C- rule passes without objections

The Engineering and Computer Science program has just become more challenging.

As of Fall 2012, students will have to obtain at least a C- average in their courses before moving on to the next level.

The C- rule applies to all 200-level courses that are pre-requisites to other courses. If students do not obtain the minimum grade, they will need to repeat the class before taking the higher-level class that follows it.

The purpose of the rule, the faculty says, is to help students in their studies. Retaking the classes they completed poorly will prevent them from ending up in conditional or failed standing later on. The faculty also hopes the changes will lead to better grades and prepare students for higher-level courses.

Student representative to Senate Chuck Wilson, an engineering student, voted in favour of the motion. “You really do need a good foundational knowledge if you are going to go through the rest of your degree,” Wilson said. “Your education really just builds on top of what you’ve done before that.”

The motion was passed fairly quickly and without any objections. After the vote, however, Senator Wilson brought up a few concerns. One related to the availability of courses in a term. “The courses that follow those 200-level courses aren’t necessarily offered every term,” Wilson said. “So while those courses, for which the rule would apply, are offered frequently, that doesn’t necessarily mean that having to retake those courses wont effect your ability to graduate on time.”

Once the issue was raised, Senate recognized the problem and promised to try and offer the courses as often as possible. Senate also said that it would make sure to inform students of the changes. It promised to include the new rule into the academic calendar.

Esther Viragh, CJLO News