The following message is from Kevin Tasa, Associate Dean Academic of Schulich School of Business.

Dear Schulich Faculty and Staff,

I want to thank you for your dedication to students and the academic mission of the School throughout the 2023-24 academic year. Below, I have outlined the critical information you may find relevant for preparing to teach in Fall 2024. As always, I wish you the best for your work in the upcoming term.

Academic Policies and Guidelines for Fall 2024:

In-person as Delivery Standard: All courses coded LECT or SEMR courses are in-person, including midterms and exams, unless otherwise approved. If alternate assessment tools are to be used, such as Canvas Quizzes, please state this in advance in the syllabus. Please also state time duration windows for take-home exams.

Programs with a high contingent of late-arriving students will have the option of live-streaming or recording in-person classes for the first two weeks of term to accommodate students who may be delayed. Students who may not be able to arrive by the start of classes are expected to communicate with instructors directly on a case-by-case basis and discuss available accommodation options based on course structure and academic expectations. Students will be advised that accommodations may vary from course to course and include but are not limited to live streaming/recording class sessions, pre-recorded lectures/materials, access to lecture slides, leniency in participation grade due to unavoidable absence, etc. Students are advised that if they cannot arrive in Canada by the end of the second week of the term, they should not continue in the program and should connect with Student Services on available options.

Instructors are kindly asked to continue supporting students when global and local environments remain challenging.

If you have a student whose situation may require additional support or consideration, please contact Luba Pan, Director of Student and Enrolment Services (panlyuba@schulich.yorku.ca).

15% Remote Delivery Option: The option of running up to two discretionary online class sessions for an in-person course remains in place this term. Instructors should use their judgment and discretion in deciding if or when to exercise this option. The purpose of these sessions is to help mitigate the impact of the unpredictable circumstances that may arise during the term (instructor and student illness, guest speakers unable to attend in person, etc.). If, due to unforeseen circumstances, you encounter a need to exceed the discretionary limit of two online sessions, please contact assocdeanacad@schulich.yorku.ca for approval.

Class Participation and Attendance: Canvas’s Discussions tool is a simple and effective means to allow students who cannot be present in class to contribute their thoughts on course content. However you choose to assess participation and attendance this term, please adopt a generous and multi-faceted assessment approach defined clearly in advance, as per the School’s policy.

Instructor Illness: Do not come to campus if you get sick. Viable options for dealing with illness are using the buddy system with another qualified instructor, delivering the class online using one of the two online meets covered by in-person delivery, or cancelling the class and scheduling a make-up session. If planning a make-up session, leave enough time to contact your area admin and the ADA’s office for scheduling assistance.

Student Illness: Please remind students that they should not come to campus if they get sick.

  • As a reminder, the University’s existing policies regarding absence from class remain in place. Students must stay home when they are ill and should not be penalized for being absent. The policy requiring students to provide an Attending Physician’s Statement Form to document absence is still suspended until December 31, 2024.

Breakout Space: Schulich’s breakout rooms are available for use. If you would like to book breakout space for your course, please contact your course support person.

Guest Speakers: Review the Live Streaming and Recording In-Person Classes guide on how to have a guest speaker attend your class online.

Required Course Software and Applications: It is recommended that your course syllabus include a list of all software that students will need to use in the course. Additionally, it is helpful to include a link to the minimum technical requirements that a student’s device will need to run each piece of software. This will give students the information they need to prepare their computer systems for the course. We have included links to the minimum technical requirements for all Schulich supported learning technology in our student guide here.

Classroom IT Support:  below is a summary of some critical information:

  • A/V Equipment Issues: Staff will conduct rounds at 7:30 am daily to turn on the classroom equipment and ensure it is operational. Should you experience an issue in your classroom, please get in touch with the Schulich Help Desk at (416) 736-5824 (or ext. 55824) or drop by the desk on the 3rd floor of the Schulich building (8 am-10 pm weekdays, 8 am-4 pm weekends).
  • Classroom Power Outlets: The availability of power outlets varies by classroom. If you plan an in-person, computer-based class meet and require additional outlets, please submit a ticket with details (number of outlets needed, room, date, time, course) to askit@yorku.ca with as much advance notice as possible. Requests received within three days of the meeting may not be accommodated. If you are planning a computer-based, in-person final exam, please ensure the request is included in the area or program’s final exam request submission to the ADAO at the start of the term. Late requests may not be accommodated. Additionally, exams that are scheduled outside of Schulich or McEwen buildings cannot accommodate the provision of additional electrical outlets. IST will be in touch shortly to share further support options available to students concerned about their laptops’ ability to last the duration of an assessment.

