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In addition to the comprehensive Student Guide produced annually by Ryerson University, the Department of Politics and Public Administration has created this Student Handbook to assist students enrolled in the Politics and Governance undergraduate program.
– A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L– M – N –
- O – P– Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z –
Students should also consult the web-site of the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) for additional helpful information.
A
Academic Advising:
- A division of the Registrariat, the Curriculum Advising Office provides academic advice and service to all students about minors, graduation, transcripts, transfer credits, challenge credits, letters of permission and more.
- Advice is also available from the program (Politics and Governance)
Academic Council/Senate:
The University body responsible for the creation and update of academic policies was, until 2007, known as “Academic Council.” It is now the Senate.
Academic Integrity:
Institutions of higher education are dedicated to the pursuit of truth. The pursuit of truth is grounded in certain core values, including diligence, civility, and honesty. All students, faculty and staff must maintain the highest standards of academic integrity.
Under the auspices of the Senate, the University has an Academic Integrity Officer, and maintains an Academic Integrity web-site to provide information to the University community.
Academic Standing:
When the grades are tabulated at the end of each semester, every student has an academic standing.
Admission:
Undergraduate Admissions & Recruitment deals with requirements, processes and advice for all programs at Ryerson.
Advisory Council:
Appeals (see “Forms – Appeals” and “Policies – Appeals”)
Assignments
- In order to avoid the loss of assignments, it is best to submit all assignments directly to your instructor. If that is not possible, use the locked and secure drop-off box that is located on the 7th floor of Jorgenson Hall (close to the elevators).
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The drop box is emptied at 4:30 pm each day, and the assignments date-stamped with that day’s date. Submissions received after that deadline will not be removed from the essay box until the following day, and will be stamped with that day’s date. Where late penalties are involved, and where instructors have elected to use turnitin.com in any course, students are advised to retain the turnitin receipt showing the date and time of electronic submission, in the event of any dispute.
- Be sure that your name, the course and section number, and the instructor’s name (and GA’s name, where appropriate) are clearly identified on your paper.
- Students must retain a copy of their assignment together with their rough notes.
- DO NOT
- submit assignments by fax (they will be discarded)
- submit assignments by email attachment unless otherwise directed by the course instructions.
- push assignments under the door of an instructor’s office,
- leave assignments in the wall pockets outside your instructor’s office, or
- expect Department staff to receive them.
Awards:
- The University maintains a listing of Scholarships and Awards.
- For further information on awards specific to the Politics and Governance program, consult the Awards section of the Departmental web-site.
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B
Blackboard:
Ryerson’s one-stop shop for online course materials, library, news, enrollment, and more! Also known as my.ryerson, it is the portal to RAMSS (Ryerson Administrative Management Self Service).
Bookstore (see “Services – Ryerson Bookstore”)
C
Calendar
The calendar outlines the degrees and courses offered by the university in addition to the policies, procedures, significant dates, services and more.
Career
Basic career information is available in the Careers section of the Program web-site
The Faculty of Arts Career Counsellor, Sonny Wong, offers individual, confidential counselling and workshops to assist you with many aspects of career and educational planning, such as confirming your degree choice, discovering your career options, job search strategies, and more. Sonny is located in POD-344-F and can be reached at 416-979-5000 x2141, or at sonny.wong@arts.ryerson.ca; www.ryerson.ca/arts/careercounselling
Career information is also available from the Ryerson Career Development and Employment Centre
Challenge Credits
See Challenge Credits on the Curriculum Advising web-page. Please note that not all courses are eligible to be challenged.
For detailed University policy, consult the Calendar; select the hyperlink for the current year’s “Full- and Part-Time Undergraduate Calendar,” then “The Registrar’s Office” from the LH menu, then “Challenge Credits.”
Cheating (See “Academic Integrity”)
Collaborative Work (see “Policies – Collaborative/Group Work”)
Complaints
Any student at Ryerson University has the right to register a concern about a course or faculty member without placing his/her academic evaluation in jeopardy. In the event of any dispute regarding a course offered by the Department of Politics and Public Administration, the student should first contact the Instructor. If the student is dissatisfied with the response from the Instructor, the next step is to contact the Undergraduate Program Director or the Chair. In fairness to all concerned, anonymous communications will not be followed up or acted upon. The Undergraduate Program Director or Chair will not identify the complainant to the Instructor involved without the prior permission of the complainant.
Continuing Education
Many courses are also available through Ryerson’s G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, in various formats, including Distance Education. Courses offered through Continuing Education are identified by a four-digit alpha-prefix, the first digit of which is “C” (e.g., “POL 122” offered through Continuing Education would be “CPOL 122”).
