Computing Science Undergraduates

Absolutely. In general, you should finish the first year sequence of the program you start. When considering changing, it’s usually best to see and advisor.

You should read the SFU Calendar and work through your program checklist (Link to CS Forms Page). Specific questions about which courses to choose can be answered by Applied Sciences advisors.

All students at SFU must complete certain requirements. Check the requirements here.

Students who are above an overall GPA (CGPA) of 2.4 (C+) are considered to be doing well in their program. You are considered to be having academic difficulty if:

• Your CGPA is below 2.4.
• You have reached the maximum of 5 repeated courses over your degree.
• You have failed 2 attempts of a required course.

When you are in academic difficulty, your enrolment choices might be limited, and you are often required to meet with an advisor and present a plan for how you will ensure your success in the courses you have selected.

For example, students with a CGPA below 2.4 must have advisor approval to enroll in 200-400 level courses in Computing Science. If you are in severe academic difficulty, with a GPA below 2.0 in a semester or overall, or have taken 4 or more course repeats, you are potentially at risk of failing out of the program and should definitely see an advisor to learn about possible resources for students in academic difficulty.

Computing Science is a difficult and rigorous program, many students find they have difficulty along the way. Ensure you are attending classes, asking questions in your professor’s office hours and seeking help from your peers in class. You can also visit an academic advisor for help.

There are also a number of resources at the Student Learning Commons in the Library. Student can also seek additional help from CS Peer Tutors or science/math peer tutors - see resources page for more details. 

Yes. In some cases, permission is granted by the Associate Dean of the Faculty in which you are enrolled to repeat more than 5 courses. If you are in this situation, you are in danger of failing out of your program and you must see an advisor in person as soon as possible. The student system may allow you to enroll in repeated courses. This does not mean that you are approved and you may find that there are consequences for ignoring this rule up to and including an inability to graduate from a program that you have otherwise completed.

You will need to get permission from the department that offers the course and usually the program in which you are enrolled. This usually starts with seeing the advisor for that department. Needing to take a third attempt at a course is a good sign you should talk to an Applied Sciences advisor about what you could be doing to do better in your courses. See forms page for duplication appeal request process.

Note that there are many approaches in place to ensure that the grades professors give students are fair and generally consistent across students and multiple offerings of the same course. To be successful, a student appealing a grade usually requires clear evidence of a mistake or miscalculation. Begin with speaking to your professor about your grade, in particular, ask about why the grade was what it was, what an example of work to the grade level you had hoped would look like, and how you could improve in the future. If you feel that the professor’s explanation is not in line with the work you did, you may ask them about re-evaluation. If the professor is not open to re-evaluation, you may follow the procedure at:

https://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/teaching/t20-01.html

We encourage you to first see the SFU Ombudsperson to see if they believe your case is a good one:

https://www.sfu.ca/ombudsperson.html

Following your discussion with the professor and the ombudsperson, CS students appeal a grade to the Chair by submitting a CS Appeal Form

You may do this following a pre-requisite waiver form, available here.

In most cases, admissions appeals are not successful. If you are a current SFU student seeking a transfer, you should see an advisor. If you are not yet an SFU student, you should see:

http://www.sfu.ca/students/appeals/admission.html

Note that there are usually many opportunities in the course of one’s education to be admitted to the program and several pathways designed for people with different profiles. In general, people who have demonstrated they are likely to be successful in the program are able to gain admission. We recommend talking to an Applied Sciences advisor if you would like to explore how to be admitted in the future.

First, review and draft your letter explaining your rationale for additional repeats. Fill in the course duplication appeal form - found here. 

Then speak with a FAS advisor – bring your draft, your transcript, and student ID. They will advise you about the process and then you may submit the form for consideration.

In some cases, degree requirements can be waived when a student makes the case that their circumstance is exceptional. You can make a case using the CS appeal. It is best to consult an advisor with a draft of your appeal and the documentation you have to support your case first.

If your complaint is about something happening in a course, or about a TA, you should speak in person with the professor for the course during their office hours.

If your complaint is about a professor in a course, you should contact the undergraduate program director.

If your complaint is about advising services, you may email the Manager of Student Affairs for the Faculty of Applied Sciences

If you are not sure about about who should receive a complaint you would like to make, you should contact the Manager of Academic and Administrative Services