Faculty Policies and Regulations

1999 - 2000 Calendar

The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science may be obliged to make changes to the curricula, program descriptions, and course descriptions in this Calendar. In that case, the corrections will appear in the Minutes of the Faculty Board. In the event of discrepancies between statements that appear on the Faculty Web Sites and the corresponding statements in this Calendar and the Faculty Board Minutes, the latter versions will apply.

Faculty Policies

The following policies and regulations apply to all students registered in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

The Faculty intends its students to have as much opportunity as possible to develop their individual interests and abilities. Its regulations, degree programs and fields of study have been developed with this goal in mind. The programs, curricula and courses of study are, however, constrained by many factors including accreditation requirements, timetabling, physical facilities, number of staff and the interests of faculty members. The current offerings have been designed in the light of experience and of these restrictions to provide a sufficiently diverse selection to satisfy the interests of most students. However, some students may have valid reasons for seeking variations from the prescribed programs and the regulations include provision for doing so (see Regulation 2d). In all instances, however, students must obtain approval of their program by the department in which they are registered (see Regulations 2a and 2b).

Student Responsibility with Respect to Program and Registration

Students are responsible for ensuring that their course registrations are accurate and complete, and that the courses in which they register meet the requirements for graduation. Course prerequisites and any restrictions on enrolment should be noted carefully prior to registration. The Chair of Undergraduate Studies for the program, or the year advisors in the department, should be consulted whenever requirements are not fully understood.

Calculators in Examinations

There are strict rules limiting the capacity of calculators used in examinations. In Applied Science, all communicating calculators are banned. Approval of all other calculators for examination purposes must be obtained from the Microcomputer Resource Centre in Jackson Hall. Computers with substantial storage capacity will be marked with a red sticker. All others will be given a gold sticker. On most examinations, only gold stickers are permitted. The instructor in the class will advise the students which class of sticker will be permitted in an exam.

The examination Proctors will also be told which class of calculator is to be permitted. Students bringing unauthorized or unmarked calculators into an examination may be charged with academic dishonesty.

Faculty Regulations

1. Registration

1. A student must register within seven days of the registration day established for the Faculty, unless granted permission by the Dean to delay registration.
   
   
2. A student may change registration from one program to another only within the first two weeks of the commencement of a term and with the approval of the Dean and the Department Heads concerned.
   
   
3. A student may add a course to his or her program only within the first two weeks of classes in the course and with the approval of the department in which the student is registered, the Dean, and the course instructor.
   
   
4. A student may withdraw voluntarily from a fall term course or a winter term course within the first eight weeks of the term and from a sessional length course prior to the second week of the winter term. Withdrawal requires the approval of the department in which the student is registered, and of the Dean.
   
   
5. A student may add an Extended Program offering of a Fall Term course, or apply to rewrite a Fall Term examination, only within the first three weeks after the commencement of Winter Term and may drop such a course only within the first four weeks after the commencement of Winter Term. A student may add an Extended Program offering of a Winter Term course only within the first nine weeks after the commencement of Winter Term and may drop such a course only before the end of regular Winter Term classes.
   
   
6. A student who is not registered in the Extended Program may register to rewrite the second term examinations of the first year only within the first two weeks of the Spring Term and he or she may cancel this registration, without academic penalty only within the first three weeks of the Spring Term.

2. Programs of Study

1. Students in the First Year must obtain written approval of their sessional programs from the Dean.
   
   
2. After the First Year students must obtain written approval of their sessional programs from their departments.
   
   
3. A sessional program shall consist of a selection of courses listed in the Calendar for the program in which the student registers.
   
   
4. Under special circumstances, and timetable permitting, exemptions or substitutions may be granted by the Faculty Board. Applications must be made to the Office of the Dean.
   