Room Access with YU Cards: Rooms in Schulich that previously required access via a white HID card have been replaced and now need access to be programmed to an employee YU Card. YU Cards can be obtained from the YU Card Office (https://www.yorku.ca/yucard/). Schulich can no longer provide one-off access to rooms.  Access requests must be made through area administrative staff (for instructors and faculty) or your operations manager (for staff). We strongly encourage instructors teaching next term to request a YU Card and Doorcard access—as needed—as soon as possible to ensure timely access.

Directing Academic and Conduct-related Concerns: Student Services and International Relations has created a flowchart to help students and instructors better direct academic or conduct concerns they may have. See the Academic and Conduct-related Concerns Chart for more information.

Changes to University Academic Honesty Policy: Effective September 1, 2024, York University’s Academic Honesty Policy will be replaced by the Academic Conduct Policy. More information will be sent to Schulich faculty, staff, and students detailing the policy changes in fall 2024.

Reporting Suspected Academic Honesty Violations: Student and Enrolment Services has also created an electronic form for instructors to submit complete information to investigate suspected academic honesty violations. Please be reminded that when an instructor perceives an academic honesty violation, the protocol is to notify Student Services and the Office of the Associate Dean Academic using this form; instructors are not to pursue further communication about the incident, investigation, or disciplinary measures with students.

  • The University’s Office of Academic Integrity has a website dedicated to Artificial Intelligence and includes guidance on the use of generative AI technologies in course work:  “To promote clear and consistent practices, students across York are not authorized to use text-, image-, code-, or video-generating AI tools when completing their academic work unless explicitly permitted by a specific instructor in a particular course. Otherwise, using AI tools to aid in academic work (in whole or part) that is submitted for credit constitutes one or more breaches under York’s Senate Policy on Academic Honesty (“Senate Policy”).

Enrolment with Permission: Students can register for a course if the number of enrolled students is below the cap. When a course is full, usually 45 for electives and 55 for core courses, students sometimes ask an instructor to sign an Enrolment with Permission form. This is prohibited because a waitlist is created once a course is at capacity. The waitlist remains in effect for the first week of the semester, and students are given priority based on their position on the list. Instructors are only permitted to let students enroll in a course with a waitlist after the first week, when the waitlist expires. If a student is on a waitlist for a course, instructors can encourage them to attend the first class to prepare them better to transition into the course if space permits.

Student Academic Accommodations: Students with formal academic accommodations must register with Student Accessibility Services. Students whose accommodations pertain to exam writing must register with SAS before the exam period and by the SAS exam deadline. Ultimately, it is the student’s responsibility to be informed about and follow the registration/renewal process to keep their accommodations current.

Adding Support Staff to Canvas: Please consider now whether you’ll request that staff other than area administrative staff (e.g., RAs, Graders, Accessibility Support Staff, etc) be added to your Canvas course.

Please note that graders or markers can be used only in exceptional circumstances with the permission of the Associate Dean, Academic. It is the instructors’ responsibility to review Schulich’s Use of Graders policy before proceeding. Complete the grader approval request form on the T&L website to obtain permission.

For all requests, please note the following:

  • The CITE team will be solely responsible for adding all support staff to Canvas courses
  • All support staff must have an employee Passport York account to be added to Canvas. Student Passport York accounts cannot be used to add student employees to Canvas. Instructors should consult their academic area support staff for guidance on this process and budget adequate time for this work.

Once the employee Passport York account is available, complete the request to add support staff to Canvas form on the T&L website. If you are requesting that a grader be added, please attach approval.

Mobile YU Cards: York University has launched mobile YU-cards to incoming students, faculty, and staff. The mobile cards are available to current community members as their physical cards become due for renewal. YU-card is the University’s official photo identification; implementing the mobile app has some implications for identity verification during exams because people with mobile cards need access to their mobile devices during the exam. For more information, please visit YU-card | York University’s Official Photo ID and Debit Card.

YU-Card Required for All Schulich Students: Effective Fall 2024, all Schulich students are required to have a valid YU-card (mobile or physical). In line with University policy, students who present a physical YU-card without a picture will also need to show a valid passport alongside the YU-card to sign in for exams. A driver’s license will no longer be accepted. More information about getting or replacing a YU-card is available: YU-card | York University’s Official Photo ID and Debit Card.

Questions? 

Instructors teaching in one-year masters programs should direct their questions first to their program directors. Program directors will contact instructors if they haven’t already to set up a time to discuss program-specific plans. Instructors in other programs can direct their questions to the relevant area coordinators.

Additional Questions:

  • Please note that ITMedic is no longer supported.
  • IT support tickets (e.g., Canvas, Passport York, Email, O365, etc.): askit@yorku.ca
  • Phone Help Desk: (416) 736 5824 OR ext. 55824

Kind regards,

Kevin Tasa
Associate Dean Academic