Message from the VPAR to Students: Updates on Return-to-Class Information

The following message was emailed to UPEI students to their UPEI email accounts on April 20, 2023, on behalf of the Office of the Vice-President Academic and Research.

Dear Students, 

The University administration has been in communication with the UPEI Student Union leadership and has received many emails and questions from students, including those who organized the student rally on Monday. We appreciate your feedback and the challenges some students are experiencing in the return to class. 

The University Senate, which includes student representation, had a productive and student-centered conversation last Friday when finalizing the return-to-class plan following the faculty strike. The plan included:  

• eliminating the formal examination period so that faculty would have discretion in determining the remaining assessment and teaching processes for the semester.  
   
• maintaining the end date of the semester as April 28, 2023 (with the exception of the Atlantic Veterinary College, where it can be extended virtually if needed to May 5, 2023). 

• offering a pass/fail alternative grade option for most courses after numerical grades are given, for which the process has now been established by the Registrar’s Office and is available until May 8, 2023. Read more here 

  We encourage students to consider this option very carefully as it may impact access to a future course or program, and to contact their Dean, Chair, or the Academic Advising team (studentserv@upei.ca) if they have questions. 

• making no changes to Convocation dates.  
   
• instructors making every reasonable effort to accommodate the needs of individual students as related to issues that have arisen from the labour action for the remainder of the academic year.  

If you believe you are not being reasonably accommodated, we ask that you reach out to your instructor directly to express your concerns. If you have exhausted this avenue, please contact the Chair of the department or the Dean of your faculty. 

Another common question we have received is about the University’s commitment to crediting students with a student impact payment using the net savings that occurred from not paying faculty salaries during the strike. We hope to have the impact payment determined and processed next week and will credit students’ accounts. Students may leave the payment in their student account for use in a future semester or request a cheque from their student account through the myUPEI portal (details about how to do this will be provided when payments are ready). For those requesting a cheque payment, they will be able to either (1) provide a Canadian mailing address for it to be mailed, or (2) pick it up from the Student Financial Accounts office in Dalton Hall. 

We know this continues to be a stressful time for students and we remain focused on student support. UPEI has a number of resources for students through UPEI Student Affairs, including academic advising and personal counselling (studentserv@upei.ca), and the International Student Office (irostu@upei.ca).  

Sincerely, 

Greg F. Naterer, PhD, P.Eng.
Vice-President, Academic and Research
University of Prince Edward Island