FAQ

Carleton University remains open and is primarily operating remotely. Building access is restricted to authorized personnel only with exception of buildings and spaces within them that are designated as publicly accessible. The current list of publicly accessible buildings and spaces, offices that are now open and hours of operation are listed on the Building Updates webpage.

Our Student Service Information website includes specific information about modified virtual operating hours and contact information.

The MacOdrum Library Level 2 (the ground level) is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with limited staff. There are a number of precautions in place, which can be found on the MacOdrum Library website. Online resources remain accessible, and research support is still available online.

For updates on Carleton’s athletic facilities, please visit the Carleton Athletics website.

The computer labs remain closed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community.

Carleton University tracks individuals who are members of the Carleton community and who have tested positive for COVID-19 and who have been on campus within the last 14 days. For up-to-date information, please visit our cases on campus website.

Prospective graduate students should visit the Graduate Admissions COVID-19 FAQ website.

Prospective undergraduate students should visit the Undergraduate Admissions COVID-19 FAQ website.

Carleton has postponed or cancelled all in-person events on campus, except those covered by the Essential Services Order until July 31, 2020.

June Convocation has been postponed. Specific details will be updated on the Convocation website as they are finalized. Visit carleton.ca/grads2020 to find out how we have been virtually celebrating our graduates.

A listing of campus access protocols, as permitted by the Essential Services Order, can be found on the Accessing Campus webpage.

The Government of Canada has put in place emergency measures that require mandatory 14-day self-isolation for all persons entering Canada, even if they do not have COVID-19 symptoms. All university-related incoming and outgoing international travel, including to and from the United States, is suspended until further notice.

Temporary residents, including international students, should continue to monitor how COVID-19 is affecting Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) processes for specific updates on travel to Canada and changes to immigration program delivery.

International students coming to Ottawa should consult the International Student Services Office (ISSO) website for up-to-date information.

All university-related (including research and field work) incoming and outgoing international travel, including to and from the United States, and non-essential domestic travel remains suspended until further notice as per Carleton’s updated Travel Advisories. Exemptions for university-related (including research and field work) domestic travel need to be approved by the relevant Dean or Vice-President in consultation with Environmental Health and Safety and Risk Management as required.

All personal travel, and especially air travel, is strongly discouraged. All members of the Carleton community are advised to review the Government of Canada’s travel restrictions, expeditions and advice.

Carleton has updated its Mask Policy to comply with the Mandatory Mask By-law adopted by the City of Ottawa and the recommendations of public health officials.

Masks are required in all publicly accessible spaces within buildings and in non-publicly accessible workplaces where a two metre physical distance cannot be consistently maintained, or when they are in common or shared spaces.

All faculty and staff are required to read and familiarize themselves with the Policy.

The Carleton University Mask Policy requires:

• Mask use in Enclosed Public Spaces: As required by the City of Ottawa By-law, wearing a non-medical mask is required by law (with limited exemptions) in all publicly accessible spaces within buildings for all members of the Carleton community and of the public.
• Mask use in Non-Public Carleton Workspaces: Within non-publicly accessible Carleton workplaces (which are not subject to the By-Law) individuals present in Carleton workplaces are expected to use masks anytime a 2-metre physical distance cannot be consistently maintained, or when they are in common or shared spaces. Examples of such situations include common areas of offices, hallways, lobbies, elevators and high traffic areas.

The current list of publicly accessible buildings and spaces, offices that are now open and hours of operation are listed on the Building Updates webpage.

The Carleton University Mask Policy defines a mask as “a cloth (non-medical) Mask, medical Mask or other face coverings, (e.g., bandana, a scarf or cloth), for filtering respiratory droplets that securely covers the nose, mouth, and chin and is in contact with the surrounding face without gapping”. Visit our Mask Guidance webpage for more information.

We strongly recommend that individuals continue to seek guidance on masks and face coverings from the Ottawa Public Health website in order to receive the most up to date information.

Members of the Carleton community (e.g., staff, faculty, contract instructors, teaching assistants, students living in residence) can obtain a personal care kit, free of charge. Each personal care kit contains two reusable 3-ply face coverings, a 2 oz. bottle of hand sanitizer and an ear saver. Face coverings are one-size-fits-most; however, ear savers can be used to not only prevent chafing on the backs of ears, but also to tighten ear loops so that the covering fits more snugly to your face, if required.

Managers and supervisors should refer to the Procurement Services website for more information on how to obtain personal care kits for their areas of responsibility.

Currently, all international arrivals are required to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine period immediately upon arrival to Canada.

Carleton University has established a new comprehensive resource to assist students and their co-arriving family members with their quarantine planning, the Quarantine Planning Support website.