Counselling
Academic
Learn more about connecting to campus resources or discuss your academic challenges with the Faculty of Arts Student Learning Coordinator, who is located in POD-344L, and can be reached at 416-979-5000 x7355. The Faculty of Arts also provides some online resources to enhance Academic Success.
Career – see “Career” above
Personal
The Faculty of Arts Personal Counsellor, Ruth Frolic, is available for confidential, one-on-one counselling about general school-related issues that you can no longer handle on your own (like settling into a new environment, making connections with others at Ryerson, finding motivation) or about personal difficulties you may be experiencing (such as, with family relationships, loss, traumatic experiences, depression, anxiety, alcohol or drug use, or other challenges). Ruth is located in POD-344-H and can be reached at 416-979-5000 x4847, or at rfrolic@ryerson.ca.
At the University level the Centre for Student Development and Counselling provides services, programs and resources that are intended to assist students not only to solve immediate problems, but also to define their personal, academic and career goals, and to acquire the self-confidence and transferable skills necessary for professional success and individual growth. The range of services provided are outlined on their website and in their brochure. The Centre also works with many other campus entities that provide crisis services, following a Crisis Intervention Referral Process. It also operates a number of Safety Networks.
Course Intentions
Course Intention is the first part of the enrolment process. You request the courses you expect to take in the upcoming academic year so that a timetable can be produced for you before open course enrolment. For further information, consult the appropriate section of the Student Guide.
Courses
All courses offered by the Department are listed in the calendar. [Select the hyperlink for the current year’s “Full- and Part-Time Undergraduate Calendar,” then “Courses” from the LH menu, then “Politics and Public Administration (POG, POL, PPA)”.]
Curriculum
All undergraduate programs at Ryerson University have a tripartite curriculum structure consisting of Professional, Professionally-Related, and Liberal Studies courses.
- The Departmental web-site provides an explanation of the program curriculum, as well as a user-friendly version of the course requirements. For the official version, go to the calendar,select the hyperlink for the current year’s “Full- and Part-Time Undergraduate Calendar;” then “Programs and Academic Departments” from the LH menu; then “Faculty of Arts;” then “Politics and Governance." A convenient Degree Checklist is also available on the Departmental web-site.
- Curriculum Substitution
- It may be possible to substitute a Ryerson course that is not part of the normal curriculum for a course within a student’s program of study. A Course Substitution / Course Directive form must be completed and approved by both the teaching and program departments.
- It may be possible to earn academic credit for learning and experience outside of the traditional post-secondary environment. See “Challenge Credits.”
- It may be possible to take courses at another accredited post-secondary institution for credit towards their Ryerson Degree or Certificate. See “Letters of Permission.”
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D
Department of Politics and Public Administration
E
Email
- Ryerson’s policy on mandatory student email accounts
University policy requires all Ryerson students to activate and maintain a Ryerson email account, and that any official or formal electronic communications from students be sent from their official Ryerson E-mail account. Most official correspondence from the University is now sent electronically and will not be sent to non-Ryerson accounts such as hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc. Correspondence from students must be sent via an official Ryerson e-mail account because there is no way to know if an email from a non-Ryerson account is actually from a particular student or that replying to it will be confidential. There should also be no assumption that mail sent from a non-Ryerson account will received by the intended recipient at Ryerson, as it may be filtered by various spam filters.
- Obtain an email account
- Access to Ryerson webmail
English-Language Assistance
Extracurricular Activities
- there are many opportunities for students to become involved. See the Faculty of Arts “Get Involved Guide”
- there are also opportunities to receive academic credit through
F
Faculty and Staff Directory
Faculty of Arts
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Financial Aid (Student Financial Assistance)
- Assistance, awards, bursaries, financial planning, loans, scholarships, work-study
- FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions
Forms
Check out the Forms Cabinet maintained by the University. Links to frequently used forms appear below:
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G
Grade Appeals (see “Policies – Appeals”)
Graduation
Group Work (see “Policies – Collaborative/Group Work”)
I
Intentions (see "Course Intentions")
L
Learning Success Centre is dedicated to helping students reach their academic potential by providing professional resources that develop sound learning strategies which address the primary challenges students face in an academic environment.
For general information, click here.
For specific workshops, click here.
Letters of Permission
See Letters of Permission on the Curriculum Advising web-site. For application form, see link in “Forms” section of this Handbook.
For detailed University policy, consult the Calendar; select the hyperlink for the current year’s “Full- and Part-Time Undergraduate Calendar;” then “The Registrar’s Office” from LH menu, then “Letters of Permission.”
Library
M
Minors
O
One Card
All Ryerson students are required to obtain a “one card” which serves as official identification as well as a host of other functions.
