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Frequently Asked Questions
Q1:. Who are my academic advisors for Accounting and Financial Management (AFM)? Carol Treitz is the Undergraduate Studies Coordinator and Darren Charters is the Undergraduate Officer for the School of Accounting and Finance. They work together to provide counseling to AFM students. The assistance may range from answering basic questions to very hands-on assistance helping students deal with more challenging matters. In a professional program our goal in advising is to normally try and help students in such a way that they are trained to help themselves in the future. There is an old saying that says “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed them for a lifetime”. In that respect we really want to position you to help yourself, although we are sensitive to the fact that there are times when we need to provide very direct and hands-on assistance to, and for, students who are experiencing particularly challenging circumstances. Q2. If I have a question about the program who do I contact? Contact Carol Treitz, the School of Accounting and Finance’s Undergraduate Studies Coordinator. Her contact information is available at (http://www.saf.uwaterloo.ca/SAF/StaffList.html). She will answer questions for you or direct you as required to resolve your question. Generally, Professor Charters will get involved as necessary working in tandem with Carol. Q3. If I have a question about the MAcc or Diploma program who do I contact? Dave Vert is a faculty member in the SAF and is the Director of the MAcc and Diploma program. If you have specific questions pertaining to graduate studies (including admissions requirements) it is best to speak to him. Carol and Darren will answer your questions if possible- but it is common for them to direct a student to Dave for confirmation of their answer in any event. |
Q1. Can I take more than 5 courses in a term? Yes, it is possible. A sixth course must be approved by the undergraduate advisor in order for you to add it on Quest. Generally, we will evaluate whether we think a student can handle the workload without a negative impact on the obligation to meet the average requirements. We may also approve a sixth course if it is absolutely necessary to completing a degree requirement (and there is no other alternative course of action). Generally, we do not approve a sixth course for first year students. Q2. Can I take less than 5 courses in a term? Students are normally expected to take 5 courses a term. If a student finds themselves facing personal circumstances that make completing one or more courses impossible, they are to obtain approval from Carol/Darren to drop a course. Struggling with course content is normally not considered legitimate grounds for dropping a course. Q3. Can I take courses in the spring term following first year? Yes. The spring term after 1B is an off term for AFM students (the only off term in the program). Students can do whatever they want during this term including taking courses. However, the courses taken cannot be AFM courses. Further, students are still expected to take a 5 course load in subsequent terms. Please note- if you opt to take a course following your 1B term, you would be considered a 2A student and the higher course tuition for the AFM program will be charged. Q4. Where can I get tutorial assistance for a course? There are a variety of resources potentially available to you. The School has a tutorial pool available for first year required courses which runs Monday through Thursday. The Living Learning Community also provides a weekly tutorial open to all AFM students. You may also find there are resources in other faculties as well (e.g., the Math Faculty may provide a tutorial pool for math courses). Finally you could tap into your own contacts and student organizations (e.g. ASA) to canvas/advertise for volunteer and/or paid assistance. Generally, more supports are available at the entry level of the program as students are making major adjustments at that time. However, some of the options identified above are still present for upper year students seeking assistance. Q5. How do I challenge a grade I have received? Generally, while a course is in progress, your best option is to approach the instructor (or TA as appropriate) and see if you can resolve the issue. If you do not reach a satisfactory resolution during, or following, the course with the course instructor there are formal appeal options using available university procedures (Policy 70). You can contact the undergraduate advisor and receive further advice on how to proceed. Q6. What happens if I fail a course? If a student fails a course (less than 50%) then they must retake the course (or an equivalent approved by SAF) as they have yet to earn an academic credit for it. A failed course may be repeated only once. When a course is repeated, the two marks are not averaged together. Rather, both marks are entered with all other marks in calculating the student's cumulative overall average. A student repeating a course is then required to pick up 41 course attempts for the degree. Assuming that all other degree progress requirements are acceptable, a failed course does not prevent a student from proceeding in AFM. However, due to the structured nature of AFM it may take some communications with Carol/Darren to determine how to best address the course failure. In extreme situations it is possible for a course failure to delay your graduation- again due to the structured nature of the program. Q7. Can I retake a course I have already passed to bring up my average? The School does not normally approve retaking a course to bring up a student’s academic average. A passed course may not be repeated except under exceptional circumstances, and then only once and only under the following conditions: 1. If the student's academic advisor recommends the repetition, Only one of the two attempts will count for credit towards the degree. If consent is granted to retake a course, when a course is repeated, the two marks are not averaged together. Rather, both marks are entered with all other marks in