We hope things are going well with one more month left to go this term. With upcoming exams and essay deadlines, we encourage you to continue seeing coaches and attending your workshops in these last weeks. Good preparation goes a long way to reducing your stress levels.

• Winter term changes
• Struggling with motivation? Have you started studying for exams?
• ESP/IESP Workshop Attendance
• Mental health supports
• The scoop on SAT/UNSAT grading options
• Apply to add a half credit in January

The university recently updated its plan for the winter term and has determined that it will continue to require social distancing in classrooms. This means that many large classes that had been scheduled for in-person delivery will be shifting to online delivery.

• These updates will be made to your class schedule by November 15th. These changes will mainly affect how the class is held (online or in person) but unlikely to affect when the class is held.

As a result of this requirement, we will also be updating workshop schedules and splitting many of the larger workshops into two smaller workshops.

• You may see some changes to your winter workshop (ESPW) schedule by November 30th. These changes may affect how the workshop (online or in person) is held as well as when it is held.

If you have questions about the changes, or wish to make any adjustments to your class schedule (for example, moving from an in-peron to an online discussion group), please email or make an appointment with an advisor to see what’s possible.

Book an advising appointment →

The ESP/IESP Academic Coaches are here to help. Our coaches can help you develop a study plan, get caught up, and get ahead in your courses and exam preparation. Are you needing friendly, non-judgmental support for everything that is due? Go to carleton.ca/esp/appointments/ and select “Book a coaching appointment.”

Book now →

ESP/IESP Workshops embed evidence-based learning strategies to help you to excel in your courses and develop skills to learn independently once you move on from ESP/IESP.

Finish this term resolved to put in your best effort. This is a perfect time to commit to excellent workshop attendance. Don’t be shy about making a re-appearance if it’s been a while, your facils will be happy to see you!

There are so many good reasons to make the effort. Here are our top 10 reasons to go to workshops:

1. Practice tests: test your understanding
2. Improve your study skills, create good work habits
3. Organize and review class notes
4. Because friends don’t let friends study alone
5. Stay eligible to apply to return to ESP/IESP (if needed)
6. Because they help you structure your study time (and we could all use a little structure right now!)
7. Because you paid for ’em and you should get your money’s worth
8. Friendly facils who care about helping you learn
9. Money! You can earn an ESP/IESP Scholarship ($500-$3,000) for great attendance and grades (full-time students)
10. Because you are twice as likely to qualify for a degree if you do. Check out the numbers:
    • 80-90% of students who had good workshop attendance qualified for a degree.
    • Only 45-50% of those who had poor workshop attendance got into a degree after ESP/IESP.

If stress is affecting your health or wellbeing, please don’t hesitate to seek support Carleton’s free confidential counselling services or other resources:

• Health and Counselling offers counselling appointments for support with managing stress, substance abuse, and more. They also run a medical clinic where you can access services online.  This page has info about how to make an appointment with a counsellor.
• Indigenous students can book an appointment with Indigenous Cultural Counsellor, Staci-Ann Loiselle.
• Empower Me is a free 24/7 helpline that connects students with qualified counsellors and mental health professionals. It is culturally sensitive, gender-inclusive and faith inclusive in its mandate. Call 1-844-741-6389 (toll-free) or visit the website to be connected directly with a counsellor in the community—the person answering is not an operator, administrator, or receptionist.
• Carleton’s Wellness site has links to online modules (on topics like building your resilience), as well as group and individual resources to support your well-being.

Wellness website →

The university has approved compassionate grading options for the fall semester.

What are the options?

1. UNS: Unsatisfactory (UNS) grades will replace any failing or F grade (0-49%) for the Fall 2021 term.
2. SAT: You can apply to convert (only) one 0.5 credit fall term grade to Satisfactory (SAT).
   • You can only apply to convert a grade to SAT after it’s finalized (so after the course ends) and within the deadline (February 28, 2022).
   • The university might also provide this option in Winter 2022 but has not yet made a decision.

Why would this help?

A SAT grade allows you to earn the credit (or half credit in this case) but the grade wouldn’t be used in your GPA. This option might be good if you have one low grade. Please consult an advisor before applying to change a grade to SAT.

SAT/UNS grades are not used in the calculation of CGPA, which means that changes in academic performance due to the current pandemic will not affect your permanent record.

But how would that affect qualifying for a degree? 

Here’s what the university has told us about SAT/UNSAT grades and ESP/IESP admission to a degree. In general the Admissions Office will consider ESP/IESP applications where students have completed 2.0 of 3.0 credits with grades. 

• ESP/IESP students who are completing the year with 3.0 credits can be considered for admission with one credit of SAT and/or UNS grades.
  • For most programs in the Bachelor of Arts, this means you would need to present a GPA of C+ (6.0 on Carleton’s 12.0 scale) on the 2.0 graded credits. (Some majors have higher CGPA requirements).
  • Students applying to Science, Health Science, Commerce and Engineering would still need to satisfy all prerequisite course requirements.
  • Students with more or less than 3.0 credits should consult with an advisor.

• If you apply to have your grade changed to “SAT”, the university will still keep the original grade on file if it is needed for “other purposes”.
  • The university may use the original grade to enforce a prerequisite for the next course. For example, to take second year COMP courses, you need a minimum grade of C- in COMP 1006. Most majors don’t use that rule, but some do: see the calendar to check second year course prerequisites in your field of interest.

Finally, please meet with an advisor if you need help figuring this out. It is more complicated because (most of) you are still working toward qualifying for a degree. We’re here to help you navigate all of this!

Book an advising appointment →

Doing well in your courses? Consider adding another in the winter term. The criteria for adding a half-credit course in January is:

• Minimum of B- (70%) average in current courses
• Strong (70+%) workshop and FYSM attendance.

The deadline to apply is December 15th – but applying earlier is better since courses do fill up. We are offering CIED 1001: Selected Topics in Pop Culture (note: the link is to last year’s class. This year’s CIED 1001 class will be Thursday 2:35-5:25 pm will be offered Hy-Flex, i.e., attend in person or online as you wish). Or,  you are welcome to select a different course from the public class schedule (space permitting).