Academic schedule scenarios 3 and 4 approved by Senate
On November 17, Senate Executive on behalf of Senate, the academic governing body of the university, met and approved several motions related to the academic schedule as a result of the strike. As the strike continues, there will be significant changes required to the academic schedule to maintain the integrity of our courses and programs, and to ensure requirements for accreditation. The modifications to the academic schedule depend on the length of the strike.
In all scenarios, there will be no classes or exams held during the University closure that is scheduled for December 24, 2021, through January 4, 2022. For details on all scenarios, including the previously announced scenarios 1 and 2, visit umanitoba.ca/strike-information.
Academic schedule modifications
Senate Executive approved two further potential scenarios.
Scenario 3 [Return to teaching between November 24 and November 30]:
- The last instructional day of fall term, December 10, 2021 remains unchanged for continuing classes.
- Interrupted classes will have instructional days up until the start of the winter break on December 24, 2022. Classes will resume January 5, 2022, and the last instructional day will be January 12, 2022.
- The voluntary withdrawal (VW) date will move to December 10, 2021 for all classes, continuing and interrupted.
- The original exam period, December 11 to 23, 2021, will continue as is for continuing courses that are not disrupted by the strike.
- The dates of the alternate exam period will be January 14 to 16, 2022, inclusive. All courses interrupted by the strike will have their exams rescheduled to occur during this alternate period.
- The final grade appeal deadline will be moved to February 4, 2022, for all classes, continuing and interrupted.
- Winter Term 2022 as previously scheduled remains unchanged.
Scenario 4 [Return to teaching between December 1 and December 7]
The last instructional day of fall term, December 10, 2021 remains unchanged for continuing classes.
- Interrupted classes will have instructional days up until the start of the winter break on December 24, 2022. Classes will resume January 5, 2022, and the last instructional day will be January 19, 2022.
- The voluntary withdrawal (VW) date will move to December 10, 2021 for continuing classes, and December 21, 2021 for interrupted classes.
- The original exam period, December 11 to 23, 2021, will continue as is for continuing courses that are not disrupted by the strike.
- The dates of the alternate exam period will be January 21 to 23, 2022, inclusive. All courses interrupted by the strike will have their exams re-scheduled to occur during this alternate period.
- The final grade appeal deadline will be moved to February 11, 2022, for all classes, continuing and interrupted.
- The start of Winter Term 2022 will be January 24, 2022, and the last instructional day would be April 20.
- The Winter Term break (Reading Week) would be reduced from a four-day break (February 22-25) to a one-day break (February 22). The winter term exam period (April 21-May 1, 2022) would proceed as scheduled to prevent delays in the start of the Summer Term 2022 and to minimize the impact on graduation and on admission and registration timelines for the Fall Term 2022.
Note: To maintain the number of instructional days and instructional contact hours, it is necessary to capture additional days within the calendar. This was accomplished, in part, by reducing the winter term break (Reading Week) to an extended long weekend. This is not ideal, but the alternative of extending the end of the winter term further into May creates many more significant issues: it would jeopardize students’ ability to graduate on time; it would impact students’ ability to complete courses on time that are required to meet application deadlines for advanced entry, after degree, or graduate programs including those at institutions other than UM; and it would impact summer employment commitments for students who rely on summer income to pay for their education.
- The VW date is to be moved to February 4, 2022 for fall/winter term spanned courses and to April 1, 2022 for winter term courses.
Please note that slight modifications may be required for all scenarios. Full details about the academic schedule changes, including a detailed breakdown of the dates for all possible scenarios, and changes to deadlines for graduate students can be found here.
While the Voluntary Withdrawal date changes in both scenarios, it is not the only course of action for students looking to withdraw from a course. Students may also request an Authorized Withdrawal.
We understand that the delays due to the strike will impact graduate students and these will vary across students depending on their courses, program or the nature of the research. We will work with students who are delayed in their programs on a case-by-case basis to accommodate to the best of our ability.
Please keep in mind that we are still within the dates for the Scenario 2 options to changes of the academic schedule. We are all hopeful that the strike will end as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience and adaptability during this time. I encourage you to visit the strike website for answers to many frequently asked questions. For any other questions you may have related to the strike, please email strikeum@umanitoba.ca.