On this new website students will be able to learn more about:

• Quarantine planning guidance and resources;
• Immigration and travel considerations;
• On campus quarantine options for international students;
• Health coverage; and
• Supports for staying connected and healthy during the quarantine period

We strongly recommend that students review the content fully and carefully to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities as they plan for their arrival in Canada. It is important to note that failure to comply with the Government of Canada’s protocols may lead to students being denied entry into the country, and/or fines or other penalties can be imposed for non-compliance.

Students with questions about quarantine should contact the ISSO at isso@carleton.ca.

Synchronous courses are online courses offered in real-times where the instructor and students meet via web conferencing tools. These classes occur at scheduled days and times and students are expected to attend class at these times.

Asynchronous courses are online classes that are not conducted live and do not have a regularly scheduled class time. While there is a scheduled time associated with the course for registration, students can move through course material on their own schedule. Students are still expected to remain up to date with the deadlines and due dates provided by the instructor.

Blended courses are online courses where there is a mixture of synchronous meetings and asynchronous activities. This means students need to be prepared to meet some of the time online via web conferencing tools at scheduled days and times.

In all cases, courses are posted with a scheduled time (Eastern Standard Time) associated. Asynchronous and blended courses may use the time slot for class discussion, office hours, tests or midterms, etc. Students are expected to be available during those times.

For more information on time and equipment requirements for online courses, please visit the Types of Online Courses webpage.

To prioritize safety, in line with public health information available at this time, we are guaranteeing that all scheduled undergraduate and graduate courses for the fall term will be delivered online.

We remain hopeful that we will be able to reopen our physical spaces partially over the coming months and offer some optional on-campus activities when it is safe to do so. In particular, graduate students who have program elements – notably memoirs and theses – requiring specialized research facilities will be contacted over the coming months when their lab or research space is ready to safely open

All lab activities associated with undergraduate courses in the fall will be conducted remotely. More information on this will be provided by the course instructor closer to the course start date.

There will be no face-to-face examinations for the Fall 2020 term.

In planning for Winter 2021, we must remain responsive to evolving public health guidelines.

Following a discussion at a recent meeting of Senate and the final recommendation of the Carleton University Scenario Planning (CUSP) working group, the Winter 2021 term will proceed online, with some leeway for selected optional instruction on campus (e.g. specific labs, capstone projects, recitals) if circumstances allow.

For those courses that offer optional instruction on campus, online options will be offered for students who cannot or choose not to come to campus and course instructors will be advised to prepare to pivot online at short notice if public health guidelines change.

Please visit the cuLearn support site for students.

For additional support please email Information Technology Services (ITS) or call 613-520-2600 x3700.

All courses on cuLearn are hidden (by default) until an instructor is ready to release the course to students. If you cannot see your course on cuLearn, your instructor has either not revealed the course yet or has decided to remove access to it. You can consult with the instructor as to whether they will be using cuLearn and confirm that you have properly enrolled in the course.

Your course may be permanently removed from cuLearn when it ends. It is your responsibility to save all content by the time the course closes. If you need access to a past course, you will need to contact the instructor to make arrangements to access the content.

If the instructor says that you should be able to access the course and you are still unable to see it, please email Information Technology Services (ITS) or call 613-520-3700.

Visit the cuLearn Support website for more information.

Carleton University has suspended the need for a doctor’s note or medical certificate until further notice when requesting academic accommodation related to COVID-19. Students should complete the self-declaration form available on the Registrar’s Office website to request academic accommodation for missed course work including exams and assignments.

Students are encouraged to connect directly with their instructors to discuss required accommodations arising from the COVID-19 situation.

A COVID-19 FAQ for graduate students has been added to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs website.

The MacOdrum Library Level 2 (the ground level) is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with limited staff. There are a number of precautions in place, which can be found on the MacOdrum Library website. The MacOdrum Library is also continuing to offer extensive online resources to support the Carleton community. For additional information on services currently provided, please visit the MacOdrum Library website.

Please visit the Bookstore FAQ website.

Please email covidinfo@carleton.ca from your Carleton email (cMail) account and ensure to include your student number, program and year of study to request assistance.

Please contact the ITS Service Desk for technical assistance.

A COVID-19 information update has been added to the Co-op Office website.

As the current public health crisis continues to evolve, we regret that our June and November Convocations, a highlight of the year and such an important event to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates, has been postponed.

Students who applied to graduate in June 2020 and met their degree requirements have officially graduated on June 19, 2020 when the Carleton University Senate approved the list of graduates.

