[bubbly R&B beat]
Hello everyone!
Congratulations on being accepted into Ryerson
Engineering!
My name is Iris, and I will be taking you
through the Academics Module today.
This module aims to teach you about university
courses, as well as how to excel in your courses
at the university level.
Courses in university are structured differently
than those in high school.
To start off, every course you will take has
a course management form, which is an outline
for everything that you will do in the course.
This includes a mark breakdown for your labs
and tutorials, the concepts that you will
learn in the course, as well as when you will
learn them in the form of a class schedule.
Additionally, your professor’s contact information
will also be provided - such as their phone
number, email, and office location, the prerequisite
courses required to take the course, and any
textbooks that are required.
Also, be respectful of your fellow students
and professor by being respectful in the meeting
or chat.
The professor does check the chat for questions,
so they might find it difficult to follow
along if you are having a conversation with
your friend.
Although lectures teach you all the concepts
in class, if you are struggling you can attend
your professor’s office hours.
As the name implies, these are hosted in your
professor’s office.
However, online courses typically offer office
hours over Zoom.
This is not only an excellent method for content
clarification, but is also a great opportunity
to learn about your professors’ careers,
network with them, and also if they like you,
you might even get access to their research
labs!
In your first semester, you will also have
additional exercises that will be mandatory.
These are Webassign for PCS211: Mechanics,
which is your Physics course and MasteringChemistry
for CHY102, which is the introductory Chemistry
course.
You will need to purchase these softwares
as they make up a portion of your grades.
We recommend purchasing multiterm Webassign
as you will also need it for PCS125: Waves
and Fields.
Engineering isn’t only about reading, writing
and calculations; we also have practical components!
Most courses will have labs or tutorials.
Labs are like experiments, which aim for you
to apply concepts that you have already learned
in class, except shift them towards real world
applications.
Most labs will require you to complete a lab
quiz or a lab report.
You will have labs for all of your courses
in first semester.
On the other hand, tutorials are like problem
solving sessions for which you have already
learned the concepts for in class.
These are typically run by a TA that has already
taken the course.
Expect similar questions to come up on your
tutorial quizzes, and even on your midterm
and final exams, so make sure to pay attention
and ask questions if you are struggling.
RESS also offers academic tutorials.
The difference between your course tutorials
and RESS tutorials is that RESS tutorials
solely aim to help prepare you for your midterms
and finals by re-doing previous papers.
These can be your best preparation for the
exam, or the best reassurance that you are
ready.
Good Luck!
After hearing about all these different kinds
of assessments, you might be wondering how
GPA, or Grade Point Average, works at Ryerson
University.
We use a 4.33 scale, which is similar to a
regular 4.0 scale.
Here is the mark breakdown.
You will encounter many types of GPA at Ryerson.
Term GPA, or TGPA, is the GPA for all the
classes that you have taken in the specific
term.
PGPA is Program GPA and that is the GPA for
your program courses excluding liberals.
Lastly, CGPA or Cumulative GPA is the most
common GPA that you will encounter and that
is what appears on your transcript.
If you have a GPA of 3.5 or higher for both
semesters, then you will be placed on the
Dean’s List for academic excellence.
However, if you have a GPA of 1.67 or lower,
then you will be placed on academic probation.
Don’t worry, Ryerson has many resources
to help clear your status.
If you are struggling in your courses and
feel compelled to cheat or plagiarise, please
think twice.
It is important to withhold academic integrity
during your entire time here at Ryerson.
As outlined in Policy 60, the consequences
for academic misconduct can be very severe,
and can include failing the course, revoked
access to many services provided by the University,
inability to be on the Dean’s List, and
even expulsion.
If you are struggling in completing any of
your courses, don’t worry.
Ryerson offers the transition program that
prevents you from losing a year.
All fall semester courses except for CEN 100
are offered in the winter semester, and all
winter semester courses are offered in the
spring semester.
Keep in mind that the spring semester is accelerated,
so you will complete all your courses twice
as fast as the winter or fall semesters.
Ryerson provides you with an academic calendar
with information for finishing your degree
in 4 years.
However, many students choose to take additional
years in order to complete their courses to
the best of their abilities during their own
time.
If you wish to complete your degree during
the required time and take a reduced course
load, then you might want to look at the Engineering
Transition Program for upper years.
Although not all courses are offered, Ryerson
does provide you with plenty of courses for
you to accelerate in your program.
In your first year you do not need to worry
about enrolling into all of your courses,
however, if you wish to make adjustments you
may do so.
Our faculty will automatically enroll all
first year students by doing their course
intentions for them.
Course intentions are like saving your seat
in a class.
Students can go on RAMMS and select their
schedules while making sure that there are
no scheduling conflicts.
Starting second year, you will have to complete
all of your course intentions yourself, however
don’t worry, you will be reminded.
All courses cost money, however, some have
double the cost of others.
For example, COE328, which electrical and
computer engineering students take.
The reason is because the cost of the course
is due to the number of billing units.
Most courses have 1, but some may have 2 or
even 3.
Billing units are dependent on the number
of class hours per week that the course has.
Your tuition is dependent on the number of
these billing units and note that it scales
linearly.
It’s important to note that 5 to 7 billing
units have the same price.
So, 5 billing units or 5 courses have the
same price as 7 billing units or 7 courses.
We suggest you keep this in mind for planning
your personal finances.
Ryerson offers many resources to help you
with your academics.
These include the First Year Engineering Office
or FYEO, your department, and RESS’s very
own VP Academic.
RESS, as well as your own student course unions
offer exam banks.
The First Year Engineering Office offers study
halls hosted by professors teaching the course,
as well as dedicated schedules reminding you
for when your midterms and final exams are,
as well as due dates for your assignments.
There are also many websites that can help
you that are not affiliated with Ryerson.
Here are some fan favourites: Khan Academy,
Professor Leonard, thenewboston
This may be a lot of information to take in,
but don’t worry!
You are just starting university and you will
have support every step of the way.
You will have a maximum of 8 years to complete
your degree, so you do not need to hurry.
You can take some time off school, complete
an internship, or maybe even think about doing
a minor!
One thing to note is that academics are only
one part of your university experience.
You do not live to study.
It is important to find a balance between
schoolwork and your personal life.
Fortunately, there are many ways you can get
involved at Ryerson.
You can attend various activities, join student
societies, and much more!
But that's for another video...
