TOPICS:

• final exam:
  online, remote, limited-open-book, honour code, open for 24 hours
  revision materials on UBC Blogs site
• grades:
  special allowances of late W (any time up to early May) and Credit/D/F (between when final grades have been published and early May)

Dear students,

An update about our final examination and about grades:

THE EXAM

Your final examination will be:

• a remote take-home exam
• to be completed in two and half hours (with extra time for students registered with Accessibility)
• open for 24 hours, around the time of the scheduled exam 
• limited open-book
• honour code

The following information is in common across all sections of our course. Please read it carefully: if you have any questions, feel free to email the course coordinator, Dr O’Brien (juliet.obrien@ubc.ca Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.).

1. detailed information and instructions: https://www.dropbox.com/s/71x5ppjlem4cftl/19W2%20FREN%20101%2B102%20exam%20information.pdf?dl=0

2. practice exams, revision guides, and general exam season guidance: https://blogs.ubc.ca/fren101and102/2018/11/29/revisions/

The following things might vary from one section to another, and one instructor to another: your instructor (= the person who teaches you in class; if you are in FREN 102-205, that is Dr O’Brien; if you are not, it is not) will tell you what they will be doing in your class:

1. the exam might be over email, by Canvas Assignment, or by Canvas Quiz

⇒ INSTRUCTORS: our two main variations for this message:
(a) The exam will be distributed and collected over email.
OR
(b) The exam will be on Canvas, as a Canvas Assignment: [add link]. It will open on [FREN 102 = Wednesday 22 April / 101 = Friday 24 April] at 12:00 noon and be available until [FREN 102 = Thursday 23 April / 101 = Saturday 25 April] at 12:00 noon. If you are not able to access Canvas, or not at that time, please email me and we’ll figure out an alternative for you.

2. your instructor might be available for questions at a specific time during the 24 hour period in which the exam is open; this will probably be by email; they will tell you if, when, and how they’re available

⇒ INSTRUCTORS: our two main variations for this message:
(a) Your course coordinator will be available to answer questions over email (juliet.obrien@ubc.ca) on the day that your exam opens from 12:00 noon to 10:00 p.m., and the day after from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
OR
(b) Your course coordinator will be available to answer questions over email (juliet.obrien@ubc.ca) on the day that your exam opens from 12:00 noon to 10:00 p.m., and the day after from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. I (your instructor) will be available to answer questions over email [your email @mail.ubc.ca] at the following times: [… your times …]

GRADES: SPECIAL ALLOWANCES IN COVID-19 SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

You will have been emailed on Friday 27 March by your home faculty (ex. Arts) about what is happening with final grades. If you think that you have not received this email, please double-check and check (Student Service Centre) that you have kept UBC updated with your current email address. This is a student responsibility. The Faculty of Arts information is at: https://www.arts.ubc.ca/end-of-term-and-covid-19/

(If you are in a different faculty or school, check with them.)

Here is the main Arts information:

1. Withdrawal: you can withdraw the course now, if you wish, and at any point between now and after final grades have been released. (For FREN 101 and 102, that is expected to be Tuesday 5 May 2020.) How to do so: through Academic Advising, please read https://students.air.arts.ubc.ca/exceptional-withdrawals-due-to-the-covid-19-crisis/

2. Credit/D/Fail: 

This is the UBC version of “pass/fail.” Credit = 55% and over. It will be an option for you AFTER the final exam, once your final grades have been posted (expected to be Tuesday 5 May for FREN 101 and 102).

“It will be important to review your grade before you decide to request CrDF, as you may prefer to keep the grades you have earned. We are developing an online form to request this standing. Our current intention is to open it after grades are officially released on April 29 and keep it open for at least a week. We will notify you by email when the form is open.

“CrDF considerations:

• CrDF provides credit, but your grade will not be displayed on your transcript.
• CrDF will not result in your need to pay back loans or awards, but it may not support eligibility for awards in 2020/21 Winter Session. Students should check with Enrolment Services Advisors for more information.
• Courses with CrDF standing cannot be used in the calculation of your GPA for 2019 Winter, nor in your graduating average.
• Once you have selected CrDF, the standing will not be removed.”

For more, and for links to Arts Advising online help, please read: https://www.arts.ubc.ca/end-of-term-and-covid-19/

QUESTIONS

If you have any further questions—anything at all—please ask the course coordinator, Dr O’Brien. If she doesn’t know the answer (she’s only human and doesn’t know everything, though as a geek she would like to) she can find out or find someone who can answer your question. How to contact her:

• email:
  juliet.obrien@ubc.ca
  (she’ll usually reply within 1 working day, and reads email Monday-Friday09:00-18:00)
• virtual office and advising hours on Blackboard Collaborate Ultra:
  Tuesday 14:00-16:30
  Wednesday 15:00-16:30
  Thursday 14:00-16:30
  

Take care,

Dr O’Brien