply to courses offered by the Faculty of Arts & Science.

*Ontario’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. Changes will likely occur as the province and its municipalities adjust to new data about the virus. In these circumstances, please be advised that the manner of delivery of courses, co-curricular opportunities, programs and services is subject to change, in accordance with University policies. The University thanks its students, faculty, and staff for their flexibility during these challenging times as we work together to maintain the standards of excellence that are the hallmark of the University.