Students who have applied to graduate in November 2020 and meet their degree requirements will officially graduate on October 30, 2020 when the Carleton University Senate approved the list of graduates

The rescheduling of the June and November Convocation ceremonies will have to take into account guidelines and regulations from health authorities and the provincial and federal governments. Specific details about Convocation will be updated on the Convocation website as they are finalized.

Although we are unable to hold a November Convocation ceremony at this time, we will be virtually celebrating our graduates in November.

Tuition fees for the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 terms are available on the tuition fee website.

Designing virtual classrooms and online opportunities for students requires multi-million-dollar investments in technology and experts to deliver the high-quality experience our students expect and deserve.

There is still a need for resources to be directed toward instructors, marking, academic advising and other student support that helps Carleton provide excellent academic instruction in every possible circumstance.

Your education is a significant investment and Teaching and Learning Services has been working closely with course instructors to develop their courses in a manner that facilitates online delivery and ensuring an inclusive learning environment for the fall.

Carleton is also developing resources to help students understand and navigate the online learning environment. We remain committed to continue supporting all students in their success, especially throughout this challenging time.

Almost all the services students normally receive continue to be available virtually. Here are just a few:

• The library has devised many creative and powerful ways to offer extensive online resources and services to our community. Notably, Carleton is now a member of HathiTrust, a digital repository of millions of books, serials, and other materials from research institutions and libraries around the world. Our faculty, staff and students can now access digitized copies of over six million public-domain works and, for a limited time, digitized copies of almost 500,000 works from Carleton’s print collection.
• Supervision for research projects, upper-year thesis projects and graduate work continues.
• Virtual mental health counselling and support continue to be available.
• Career Services will continue to run online programming and virtual appointments with career experts to help students prepare for their careers.
• Academic advising will continue to offer personalized guidance to all students.
• The Paul Menton Centre continues to provide academic accommodations and services that are individualized to each student and the learning needs of each course.
• Free student access to computer programs like Microsoft Office and Teams.
• Virtual fitness programs are being offered through the Department of Recreation and Athletics and creative virtual social spaces and activities for students are being developed by the Student Experience Office.

While most of our services can be accessed virtually (for example, Health and Counselling Services), miscellaneous fees will be adjusted and pro-rated appropriately for any service where access has been reduced due to COVID-19.

Due to the limited capacity in Carleton Athletics in order to keep physical distancing requirements, Carleton University has approved a 50% rebate on the Student Athletics Fee for the 2020-2021 academic year. This rebate is in line with other universities across Ontario. The rebate will be automatically applied to your student account in the first week of October 2020, for the fall 2020 term and in the first week of February 2021, for the winter 2021 term. For updates relating to athletics facilities, please visit the Carleton Athletics website.

On an exceptional basis, there will be no Video on Demand charges for the fall 2020 term and this service will be provided free of charge to all students.

Students may also apply to opt-out of the U-PASS through the regular opt-out process. Fee amounts charged by student governments and associations are the responsibility of those organizations and are not controlled by the university.

International students who will be residing outside of Canada for the Fall 2020 term are eligible to opt-out of UHIP. Students can complete the Opt-Out Form on the International Student Services Office (ISSO) website or contact the ISSO for more details.

Students may apply to opt-out of the U-PASS through the regular opt-out process. Please visit the U-PASS website for more information.

Due to the limited capacity in Carleton Athletics in order to keep physical distancing requirements, Carleton University has approved a 50% rebate on the Student Athletics Fee for the 2020-2021 academic year. This rebate is in line with other universities across Ontario. The rebate will be automatically applied to your student account in the first week of October 2020, for the fall 2020 term and in the first week of February 2021, for the winter 2021 term.

The rebate will be automatically applied to your student account in the first week of October 2020, for the fall 2020 term and in the first week of February 2021, for the winter 2021 term.

If, after the rebate has been applied, you have a credit balance on your student account, you can request a refund through Carleton Central. Refunds can be requested in Carleton Central, under the Student Accounts section by selecting “Request Refund/Scholarship Balance”. For more information on refunds, please visit the Student Accounts website.

Carleton’s athletics facilities including the fitness centre, swimming pool and fitness classes, have reopened as of Tuesday, September 8, 2020 and students can book a time slot for their workout. Included in the Student Athletics Fee is:

• Fitness Center Access
• Pool Access
• Campus Recreation
  • Fieldhouse (including the track)
  • Norm Fenn Gymnasium
• In-person Group Fitness
• Virtual Group Fitness
• Leagues (hockey, soccer, volleyball)
• Esports

We continue to encourage all students, where eligible, to take advantage of the various federal funding programs that make up a $9 billion relief package for students. If you are in need of emergency financial assistance and are not eligible for other government programs, you can complete the Student Emergency Fund In-Take Form, which is available to graduate and undergraduate students to receive funding for essential expenses that may have arisen as a result of COVID-19. We continue to lobby both levels of government, with assistance from the Council of Ontario Universities and Universities Canada, for continued emergency assistance for students, and in particular for international students.

