Information for Students

 *Full-time UNB or STU students require permission from their faculty to enrol in an open-entry course during Fall and Winter Sessions. Click here to download the permission form.

 

Time Limits re. Assignments and Exams

Unless otherwise stipulated, students are allotted six months to complete a 3-credit-hour open-entry course, and twelve months for a 6-credit-hour course. Students can complete courses in less time if they wish, but not less than three weeks.

Where applicable, students are strongly discouraged from submitting more than one assignment at a time. Spacing the assignments allows the instructor to provide useful feedback that students can incorporate in future assignments.

All assignments should be completed at least three weeks before the requested date for writing the final examination. Exam request forms should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the date that the student wishes to write. (Requests to write the final exam must be made using the online Exam Request Form)

Adding/Dropping Courses

Full-time students wishing to take an open-entry course during the Fall term must register before October 1st; and during the Winter term, before February 1st.

Any student wishing to drop a course without academic penalty needs to fill out and submit the Course Withdrawal Form.

Refunds and Withdrawals

Please see CEL Policies regarding refund and withdrawals for Open-Entry online courses.

Extensions

Extensions beyond the time allotted to complete an open-entry course are granted only in rare occasion and only in extenuating—and documented—circumstances. Students looking for an extension need to request it from their instructor, who can then either approve or refuse to grant it. Approval must be in writing with e-mail copy to UNB Online (online@unb.ca). Extensions cannot be granted for more than one extra month.

Course Load

Part-time students—especially those employed full time—are strongly advised not to register in more than two courses concurrently. Full-time on-campus students are not usually eligible for enrollment in online courses, unless the appropriate Dean has granted approval. Online courses are equivalent to classroom-based courses; therefore, the same course load regulations apply. Four courses constitute full-time and the maximum course load depends on the faculty.

Textbooks

Many online courses require a textbook. Details are generally provided in the course description provided through the UNB Online listing. It is the responsibility of the student to order course texts. Many textbooks can be ordered from the UNB Bookstore, or from online vendors like Amazon or Chapters.

Exams

Exams are an integral part of most courses. Information about the structure and weighting of exams is usually provided in the course syllabus. After all assignments have been completed and graded, a student may apply to sit for the final exam. Some courses also require invigilated mid-term exams; the process is the same for both mid-term and final exams.

Application must be done by submitting the online Exam Request Form at least two weeks prior to the date chosen to sit an exam.

Normally, final exams (and some mid-term exams) are invigilated on campus at no charge if the exam is written during regular scheduled exam sessions. Students unable to travel to the Fredericton or Saint John campus must make arrangements to write an invigilated exam at their workplace or at an institution of learning in their area. Exams written outside the regular scheduled sessions or off-campus may incur an invigilation fee of about $30 to $50. However, most high schools will invigilate at no charge.

Grades

Final grades at UNB are usually expressed as letter grades. Each grade, with its grade point average (GPA) is as follows.

Letter Grade      Grade Point Avarage (GPA)
A+ 4.3
A 4.0
A- 3.7
B+ 3.3
B 3.0
B- 2.7
C+ 2.3
C 2.0
D 1.0
F 0.0

Course Evaluation

To provide our students with good service and quality courses, we need feedback from students. Students having taken an open-entry course are strongly encouraged to fill out and submit the online evaluation form (it's anonymous).

What You Can Expect from Your Instructor

To find out what is expected of your online instructor as far as online courses are concerned, you can read what we recommend to them as best practices.