P
Plagiarism (see “Academic Integrity” and “Policies – Academic Integrity”)
Policies
- Academic Council – see “Senate”
- Academic Integrity
The Department expects all students enrolled in either of its programs of study to maintain the highest academic standards. To that end, the department requires all students to abide by the Student Code of Academic Conduct and related University policies outlined on the Academic Integrity web-site.
- Accommodation
- Medical
Students seeking accommodation on medical grounds may be required to provide a completed Student Medical Certificate.
- Religious Observances
This University policy sets out the scope and nature of accommodations available to facilitate religious observance. Please note that requests for accommodation based on religious observance must be made on the prescribed form no later than two weeks prior to the conflict in question. Both the declaration and the Student Request for Accommodation: Religious Observance are available on the Senate website under Other Forms.
- Students with Disabilities
The Department of Politics and Public Administration fully endorses the University’s policy of Academic Accommodation of Students with Disabilities. The Department encourages students requiring accommodation to consult with the Access Centre to explore alternative arrangements for the completion of assignments, tests, and exams. The Access Centre will complete a form detailing the accommodations required. A copy of that form must be provided to each course instructor within the first weeks of class.
- Appeals (Grade and Standing)
- University Policy
- Department Policy
- Standing appeals and Grade appeals where the grounds of appeal is Prejudice, Medical, Compassionate, Course Management, Procedural Error
- must be filed in the Department by the established deadlines (see “Significant Dates” in this Handbook)
- must be filed on the prescribed forms (see “Forms” section of this Handbook) and accompanied by all necessary supporting documents (including, where necessary, the “Confirmation of Instructor Consultation” form)
- will be considered by the Department Appeals Committee in accordance with University policy (above).
- Grade appeals where the grounds of appeal is “Course Management,” but the merit of graded student work is what is at issue, proceed in two stages:
1. At the COURSE level:
- requests for re-evaluation must be initiated within ten (10) working days from the date upon which graded student work is returned to the class.
- requests for re-evaluation must be initiated with whomever assigned the grade [Graduate Assistant (GA) or Instructor].
- requests for re-evaluation must include a written statement that – with reference to the graded work, the assignment, and any feedback received – itemises specific reasons for dissatisfaction with the grade assigned (i.e., an appeal cannot be based upon the amount of time spent to complete the graded work nor can it be based upon a heartfelt belief that the work deserved a better grade).
- a written response must be received by the student within five (5) working days, and the response should address any points raised in the appeal. Where the initial re-evaluation is by a GA, and where the GA’s re-evaluation does not resolve student concerns, the appeal should be escalated, within five (5) working days from receipt of the GA’s decision, to the Instructor by providing a copy of the statement submitted to the GA, any response thereto, and a further written statement indicating reasons that the GA response failed to satisfy. The Instructor must respond to the student within five (5) working days from receipt of all the documentation noted above.
2. At the DEPARTMENT level:
- where review at the COURSE level – by the GA (where appropriate) and/or the Instructor – fails to produce an outcome satisfactory to the student, or where the review by the GA and/or Instructor is not completed within the timelines specified above, or where the Instructor declines to re-evaluate the student work and the student is dissatisfied with that decision, the appeal may be escalated to the Department Appeals Committee by providing:
- a fully completed “Dept/School Grade Appeal Form” (see “Forms” section of this Handbook) citing “Course Management” as the “Grounds of Appeal;”
- copies of any statements and responses related to the request for re-evaluation at the COURSE level including, when missed deadlines are an issue, evidence of the date of submission of the re-evaluation request;
- the marked copy of the assignment; and
- a clean copy of the assignment for possible review by a third party.
- the decision of the Department Appeals Committee is final in terms of substance. Appeals of the Department Appeals Committee decision can only be based on procedural error.
- Attendance (Department Policy)
- Grades assigned for attendance may be a subset of an overall participation grade
- Grades for attendance alone should not comprise more than 10% of the overall evaluation scheme for the course.
- If a grade for attendance forms part of the evaluative framework of a course, the syllabus must outline clearly the basis upon which attendance grades will be awarded.
- If a grade for attendance forms part of the evaluative framework of a course, the instructor must keep a written record of student attendance together with a written justification of the individual grades assigned for attendance, and be prepared to provide both to the Department Appeals Committee in the event of a grade appeal.
- Collaborative/Group Work (Department Policy)
- For general guidance, see the Academic Integrity web-site, particularly the section entitled Lab, Studio, and Group Work
- In courses offered by the Department of Politics and Public Administration:
- Grades assigned for group/collaborative work shall not comprise more than 25% of the overall evaluation scheme for the course.
- The course syllabus must outline:
- clear criteria for group work; and
- processes/procedures by which students who encounter difficulty with their working group may have their concerns addressed in a fair, appropriate and timely way.