Members of community can consider donating to the 2020 Student Emergency Fund through the FutureFunder website to provide short-term financial assistance for essential expenses to Carleton students in these challenging times. The University is matching all gifts one-to-one.

For information regarding paying tuition fees, please visit our Tuition Fee Payment Methods website.

For clients wishing to make payments to the university, please visit the financial services website for information.

Even with courses online, many students will still want to live in residence. Carleton is working closely with Ottawa Public Health to adapt our spaces in residence and ensure that living on campus will be safe and will remain an exceptional experience for students. The steps being taken include, but are not limited to, single room spaces in traditional- and suite-style residences, increased cleaning practices in communal areas, support for those requiring isolation immediately before or during their time in residence, and decreased density in all areas.

For more information including dates, deadlines and fees, please visit the COVID-19 Residence Updates website.

Reporting all cases of symptoms potentially linked to COVID-19 is mandatory through the COVID-19 Reporting Portal.

The safety and well-being of all members of the Carleton community is our highest priority. We understand that this is a difficult time for everyone and that the measures we are taking will cause inconvenience and disruption. Information and resources relating to mental health and well-being are listed on Carleton’s website. Other specific resources are listed below.

Faculty and Staff:

• The Supporting a Colleague in Distress guide provides information should you encounter colleagues in distress and in need of help.
• The Employee and Family Assistance Program is a free, confidential counselling service for faculty and staff (and their immediate family members). This service can be reached any time at 613-725-5676.

Students:

• Empower Me is a free, confidential counselling service for students. This service can be accessed any time by telephone, video-counselling or e-counselling.
• TAO Online Therapy is designed to address issues related to anxiety and depression. The online modules are accessible 24/7.
• For a listing of mental health resources across Canada, please visit our Provincial Support Resources website.
• For a listing of international mental health resources, please visit our International Support Resources website.
• Additional student resources are available on Carleton’s Mental Health and Well-Being website.
• Health and Counselling Services is remaining open virtually.

If you are experiencing an emergency situation personally, please follow standard emergency procedures.

• If on campus, contact Campus Safety Services at 613-520-4444
• If off campus, contact your local emergency service(s)

Please review our Emergency Procedures for Online Situations (PDF, 135KB).

Due to restricted building access under the Essential Services Order, Mail Services (124 PA) continues to act as centralized receiving for all incoming mail. As communicated previously, regular mail pickup and delivery across campus is still being held. If you have outgoing mail or would like to pick up items delivered to Mail Services, please make an appointment. Individuals can also make arrangements to pick up all items for their unit/department.

Couriers will not make deliveries to individual campus locations (other than FMP, ITS Hardware Services, Residence, and Science Stores). Science Stores will continue to remain open and accept all perishable items. If you have perishable goods being delivered to campus, you may direct the courier to deliver the item to Science Stores located at 118 Steacie Building. Please contact science-stores@carleton.ca to inform them about your delivery. Hazardous materials such as chemicals, radiological, biohazardous materials, gases, etc. should be delivered to Science Stores.

For all other items, please ensure they are addressed to your office to allow accurate sorting on acceptance. Mail addressed to Carleton University must not leave the Carleton campus.

Please contact Mail Services at extension 4300 or Erin.Chezick@carleton.ca for more information.

The Carleton Office for Research Initiatives and Services has created a series of FAQs with the latest available information on how to minimize the impact on research operations, while maintaining health and safety.

At the current time, seating in main/common areas is not to recommended to be used as Carleton currently does not have sufficient custodial personnel required to maintain the seating areas as per Public Health cleaning recommendations. Facilities, Management and Planning is working to increase the number of personnel to address these areas however the additional staff required is not yet in place.

Departments are encouraged to move furniture on their own. If support from Facilities, Management and Planning is required, please submit an eShop request to the FMP Service Centre. Please note that there may be significant delays in scheduling moving services due to resource issues across the City of Ottawa.

Fans are not recommended to be used in office spaces as they circulate air potentially spreading the COVID-19 virus. This is particularly critical if the space is being used for face-to-face meetings or is considered a shared or common space.

Guidance for disinfecting departmental spaces is provided in the COVID-19: Infection Prevention and Control Training. the cleaning and disinfecting of seating or waiting areas within departmental spaces are the responsibility of the department/unit. If you require additional guidance please contact the FMP Service Centre.