5. A student in the First Year program who fails to achieve 50 percent in any prerequisite course of the First Term may join the Extended Program or may continue in the Regular Program providing he or she registers to rewrite the examinations in the failed course at the next examination period. A First Year student in the Regular Program who fails to achieve 50 percent in any of the courses of the Second Term, which are prerequisite for the second year, may register to rewrite the examination in the failed courses at the next examination period providing the student"s sessional average is at least 50 percent (see Regulation 10).
   
   
6. A student may register for any session after the first only if a Sessional Average for the previous session of 50 percent or more has been attained.
   
   
7. A student in the First Year program who has not passed all the courses of the first year which are specified as prerequisite to any course in the chosen upper year program must, during the next session, follow a special sessional program to be arranged by the Chair of Undergraduate Studies of the chosen department. This program shall include all those prerequisite courses which the student did not pass and the total course load for this session may not exceed the normal sessional load. During this session the student shall be designated as a probationary second year student and must pass all prerequisite courses during the session or he or she will be required to withdraw and be deemed to have failed the year.
   
   
8. A student whose Cumulative Average at the end of a session is less than 55 percent shall be required during the next session to follow a special program that is specified by the department in which she or he is registered. The program shall include those core courses in which a mark of less than 55 percent was obtained in the previous session. The total course load for this session may not exceed a normal sessional course load.
   
   
9. A student will normally be considered to have satisfied prerequisites other than those specified in Regulation 2(g) by passing courses which are designated as prerequisites in the Calendar of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.
   
   
10. A student who is required to repeat a course for higher standing normally may not register concurrently in any course which presents a timetable conflict with the repeated course.

3. Course Weighting

1. Each course described in the Calendar of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science is assigned a weight of 1 accreditation unit for each hour of lecture per term and one-half unit for each hour of laboratory or tutorial per term. (This regulation is applicable to students admitted to the Faculty for the 1997/98 session and subsequent sessions. Students admitted prior to the 1997/98 session will be subject to the regulation in effect at the time of their admission).
   
   
2. At the time of registration, a student may elect to assign a weight of "0" to a course. The course must be in addition to the student"s required program. The student must obtain the approval of his or her department to register for the additional course. For scholarship purposes, such a course will not be considered a part of the student"s program; however, performance in the course will be recorded on the student"s transcript.

4. Standing in a Course

1. The passing mark in all courses is 50 percent. The basis upon which the final mark is assigned, including the weight given to term work, is made available to students by the instructor at the beginning of the course.
   
   
2. A final mark of "IN" (Incomplete) will be recorded for a course if a student is unable to write the final examination or to submit a required report or essay because of illness or other extenuating circumstances. In every case of the submission of a mark of "IN" by a department, supporting documents, approved by the head of the department concerned, must be submitted to the Faculty Board for acceptance. In such cases, the course for which a mark of "IN" has been submitted will be excluded when calculating the Sessional and Cumulative Averages of the student concerned. The "IN" status of the course must be changed at the earliest possible opportunity and no later than the date set by Faculty Board.
   
   
3. A student, with the permission of the instructor, may register (in accord with Regulations 1 and 2) to repeat any course or to re-write any examination at the next scheduled offering of the course or the examination.
   
   
4. A final mark of "NW" (Not Written) will be recorded for a course if a student does not write the final examination or fails to submit a mandatory report or essay and if the student is not eligible for special consideration under Regulation 4(c). When a mark of "NW" has been submitted for a course, the averages for the student concerned will be calculated using a mark of 0 percent.

5. Conduct and Attendance

1. A student may, for any form of academic dishonesty, or misconduct in an academic setting, incur penalties up to and including the requirement to withdraw under Regulation 11d.
   
   
2. A student whose attendance or academic performance in the class or laboratory work of a course is unsatisfactory will be considered to have failed the course, and shall not write the final examination in the course.
   
   
3. Exemption from 5b, whether claimed on grounds of illness or for any other cause, will be considered only upon application to the Faculty Board.
   
4. A student must report illness or other extenuating circumstances to the Dean not later than 48 hours after returning to classes.

6. Examinations

1. No candidate will be admitted to an examination hall later than thirty minutes after the beginning of an examination and no one will be allowed to leave within thirty minutes after the distribution of examination papers.
   