calculating the student's cumulative overall average. If a student is unilaterally able to register for, and complete a previously passed course, the retake will not be considered in any academic standing decisions made by the School. Q8. I have experienced a personal emergency/situation which is impacting my ability to meet course obligations, what should I do? Generally speaking, you first want to identify if the impact of the situation is fairly limited (e.g., it will only impact a single assignment/test in a particular course(s)). If it is a very limited situation (e.g., getting sick before a test/exam) you can normally deal directly with the instructor or course administrator as appropriate. However, it is always good to contact Carol/Darren if the situation will involve an extended impact on your studies. We can then provide some advice on how to proceed and assist as necessary. An extended impact could be a situation where you will be unable to attend a number of classes (e.g., over a couple of weeks) and/or it is impacting your ability to complete a number of assignment/tests across multiple courses. An example of this might be a personal emergency that requires you to leave campus for a couple of weeks to deal with the situation and which, during that time, you would be completely unable to attend courses or address course completion matters. Q9. Do I have to take the courses I was pre-registered in? Yes you do have to take a course you are pre-registered in. If you have been pre-registered in a course it means you are expected to take the course in the term you have been registered for it. Q10. Can I change the section of a course I was pre-registered in? There may be some flexibility to move between sections after initial registration (during your enrollment appointment) but you should do some investigation of this beforehand. For example, are all the AFM students in a single section? Are the sections being taught by different instructors? Are the requirements different? Is there any coordination between sections? Frankly, convenience of schedule should not be your only consideration in making a section switch. We encourage you to remain in the section that you are pre-registered in although we recognize there may occasionally be good reasons to consider a switch to another section. Sometimes students indicate they do want to switch a section because they are worried about being able to get to the next class on time. Do not worry about back to back classes- 10 minutes is enough time to move between buildings on the main campus. Q11. Do I have to get my courses approved by an advisor? You are not required to get your courses approved by an AFM undergraduate advisor. However, you are certainly free to contact Carol about course selection questions you might have. Q12. How much freedom do I have to choose my remaining courses? Course sequence sheets are provided on the AFM website (http://www.saf.uwaterloo.ca/afm/DegreeRequirement.html) and students are strongly encouraged to take the courses identified in the terms identified. If you depart from this you do so at your own risk. In addition, you will need to identify certain courses to be taken towards degree requirements that do not appear on the sequence sheets. For example, we do not tell you how to complete the one course language/culture requirement that is part of the AFM degree, but you are expected to address this before graduation. This comment also applies to the Area of Interest requirement- we do not tell you how to complete it (although we do outline the parameters of it) but you are expected to address it before graduation. Once you ‘plug in’ all of the above, the typical student will have 4 completely free course elective choices included in the 40 courses taken during the AFM degree. This isn’t a lot of flexibility but does give you, on average, approximately one free elective course choice per year (although how you distribute these free choices is up to you). In addition to the course sequence sheets, degree checklist forms are also available on the AFM website which you may find helpful in planning your study schedule. Remember, you are ultimately responsible for knowing the AFM degree requirements, and meeting those degree requirements for graduation. The tools we provide are simply aids of assistance. |
Information regarding who writes/when can be found at: Q2. I failed the ELPE what should I do? Options for students who do not pass the ELPE can be found at: http://elpp.uwaterloo.ca/options.html. Please note that you are expected to have completed the ELPE requirement, or a suitable equivalent by the end of your 2B term. Failure to do this could potentially delay further degree progress until the milestone has been met. Q3. Can I change my co-op option from BF to CA or adjust my coop schedule while remaining in my co-op option? No. Changing your co-op option is not allowed. However, when you reach fourth-year, you will enjoy the flexibility of creating your own co-op work schedule , choosing between working 8 months at once, or working two separate four-month terms. You decide which works best for you and your employer. Q4. What is the area of interest requirement? Please note that the Area of Interest only exists for students of particular graduating years; all incoming students do not have this requirement. For any student who needs to discuss their Area of Interest, follow up with your undergraduate advisor. Q5. Can I do a minor or option along with my major? Yes you may. To apply for a minor, complete, and submit a Plan Modification Form available from the Registrar’s Office (also available online http://www.registrar.uwaterloo.ca/forms/PlanModification.pdf ). You would then need to meet the specific requirements of the minor/option. A few points to note:
