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Know Your Rights.

UFV Policies Explained.

A SUS-compiled collection of all the relevant policies to students' day-to-day academic activities, as well as the procedures for navigating things like academic misconduct accusations, formal grade appeals, experiences with discrimination, bullying & harassment, and sexualized violence. 

We hope that this student-friendly walk-through will make understanding UFV policies and procedures less challenging, as well as easier to Know Your Rights!

Know Your Rights Intro:

As a student, you have rights guaranteed by the virtue of your position in the UFV community. Whether it's appealing a final grade or making sure you're being given due notice to syllabus changes, your rights are secured through UFV's policies and procedures.

  • In the case of a discrepancy between this guide and UFV policy, UFV policy should always be taken as correct.

Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination

  • UFV defines Bullying and Harassment as “Behaviour that includes any inappropriate conduct or comment (including electronic) by a person who knew or reasonably ought to have known that the behaviour would cause humiliation or intimidation.” ([UFV Policy 18][1], pg. 1). This is in contrast to Discrimination, which is defined as “any form of unequal adverse treatment of a person or group, whether intentional or not, on the basis of one or more prohibited grounds set out in the British Columbia Human Rights Code.”

    If you are experiencing bullying, harassment, or discrimination, the first step is to reach out to a Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Advisor. You can contact the advisor by email at humanrights@ufv.ca or by 604-854-4554. Note that all consultations with the advisor are confidential by default, although there is an active danger or risk to the safety of any person, the advisor may have to take the appropriate actions required by the procedure. Such actions include notifying, as appropriate: UFV Security Services, police or RCMP, and anyone who may be at risk.

    ** UPDATE*: You also have the option of reporting an incident involving 'any concerning or disruptive behaviour by a UFV employee, student or community member via the [Safe Student Commnunity portal][3] Your report is confidential and will be routed to the most appropriate person/office upon receipt.

    There are two different processes for bullying, harassment, and discrimination report: the informal process of resolution and the formal process. The informal process "focuses on resolving the issue as opposed to finding fault and does not include disciplinary action." The formal process involves the complainant completing a Harassment, bullying, and discrimination complaint form and the advisor will decide within ten (10) days if an investigation is warranted. Access the form]. Referral to formal investigation would not be warranted where:

    The complaint is not within the jurisdiction of the Policy;

    The complaint is frivolous, malicious, vexatious or made in bad faith; or,

    The complaint is being or has been properly addressed by some other legal processes or UFV policy.

    Unless there are found to be “exceptional circumstances” to your complaint, you must file a complaint within six (6) months of the last incident. Please refer to the UFV Procedure on Discrimination, Bullying and Harassment Prevention and UFV Policy 18 for more information.

Obligations of You and Your Instructor

  • As a student and paying customer of the University of the Fraser Valley, you are afforded certain rights in regards to when you receive materials, marks, and feedback in class per UFV Policy 46

Appealing a Final Grade

  • Did you receive a mark that seems off from what you expected? Perhaps based on your other marks you should have gotten a higher mark, or maybe that last assignment was marked far harsher than your peers' when compared later. The first step is contacting your instructor and asking them the reasons for the grade given. If a meeting between yourself and the instructor still isn't able to resolve the conflict, then your next step is to consider a final grade appeal. Here are some things to keep in mind before beginning the process:

    1. Only the final grade of a course may be appealed. While individual assignments may be used as evidence of the assignment of an inappropriate grade, it is the cumulative grade of the course that you are appealing, not those of assignments.

    2. You can only appeal a final grade on specific grounds. These grounds include:

    2.1. Alleged failure by the instructor to follow the evaluation profile, grade assignment and operational details as stated in the course syllabus and/or instructions for assignments, examinations, or projects. If your instructor changed the syllabus or how they weighted assignments, these changes must have been communicated to you and the class in writing or electronically ahead of time.

    2.2. Alleged failure of the instructor to apply the evaluation criteria to the student in a reasonable manner, consistent with other students. If you believe that your instructor is marking your assignments or assigned you an improper final grade based on bias, this is also grounds for an appeal.

    2.3. Alleged failure by the instructor or departments/divisions to follow approved and relevant university, faculty, department, or school policies and procedures. If your instructor is not following other UFV policies (including things like not receiving final marks back within the specified period in UFV Policy 109, or the letter grading system outlined in UFV Policy 101) then you may have grounds for appealing.

    2.4. Alleged failure of the instructor to adequately consider and provide reasonable accommodations in response to documented extenuating circumstances that prevented or delayed a student from completing or submitting one or more components of the course.

    1. An appeals committee can only do one of two things after receiving your appeal:

    3.1. Revise the FINAL grade up or down; or

    3.2. Maintain the FINAL grade

    Because a grade appeals committee can not offer specific remedies to things like missed assignments or online exams lost in submission (such as offering a rewrite), it is vital that you pursue all possible options at your resolution meeting before initiating an appeal for your own sake.

    To see a more detailed procedure for submitting a grade appeal, please visit the UFV Final Grade Appeals page at https://www.ufv.ca/ai/appeals/final-grade-appeal/ and see UFV Policy 217 for more information.

Sexualized Violence

Course Content and Information

  • Syllabi and other course descriptions are essential to planning your semester and estimating your workload. You are entitled to receive a syllabus at the first class of the semester, or the first week of the semester for classes that do not have regular schedules or are asynchronous . The syllabus must also contain:

    a) Course Title and Description;

    b) Name of the Instructor(s);

    c) Contact Information;

    d) Office Hours;

    e) Grading System (must use the grading system outlined in UFV Policy 101) and evaluation procedures;

    f) Schedule of Class Offerings;

    g) Learning Outcomes; and

    h) Special regulations (no electronic devices, field trips, etc.)

    The syllabus must also be consistent with the official course outline. Note that “any substantive deviations from the original course syllabus after the start of the class should only be made in exceptional circumstances and then only with the consent of the class and on approval by the department or area head.”

Attendance

  • Attendance for the first class of the semester is mandatory. Students must log in to online classes by a specified date, typically by the end of the first week. If you are unable to make it to class for whatever reason the first day, make sure you notify your professor as soon as possible, as instructors are required to notify the office of the registrar to withdraw the student in the case of an absence, especially in the case of a waitlist. See Policy 62 for more information on attendance.

    If you are withdrawn due to a failure to attend your first class, you may appeal in writing “with a clear rationale and supporting documentation” to the dean responsible for the discipline. You will receive a decision within 7 days and the Dean’s decision is final.

Communicationsand Consultation

  • You are entitled to timely and professional communication and responses from your instructor. As noted above, instructors are required to provide their preferred methods of communication in the course syllabi and the ideal time for periods of consultation.

    Barring vacation, research, or other university-related business activity, Instructors are expected to respond within two instructional days. So don’t expect emails from profs over the weekend.

Accesibility

Centre for Experiential and Career Education

UFV
Housing

UFV Student Rights & Responsibilities Office

Order of Registration

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

We want to touch on important and valuable topics for UFV students. Let us know if you want us to explore a particular policy or topic further.

In addition, if you have any questions or concerns or need further clarification on the policies touched on above, please don't hesitate to reach out. We are here to simplify and provide support to all UFV students.