Please call the toll-free emergency line (1-877-557-2930) or email onlineexams@carleton.ca.

Email the completed examination to your course instructor immediately and explain what has transpired.

Systems capture your digital footprint, so don’t panic. Please contact your course instructor to confirm the submission.

Please contact your course instructor, or to resolve questions please contact the Department of Equity and Inclusive Communities at equity@carleton.ca.

Please email your coordinator or pmc@carleton.ca.

Deferred exams will not take place face-to-face. Instead, they will be online or through other alternative formats.

You may apply for a deferral as per the University Regulations in Sections 4.1 – 4.4 of the Undergraduate Calendar.

Scheduling and Examination Services, in collaboration with Information Technology Services, is maintaining a toll-free emergency line (1-877-557-2930). We will be operating our emergency support line for in-class tests and midterms from Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 09:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (weekends when applicable). During deferred exams and June/August exams, the emergency exam support line will operate when exams are running.

Please ask your course instructor before the exam date if they will be accepting questions and the best way to reach them. If they are not accepting questions, please state your assumptions and continue writing.

As a first step, please log out of cuLearn, close your browser, wait a couple of minutes, and try logging in again. Carleton’s technical teams are on stand-by during exams, but it may take up to 15 minutes for service to resume.

If you get an error page, please take and save a full screenshot and make note of the date/time of the issue. When emailing onlineexams@carleton.ca please provide an uncropped screenshot of the error and include your full name, student number, and the full course number for the course/exam you are taking.

Please note that if a server issue occurs, it will be logged and communicated with your course instructor.

No, please email Scheduling and Examination Services at onlineexams@carleton.ca with your phone number to discuss further.

If service resumes, please complete your exam as soon as possible. If you are unable to complete your exam, please email your course instructor and copy onlineexams@carleton.ca to explain the situation once power or Internet access has been restored. Please call our emergency exam line at 1-877-557-2930 if you experience a prolonged outage.

Sustained infrastructure outages are grounds for an exam deferral. Contact onlineexams@carleton.ca to find out more information.

Visit the overload and conflict page on the Scheduling and Examinations Services website. If you have an overload, please email onlineexams@carleton.ca.

Please email onlineexams@carleton.ca and Scheduling and Examination Services will review your situation and contact you with options.

Although Scheduling and Examination Services has tried to prevent errors, errors are possible. Please verify exam details with your course instructor, or email onlineexams@carleton.ca.

Yes, Carleton is implementing measures to mitigate the risk of system issues. We have set up a redundant system to help offset the load on cuLearn during online exams. You will access your final exam on your course’s cuLearn page. When you click the exam link, though it will look like cuLearn, you will actually be using this special and secure exam system.

Please contact your course instructor to discuss academic accommodations. If you have an accommodation request relating to exams, please contact onlineexams@carleton.ca.

Please contact the chair of your department.

Please email onlineexams@carleton.ca to discuss your concerns.

Despite the circumstances we all find ourselves in, preserving and upholding academic integrity continues to be very important at Carleton. We have provided course instructors with guidance relating to assessment design. Although we do not have proctoring software available, there are some technology solutions we have implemented, which we have shared with course instructors. Each instructor will be using different methods to reduce and prevent student cheating during final exams.

It is the expectation that all students respect and follow Carleton’s Academic Integrity Policy, which governs the academic behaviour of students. The University demands, unequivocally, academic integrity from all of its members, including students. Misconduct in scholarly activity will not be tolerated.

You can use Carleton’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access cuLearn. Please make sure to configure the VPN prior to the start of your exam(s). Instructions are available from the ITS website.

These may be considered exceptional circumstances and may be grounds for accommodation. Please email onlineexams@carleton.ca as soon as possible to inquire.

For the summer term, we have elected to display the exam schedule in a different way (not through Carleton Central) to ensure the information is as clear as possible for online assessment. The start and end times are stated in Eastern Daylight Time zone (EDT – Ottawa’s time zone).

These times apply to all students located in Canada. This means if your start time is 9:00 a.m. and you are currently residing in Vancouver, your local start time is 6:00 a.m.

There are three types of online assessment (see definitions and examples below):

• Fixed exam: this is an exam with a set start and end time as displayed on the schedule.
• Range exam (with specific duration): this is an exam with a range of time for completion, but you have a specific duration, within the range, in which to finish the assessment.
• Range exam (with no duration): this is an exam with a range of time for completion, but there are no duration restrictions within the range.

There will be no face-to-face examinations for the Summer 2020 term.