Q6. Can I do a joint honours or double major? No you may not. Joint honours or double major plans must be university approved and appear in the undergraduate calendar. The AFM plan is a highly structure program typically leading towards a professional designation. As a result, we have not created, nor have any plans to create, joint honours or double major programs with other departments or faculties that can be completed at the same time the AFM degree is being completed. Q7. Can I have the SAF evaluate my degree progress? Yes- we are willing to assist you with this. However, we normally expect a student will already have taken the time to understand her/his degree requirements and is simply seeking a second perspective on progress to date. In most cases students will already have prepared some documentation that identifies their progress which we assist them with reviewing- they do not just show up asking for confirmation on what degree requirements are complete and what requirements remain outstanding. |
Q1. Am I allowed to complete my entire conditional first year in AFM even if my first term goes poorly? You will be allowed to complete your entire first year unless you become ineligible to continue in the Faculty of Arts. In such event, you are also ineligible to continue in AFM. You must have a minimum 60% cumulative average in your Arts faculty courses to be in good standing in the Faculty of Arts. If you are below this requirement following 1A you would be ineligible to proceed. Q2. What courses are considered part of calculating my cumulative major average to formally proceed into year 2 of AFM? AFM 101, 102, 131, ECON 101, 102, PSYCH 101, and MATH 109. If one or more of these courses do not need to be taken (e.g. AP transfer credits) the average is based on the remaining credits. NOTE: See above for answers to FAQ’s about course load matters- these are frequently asked by students in each year of the program including first year students. |
Q1. How do I maintain good standing in the Faculty of Arts and AFM? To be in satisfactory standing in Honours BAFM, a student must maintain:
See degree requirements in the Undergraduate Calendar. If one or more of these courses do not need to be taken (e.g.,AP transfer credits, or being excused from taking CS 100) the average is based on the remaining credits. Note: Failure to meet the minimum standing for the plan may result in a Must Change Academic Plan decision. Q2. When and how is an academic standing decision made? Once marks are declared official, (check the UW undergraduate calendar for the actual dates) the School of Accounting and Finance will receive a report on student standing. This report displays your official grades and your average for the previous term. We typically receive the grades a couple of weeks into the next term (e.g., Fall term grades get provided in mid-January). Our academic advisor will review every student’s grades and make decisions on whether a student will be eligible to continue in the program and promoted to the next level. Q3. What happens if you do not meet the minimum average requirement? If you are at 70 per cent cumulative major average or higher, you will not hear from us. If you are below the 70 per cent cumulative major average requirement, your file will be reviewed on an individual basis. The advisor will look at a variety of factors such as how close you were to the minimum average, what stage of the program you are in/your rank (i.e. 1B, 2A, 3B, etc), and what course(s) brought down your average, as well as other relevant considerations. If the academic advisor determines/feels there is a high probability that you will be able to return your academic average to 70% in the following term or improve your grades in the next term, you may be granted a conditional term. Q4. What is a conditional term? A conditional term is similar to being on probation. You will have one term to improve your overall marks and to bring your cumulative average above 70 per cent. If you are successful, you will continue to be promoted to your next rank (e.g. 3A to 3B). If you are unsuccessful, your situation is reviewed again at the end of the conditional term, but there is a strong likelihood you will be required to withdraw from the BAFM program. You will be automatically transferred into a four-year Honours Arts degree. At that time, you will be required to declare your preferred major. Please note: a conditional term is a discretionary decision made by the School- it is not an automatic right for a student. It is not uncommon for a student to be given a probationary term if he/she drops below the required average but there are also situations where it has not been made available to a student. Although it is a discretionary decision the School strives to be consistent in the exercise of the discretion. Q5. What if I think I might have dropped my average below 70 per cent? If you think that you are in jeopardy of being removed from the program, please start considering your options immediately. If you are returning for an academic term of study in the near future, keep in mind that classes fill up quickly. If you are interested in the Arts and Business program, please contact Susan Andrews - sandrews@uwaterloo.ca. If you are interested in the Economics program, please contact Karen Nofer - knofer@uwaterloo.ca. For most other Arts academic plans you can contact Eric Breugst- ebreugst@uwaterloo.ca. You should research the program in which you are interested in transferring to, and figure out which courses can be counted towards the new degree. If you have any questions, please contact the advisor of the academic program you are interested in transferring into. Be honest with yourself in assessing your situation. We encourage you to contact Carol/Darren if you are not sure how to proceed. If you want to stay in AFM and are awarded a conditional term, it is imperative you identify what has impacted your performance and make the changes necessary to try and effect a positive result. Good intentions without practical change rarely get the desired result. To this end, we may even direct you to resources that we think you should be utilizing with the expectation that you will do so. Although this only applies to a small minority of students, if the AFM program is not a good personal fit for you- do the research necessary and make the appropriate decision to get into a program of study that you find rewarding. You only jeopardize your future academic options by staying in a program in which you are performing poorly. |
