A course I really want to take is full? If the course is full keep checking to see if spaces become available. We try to open more spaces in courses as they fill up, but sometimes there is a lag between a course filling and being able to open more spaces. If the course is full and there are no seminars on reserve (reserve seminars will have an 'a' beside them on the timetable) keep checking to see if a spot opens up for you. Now that we aren't using waiting lists this year, so the moment a student drops the course it will open up a spot for another student to add the course. This means that a spot *could* become available at any time.
I don’t meet the average requirements for required honours courses in 4th year OR if my application to write a thesis is denied? You have a couple of options. Book an academic advising appointment to discuss your options and the best strategy for you moving forward. Some students decide that they will stay an extra year and re-do courses to try to bring up their average and others decide to switch into one of our other degree options. Talk to your academic advisor about what you would need to do to bring your average up to the minimum requirement, and if the honours program is really the right one for you. My registration is delayed because of my credit count and I cannot register in the courses I’d like to take? This is a natural consequence of being behind in your credit count. The department will not give you special consideration in full courses if you miss out on preferred courses because of your registration date. If a required course (e.g., PSYC 2F23, 3F40, 3P30, 3P39 etc.) is full and you meet the requirements for it, contact Kirsti van Dorsser to discuss your situation ([email protected]).
We guarantee eligible students places in required courses as long as it is necessary for you to take the course this year to progress through your degree. However, if it is simply a course you would like to take, or a course you require for a post-graduate program, the department cannot give you any special consideration.
The first thing to do is to register for courses that you are eligible to take which will fulfill your degree requirements, even if they are not preferred courses.
Once you have registered in courses that are available to you, you can start the process of trying to get into the courses you prefer. Keep checking the registration system to see if a spot becomes available in a preferred course. When a space becomes available in a preferred course you can drop the less preferred course to add the preferred course.
I am Missing Courses Need to Progress or to Graduate? If you have diligently tried to register for courses that meet your degree requirements (not just preferred courses) but were not able to register in enough courses to progress or graduate, we can help. The department is saving a few spaces in a few courses for students in emergency situations. Kirsti will issue overrides to students in need based if you email her on July 14. We cannot save these spaces indefinitely so it is absolutely imperative that you email Kirsti on July 14 if you need help ([email protected]). When you email Kirsti send her a complete list of all of courses that are offered this year that meet the following criteria:
that you are eligible to take
that fit your schedule
that will fulfill your program requirements or allow you to progress
Include a note about exactly how many credits you are missing at what level (2nd, 3rd, or 4th year). You must use your Brock email account and include your full name and email address in the email.
**Note, this process is not a way to manage preferences, Kirsti will not offer overrides into specific courses based on preference, only based on need. You must register yourself for all available courses that have space and that you are eligible to take before asking Kirsti for overrides. ** I fail a course? Don’t panic! This is not an ideal situation, but it’s important to think about ways that you can recover instead of focusing on what has already happened. If the course is a required course you will have to re-do it. When you re-do a course, the grade you get the second time (either higher or lower) is the one we use to calculate your average. Both grades will continue to show up on your transcript but the first attempt will be marked ‘Duplicate’.
If the course is not required, you have the option to re-do it or you can take something else in its place. If you choose not to re-do the course we will use your failing grade when calculating your average. The only way to remove the failing grade from your average is to re-do the course.
Important: Students are limited to 2 attempts at a course - if you fail a required course twice you will not be allowed to continue in Psychology. If you are in danger of failing a required course for the second time you should drop it before the last day to withdraw.
I’m put on academic probation? Meet with your academic advisor to talk about what is going on for you academically. Your advisor may be able to help you figure out how to do things differently in the future to help you get back on track. Don’t worry, you aren’t the first person to be put on probation and you won’t be the last. The important thing is not to dwell on the past, but to look ahead to the future and make sure you do what you can to stay on track.
Students on academic probation must do the following to avoid suspension:
Pass all the courses they are registered in
Get at least 60% overall average in the courses they are registered in
And the following to be taken off of probation
Raise their overall average to at least 60%
I don’t meet the progression requirements for my probation? Students who do not meet the requirements outlined above will either be offered a spot in the BOOST program or they will be suspended for one calendar year. Contact the registrar’s office for more information about the BOOST program.
I fall behind in the number of credits I’m taking? If you don’t want to stay an extra year you will have to take Spring/Summer courses to catch up. It is important to remember that your registration date is based on the number of credits you have as of June 30, so if you are behind in credits you will register later than other students in your year (only D2 courses in the spring session will contribute to your credit count before June 30). This could potentially limit your options as the most popular courses might fill up before you have a chance to register. For this reason think carefully before allowing yourself to fall behind in the number of credits you are taking.
I am told I can no longer major in Psychology? If your psychology average falls below 60% you will be adjudicated out of the program. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you can never be a psychology major again! All you need to do is bring your Psychology average up to a minimum of 60%. How to accomplish this goal depends on many factors so be sure to seek academic advising right away to talk about the best course of action for you. Some students re-do courses to bring their average up while others may be able to accomplish this by continuing to register in new Psychology courses.
If you have earned 5.0 (or close to 5.0) PSYC credits you must be very careful about how you proceed. You should not take more PSYC courses to try to raise your average; instead you should only re-take courses with low grades and only if you are confident you will be able to raise your PSYC average to 60%. The reason for this is that students can only use 5 credits from any single discipline towards a General Studies Degree and if you aren’t able to achieve the required average to re-declare PSYC as your major, your only option will be to switch majors or switch into the General Studies program.
Keep in mind that once you have been adjudicated out of the program you will have to register in Psychology courses as a non-major, which means you will have to wait for the date for non-majors to register. Courses may fill up with majors before this date so you may not have your first choice of courses.