Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) Procedures for Dealing with Student Requests

A. What kind and in what form student requests reach ECE Student Advisors

1. ECE Student Advisors deal with requests from 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th year students in the Electrical Engineering Program or Computer Engineering Program as well as requests related to courses with ELEC and CENG prefixes, and SENG courses offered by the ECE department. Requests from 1^st year students are usually submitted to the Engineering Undergraduate Office (EUO). Students requesting program modifications that involve prerequisite waivers must submit both the modified program and the relevant waiver forms. If the request involves scheduling work terms after the last academic term, the request may require concurrence from the CO-OP Office. Prerequisite waiver for courses designated as ELEC, CENG, or certain SENG courses offered by the Department, must be accompanied by academic justification of the request together with a Program Modification Form. Prerequisite waiver requests that are subject to the completion of a supplemental exam will not be accepted by the department.
2. The EUO administers Deferred Exams granted by the Registrar, and Supplemental Exams granted by the Associate Dean or by the Student Programs Committee. The exam papers are supplied by the ECE Office to the EUO. A Deferred exam is provided to the EUO shortly after exams have been graded provided the student was absent from the exam with good cause. Supplemental exam is provided to the EUO usually at the beginning of the next academic term provided the student received an E grade for the exam. Once completed, these exam papers are returned by the EUO, together with a Grade Change Form, to the ECE Office for distribution amongst instructors for grading. Each exam paper is clearly identified as Deferred or Supplemental, with instructions on how to calculate the final grade for each type of exam. The instructor then submits the Grade Change Form to the ECE Chair.
3. Requests for credits for courses with ELEC and CENG prefixes are submitted to the EUO. They are checked for compliance with the required documentation (cf: Faculty Policy for Course or Work Credits in Bachelor of Engineering Degree Programs dated October 12, 1999), and passed to the ECE Chair. Courses with SENG prefixes are dealt with by the home department of the instructor (ECE or CSC).

B. How the requests are dealt with within the ECE Department

ECE Student Advisors will assure that all relevant documentation and data (such as student transcript, status, GPA) are in place and will pass the requests with her/his comments to the relevant Program Director for his/her recommendation to the ECE Chair. The Chair can accept, accept with certain modifications or conditions, or to reject the request. The Chair's decision is then forwarded to the Student Programs Committee for approval. Certain steps, such as student course registration or deregistration will be done by the Departmental Administrative Officer.

1. Program modification requests. Normally, the Department will approve requests for program modifications that satisfy the pre-requisites.
2. Prerequisites waiver requests. Prerequisites will normally be enforced unless a student has a GPA equal to, or more than 6 (that is, B+), and can document familiarity with the material. Student opinion about his or her knowledge is not considered documented familiarity. Scheduling convenience will not be considered a valid argument. Prerequisite waiver requests that are subject to the completion of a supplemental exam will not be accepted by the Department.
3. Request for transfer credit for courses taken outside UVic. Transfer credit requests for courses with ELEC, CENG prefixes, and SENG courses offered by the ECE department, are made to the EUO and evaluated by the Department. Once evaluated, recommendations are made to the EUO. Credits are awarded on an individual basis in accordance with the Faculty Policy for Course or Work Credits in Bachelor of Engineering Degree Programs dated October 12, 1999. Normally, credit requests for courses from accredited programs offering similar courses, completed within the last three years with grade B (or equivalent), or better, will be granted. Normally, credits for courses taken at non-accredited programs will not be granted.
4. Requests to take courses from an outside institution. Transfer credit requests for courses with ELEC, CENG prefixes, and SENG courses offered by the ECE department, are made to the Department. Students must fill out the Transfer Credit Referral Form and submit it to the student advisors. A detailed course outline and syllabus must accompany the form for credit evaluation. Only courses from an Accredited Canadian Engineering program will be considered. If evaluation is successful, a recommendation is forwarded to the EUO who will issue the a letter of permission. The letter of permission allows the student to take the course at the outside institution. Upon completion of the course, the student has to request the outside institution to forward the course transcript to UVic so the credit can be added to the student's program.