Hello everyone, welcome to the ESP!

We look forward to working with you this year. As Advisors in ESP, we will be emailing you from time to time with an Advising Bulletin like this that contains program announcements and helpful information.

For future bulletins, we will use your Carleton email only so be sure to set this up in order to communicate with all of us here at the university.

In this bulletin:

• Get prepared
• Academic Orientation Day: September 3 & Orientation activities
• When things start
• Get your…(upass, student card, books)
• Registration
• Fees
• OSAP student loan info
• Apply for an ESP entrance bursary: August 31 deadline
• Register for accommodations (disability supports)
• Student health plan opt-in
• Next bulletin

Make sure you are prepared for the start of the year.

It is essential to set up your Carleton accounts to be prepared for the term. This includes:

• your Carleton email – this is how the university communicates with you
• login to Brightspace – Carleton’s learning platform where you’ll access your classes & workshops
• Carleton Central – where you can see your timetable, fees owing, OSAP info, and more
• download Microsoft Office 365 (Microsoft word, excel, outlook and more) – free to students!

Need a hand with this? Set up an appointment with one of our academic coaches. Maybe you just want to get a head start organizing your year. Coaches will be happy to meet with you. Email academic.coaching@carleton.ca to book an appointment.

Set up your Carleton accounts →

Tuesday, September 3rd is Academic Orientation Day: free and mandatory for all new students. Please attend the activities below:

• ESP Orientation will be held from 10:00-12:30 in Fenn Lounge, Teraanga Commons building.
• This will be followed by a free BBQ and Expo Carleton (a fair of clubs, societies and services).

Orientation will introduce you to your studies in the Enriched Support Program and includes a draw for prizes and a chance to get to know your fellow students. No registration required.

More Orientation options

1. International students can check out the I-Start International Student Orientation program.
2. Interested in the “Frosh” week social orientation experience? This program is optional and offers the chance to become familiar with the campus, participate in exciting activities, and build connections before classes begin. View the schedule and register here. This week long program costs $140. Activities include:

• • Playfair Canada
  • Glow Dance Party
  • Hypnotist
  • Explore Ottawa Night
  • Movie Under the Stars
  • Rêve in concert, and more

Note: ESP is part of the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS) – even if you’re in the ESP science, computer science, business or engineering stream. As an ESP student you can attend Orientation activities for FASS students and Centralized Fall Orientation activities.

Read More →

Classes start Wednesday, September 4th 

• Our timetabling office often has to shuffle rooms, so please double-check your timetable before you head out to your class for at least the two weeks.
• If the course has a room listed, it is being held in person (most classes are in person). Otherwise, it will say ON LINE and will take place virtually – the prof will share the link in Brightspace or by email.
• When viewing your Student Timetable in Carleton Central (under the Registration menu) skip ahead to mid-September to see a full week of classes.
• Looking at your schedule and wondering where SA TH’B is? Have a look at this site for a map & building code legend: carleton.ca/campus/  or this printable map.
•  Download the Carleton app for a campus map with directions.

Workshops (ESPW 1000s) start Monday, September 9th 

• All ESP Workshops, listed on your timetables as “ESPW 1000” will start the week of September 9th – even if you have not had the class yet.
• If you have a workshop (ESPW 1000) listed on your timetable for September 4th, 5th, or 6th; don’t go! We’ll see you there next week instead.

Tutorial Groups/Labs Start Dates: start dates are TBA

• Anthropology, Chemistry, Communication & Media Studies, Computer Science, Geography, Environmental Studies, Human Rights, Law (Legal Studies), Math, Political Science, and Sociology have tutorial groups or labs, which are listed on your course timetable as one hour blocks.
  • For example SOCI 1001 A02, refers to tutorial group 02 for Sociology.
• The professor will announce when these groups start; they always start sometime after the first course lecture.

Wondering what the difference is between a workshop and a discussion group? Read about it here.

Learn what to expect from your workshops →

• U-Pass: (your student bus pass) is now available for pick up. You can order one online (upload a photo) or make an appointment and they’ll take your picture on campus. Learn more here: carleton.ca/upass/
• Student card: Apply for your card or make an appointment to get one made online.
• Books: Visit the bookstore website to order your textbooks (the bookstore is also open), but don’t panic if your course isn’t listed. Sometimes profs don’t order books through the bookstore, but they’ll let you know the first class how to get a hold of the books for their course.
  • Even easier: login to Carleton Central. Under the Registration menu, click on Other. Click on Purchase Books and choose your term.
  • The Carleton Bookstore does price-matching, so if you find your textbook for a lower price on Amazon.ca, Indigo.com, or at a local competitor, then bring the advertised lower price and show them at the Bookstore and they can give you the difference on a gift card. They will even match prices up to 7 days after a book is sold. This applies to new, used, and textbook rentals.

Registration is mostly complete and many courses are full. Login to Carleton Central and look under the Registration heading for View Timetable. If you did not get one of the courses you were hoping for, feel free to email us at esp@carleton.ca to inquire about course wait lists.

Fall fees were due August 25th – unless you have an OSAP deferral. You can pay tuition in two installments: Fall and Winter. Only fall fees are due now.

• You can pay after this deadline but you would be changed late fees (approx. $77 per term) and interest will start to accumulate on the unpaid balance starting September 1st (interest = approx. $25/month).
• To make sure you’ve paid, login to Carleton Central. Under the Registration menu > Student Accounts, click on “Amount to pay”. Make sure your “Term Balance” for Fall 2024 = $0.00.
• For information on: how to pay, or how OSAP deferrals work, see the fee payment section of the ESP Student Guide.
• Important: Failure to pay fees does not mean that your classes are cancelled, contact us if you cannot attend this year.

If you are having difficulty navigating an OSAP application or arranging funds, please reach out to us for support: esp.advising@carleton.ca. We’re here to help!

Check out our ESP student guide for more info →

Shortly after you apply for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) and submit your Signature and Declaration forms to Carleton University, monitor your Carleton email account for important messages from the Awards Office. And be sure to log in to your OSAP account regularly to check for unread messages in your OSAP Message Centre.

Visit the Awards and Financial Aid website for more information: carleton.ca/awards/osap.  

• Look into the Work Study program for students on OSAP. You can earn money working a part-time job on campus: carleton.ca/awards/students/ . 

Read More →

ESP has five special bursaries created by donors for new students coming in to ESP.

A bursary is a financial award made based on financial need. They are more like a scholarship than a loan because bursaries (like scholarships) do not have to be repaid.

The application deadline for these bursaries is Saturday, August 31^st at midnight.

Apply now →

If you have a physical or learning disability, or if you have a mental or physical illness and would benefit from accommodations, please register with our Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities. They will coordinate any needed accommodations across all your classes and workshops. 

As an ESP student you are not automatically enrolled in (or charged for) the Student Health and Dental Plan. Click here for what the plan covers. To download the enrolment form, go to: Student Health Plan. The (not at all flexible) deadline to opt-in is October 7th (self-enrolment opens September 6).

• How to book an Advising appointment
• How to book an Academic Coaching appointment
• Jobs on campus

Anything else you’d like to know about? Email us your question to include in the next Advising Bulletin.