2. No articles such as textbooks, notes, books of tables, data sheets, graphs, paper, written material, handbags, book bags and so on may be taken into the examination hall unless authorized by printed instructions on the examination paper.
   
3. A candidate who has communicated dishonestly with another candidate in any way, or who has in his or her possession in the examination room an unauthorized book, paper or other thing with intent to use it dishonestly may be required by the Senate to forfeit the year or to withdraw from the University. Dishonesty is presumed from the fact of communication or possession unless an innocent explanation is obvious or is established by the candidate.
   
   

7. Requirements for Graduation

To qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in engineering, in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, a student must, at the end of not more than six sessions (not necessarily consecutive):

1. have passed all the courses required in the First Year program;
   
   
2. have passed all courses required by the department in which she or he is registered;
   
3. have passed courses whose weights total not less than the minimum required by the department in which he or she is registered and each course may be counted only once;
   
   
4. have achieved a Cumulative Average of 55 percent or more;
   
   
5. have attended field and technical excursions required by the department in which he or she is registered.
   
   

8. Scholarship

To be eligible for scholarship awards, a student must take in one session all the courses, including electives, prescribed for the year of the program in which he or she is registered. An exception will be made if any of these courses have been completed previously with a mark of 55 percent or higher. In that event other courses of equivalent total weight and approved by the Faculty Board for scholarship purposes must be added to the student"s program. Substitutions granted under Regulation 2d are also acceptable but "0" weight courses as defined in Regulation 3b will not be counted towards scholarship awards.

9. Graduation with Honours Standing

A student will be granted the status of graduation "with Second Class Honours" if, upon graduation, she or he has attained either a Cumulative Average or an Honours Average of 65 percent or more. A student will be granted the status of graduation "with First Class Honours" if, upon graduation, she or he has attained either a Cumulative Average or an Honours Average of 80 percent or more.

10. Failure of Year

A student whose Sessional Average is less than 50 percent has failed the year and must withdraw.

11. Withdrawal

1. A student withdrawing voluntarily not later than 31 January is not considered to have failed the year.
   
   
2. A student withdrawing voluntarily after 31 January is considered to have failed the year.
   
3. The Faculty Board may, at any time, require a student whose attendance or work is deemed unsatisfactory, to withdraw.
   
   
4. The Faculty Committee on Non-Academic Discipline may require a student to withdraw from the Faculty or it may recommend to Senate dismissal from the University because of misconduct in an academic setting.
   
   
5. A student who withdraws for any reason, or stays out for a year, is not automatically assured of readmission to the Faculty, but must apply for readmission.

12. Readmission

1. A student applying for readmission after a failed year must present evidence that he or she is likely to succeed in completing the degree in the program for which readmission is sought. The student shall not be readmitted unless the Faculty Board is satisfied that this evidence, together with the student"s academic record at Queen's, indicates probable success in completing the degree, and that space is available in the requested program. A failed year or a withdrawal from a program in engineering at another university will be treated as if it had occurred at Queen's University.
   
   
2. A student readmitted after a failed year will be required to follow a special program approved by the department in which he or she registers. During the first year of registration following a failed year the total unit weight of courses in the student"s program shall not exceed that of the regular program of the failed year. This program will normally include all the core courses in which the student achieved less than 55 percent during the failed year, or their current equivalents, together with any courses chosen by the student for which the instructors consider him or her qualified and which are permitted by the timetable.

13. Review and Rereading of Examination Papers

A student who wishes to have a paper reread must make written application to the Dean within four weeks of the mailing of the results. The application is to be accompanied by the rereading fee. It shall be the responsibility of the student to provide a mailing address to the Faculty Office that will permit receipt of the results in time to meet this requirement. Failure to do so will not be basis for reconsideration of the deadline. (The attention of students is directed to the Senate Policy on Student Access to Final Examinations and to Regulation 14b regarding the deadline for applying to write a supplemental examination).