- Instructors must keep a written justification of the individual grades assigned for group (collaborative) work, and be prepared to provide that written justification to the Department Appeals Committee in the event of a grade appeal.
- Code of Conduct
- Course Management
- Course Variation (Department Policy)
All courses offered by the Department of Politics and Public Administration are designed to achieve the desired learning outcomes established for that course as determined by the Department Curriculum Committee. The Department endorses the concept of academic freedom and creativity by allowing faculty to determine the structure and method of evaluation for the courses for which they are responsible. To that end, the same course taught by different instructors will maintain the same learning objectives, but the course programming and evaluation may differ from instructor to instructor.
- Direct Supervision
In courses offered by the Department of Politics and Public Administration, a minimum of twenty-five per cent (25%) of the course grade will be completed under direct supervision.
- Disability (see “Accommodation – Students with Disabilities”)
- Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy
- Examination Policy
- Grading, Promotion, and Academic Standing (“GPA Policy”)
- Group Work – see “Collaborative/Group Work”
- Medical Documentation
- Other
- Participation (Department Policy)
- Grades assigned for participation should not comprise more than 20% of the overall evaluation scheme for the course (including any grade assigned for attendance).
- If a grade for participation forms part of the evaluative framework of a course, the syllabus must outline clearly the basis upon which participation grades will be awarded.
- Instructors must keep a written justification of the individual grades assigned for participation, and be prepared to provide that written justification to the Department Appeals Committee in the event of a grade appeal.
- Senate (University body responsible for academic policy)
- Student Codes of Conduct (see “Code of Conduct”)
Probation (see “Standing”)
Program
For further information about the Politics and Governance program, please consult the Departmental web-site.
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R
RAMSS
“Ryerson Administrative Management Self-Service” is the system that you use to register in courses, check your degree progress, and a host of other activities. It is accessible through the my.ryerson.ca portal.
Registration
All students are expected to participate in the Course Intentions process and to complete their own course registration online, using RAMSS, at the earliest opportunity (“appointment periods” are announced by the Registrar by e-mail). Most courses have firm enrolment caps, and classes can fill up early.
Rights and Responsibilities (see “Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities)
S
Senate (University body responsible for academic policy)
Services and Facilities
Significant Dates
- Go to the appropriate calendar, click on “Significant Dates” in LH menu
Standing (also see “Policies – Grading, Promotion and Academic Standing”)
- An initial grade point average (and academic standing) is not calculated until three or more course grades are available;
Students who receive a Probationary Academic Standing may not continue their studies until they have met with the Undergraduate Director or Program Administrator and executed a written probationary contract, which may include any or all of:
- a restriction on the number of courses that may be taken;
- restriction on the choice of courses that may be taken;
- recommended attendance of workshops provided by the Learning Success Centre.
- a recommendation, where appropriate, to seek personal counselling, provided by the Faculty of Arts Counsellor or through Ryerson's Centre for Student Development and Counselling, and/or career counselling provided by the Faculty of Arts Career Counsellor.
- Students who receive a Probationary Academic Standing should review information posted in the Academic Success section of the Faculty of Arts site
- Students who fail to execute, by the last date to add courses for the semester, a written probationary contract outlining their plan of studies will have their course registrations and course intention requests cancelled for the semester in which they are on probation and will be Required To Withdraw (RTW) from their program unless the program Department determines otherwise.
- No course may be repeated more than twice so, if a required course is failed for a third time, you will be Permanently Withdrawn from the program. Students who are Permanently Withdrawn from the program may not apply for reinstatement to that program.
Required to Withdraw (RTW) -- Students will be Required To Withdraw from their program for one of the following reasons:
- a CGPA of less than 1.00 (except for students enrolled for their first semester); or
- BOTH a term GPA and CGPA below 2.00 while on probation; or
- violation of a Probationary Contract (including unauthorized changes to the contract or failure to negotiate a Probationary Contract).
- Students who are Required To Withdraw (RTW) should review information posted in the Academic Success section of the Faculty of Arts site
- Students who have a “Required to Withdraw” standing cannot – unless they participate in a Student Success Plan – continue their program of studies, and cannot apply for reinstatement for a period of twelve (12) months. Prior to reinstatement these students may not register in any Ryerson credit courses and no courses taken at another institution will be counted towards graduation requirements for a Ryerson degree program.
- Students who participate in a Student Success Plan may continue their program of studies according to the conditions of their plan, and will be reinstated automatically if the criteria for success identified in their plan are achieved.
Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities
Student Identification (see “One-Card”)
Student Representation
Student Services (see “Services and Facilities”)
T
Transfer Credits
W
Writing and Language Courses and Support
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