Update from Dean Woodin for A&S undergraduate students: Summer Session

April 9, 2020 by A&S News

Dear A&S Undergraduate Students,

I hope you’ve had a good week under the circumstances and are doing well since my last message. As the winter term is coming to an end, I wanted to provide you with an update on the summer session.

  • Summer course load: Typically, the maximum number of credits a student can take in the Summer (F/S/Y) is 2.0 FCE, with no more than 1.0 per term. I recognize that you may be looking for more flexibility on this limit given the current situation. If you are interested in taking more than the stated maximum course load, please contact your College Registrar’s Office. An advisor will assess your academic situation and goals, and determine whether enrolling in the additional credits is advisable.
  • Summer session exams and assessments: As my office has communicated previously, summer courses will be offered remotely. The typical summer Final Examination Periods will be replaced by Final Assessment Periods, which means that there will not be classes scheduled during this time. Final assessments will follow the same academic policies as term work (e.g. tests and assignments). 
  • Synchronous and Asynchronous Courses: Some summer courses will be held in real-time (synchronous), which means you need to be available with Internet access during the posted course times to be virtually present for lectures, discussions, or other class activities. Other courses, however, will be asynchronous, meaning that you’ll be able to learn the material (e.g., watch recorded lectures, participate in class discussion groups) and complete the assessments for the course at other times that might be more flexible to suit your personal schedule. You’ll be able to find information about this and any new courses available on the A&S Timetable once course offerings are finalized.

Finally, I want to emphasize that ensuring you have access to quality online courses is a major priority in my office. To support you, we are bringing together faculty members with demonstrated online teaching expertise. The goal of this initiative is to ensure that all instructors have access to teaching tools and knowledge of the best practices in online education to support your learning and provide a rich student experience. I will continue to bring you updates when new information is available and please remember to keep checking the FAQs for general updates on academic procedures.

For those of you celebrating Passover or Easter I send you my best wishes, and to all I wish you a safe and peaceful weekend.

Dean Woodin

Melanie A. Woodin
Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science
Professor, Department of Cell & Systems Biology
University of Toronto

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