14. Supplemental Examinations

1. A student having a Sessional Average of 50 percent or higher and a Cumulative Average of 55 percent or higher may be permitted to write a supplemental examination in a failed upper year course offered in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science in which the final mark is 40 percent to 49 percent. Supplemental examinations will be held at Queen's University in September. The privilege of writing these supplemental examinations will be confined to the September following the session in which the failure occurred, and limited to a maximum of three examinations in the student"s degree program, with no more than two in any calendar year.
   
   
2. A student requesting permission to write a supplemental examination must apply in writing to the Dean of Applied Science by June 15 of the session in which the failure occurred. A student may cancel a request for a supplemental examination and the examination fee will be refunded if written notice of the cancellation is received by the Dean of Applied Science by 15 August of the session in which the failure occurred.
   
   
3. The grade obtained on a supplemental examination will be substituted for that of the previous final examination in producing the final mark for the course. A student failing to write a supplemental examination for which he or she is registered and who has not cancelled his or her registration by 15 August will be awarded a final mark of "NW". The final mark for a course which is based on a supplemental examination will be included in the Cumulative Average for the next session and in the Graduation Average. It will not be included in the Sessional or Honours Averages. If the final mark is "NW", the Cumulative and Graduation Averages will be calculated using a mark of 0 percent.
   
   
4. Supplemental examinations will not be reread.

15. Written English Proficiency

1. A student must, within four weeks of first registration, take a written English proficiency test as specified for students registered in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.
   
   
2. A student who does not pass the written English proficiency test on the initial attempt will have further opportunities, and must complete the test successfully, or achieve a grade of 80% in ELSA 130, or a more advanced level course, as approved by the Associate Dean (First Year), before being permitted to register in the core technical writing course for his or her program. This prerequisite can be waived only with the approval of the Academic Progress Committee and with the support of the Associate Dean (First Year) and the Department.
   
   
3. The result for the test shall be recorded in the term in which the test, or equivalent, is offered, either "pass" or "fail" or "not written" or "passed with substitution of ELSA 130 or equivalent"; only the most recent result shall be recorded and it shall not be included in any of the weighted averages.
   
   

16. Averages

1. The weighted averages used in determining a student"s standing are, in all cases, calculated by multiplying the percentage mark obtained in each course, taken in the period considered, by the weight of the course in units (see Regulation 3a), summing the products so obtained for all the courses and dividing the sum, so obtained, by the sum of the weight in units of all courses taken. Each course is only counted once in calculating any of the weighted averages. When, during the period considered, a course or a course examination is repeated or replaced by a substitution approved by the Faculty Board, for reasons of failure or any other reasons, only the most recently obtained mark will be used in calculating the weighted average.
   
2. The Sessional Average is based on all courses taken by a student at Queen's University in a given session while registered in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. Results obtained in any field schools taken outside a regular session to meet a departmental requirement will be included in the Sessional Average for the session following the period in which the field school was attended.
   
   
3. The Cumulative Average is based on all courses taken at Queen's University while registered in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, with the exception of any courses taken outside a session. Results obtained in any field school taken outside a regular session will be included in the Cumulative Average.
   
   
4. The Graduation Average is based on all courses taken at Queen's University while registered in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, with the exception of any courses taken outside a session and with the exception of courses taken to meet the requirements of the First Year Curriculum.
   
   
5. The Honours Average is based on all the courses prescribed for the Third and Fourth Years of the degree program in which the student is registered. All core courses and all elective courses, including any substitutions approved by the Faculty Board under Regulation 2d, are included in this average. In order to generate a Honours Average, a student must complete all of these courses, including approved substitutions, in the last two sessions of her or his program. If any of these courses has been passed previously with a mark of 55 percent or higher, or if exemptions have been granted under Regulation 2d, then, in order to generate a Honours Average, a student must add to his or her program courses, which have been approved by the Faculty Board for the purpose of generating a Honours Average, whose total weight is at least equal to that of the courses previously passed, or for which exemptions have been granted.