Orientation

When do I pay for School Fees?
How do I pay for School Fees?
When do I pay for Residence Fees?
How do I pay for Residence Fees?
Is it still possible to apply for a room in campus residence?
When can I move in to campus residence?
When does Orientation take place?
When do I pick my classes?
Where can I find out what courses I will need to take?
How do I navigate the course timetable?
What are Incidental Fees and how do I know which to pay?
Which school fee calculator should I use? 9 credits or more or 8 credits or less?
Can I contact a professor for academic advice before registration?
What is the mandatory EWP (English Writing Proficiency) exam?
What is the mandatory ILT (Introduction to Information Literacy and Critical Thinking) lab?
What is the Student Charter of Rights and Responsibilities?
How can I get my Bishop’s Student ID Card?
When will I get my Bishop’s email address?
As an international student, do I need to submit a copy of my CAQ (Certificate of Acceptance from Quebec) and my study permit before arriving?

School Fees:

All Canadian and International students are required to prepay their school fees before the start of each semester. The deadline to make your payment for the fall term is August 15, 2011.  You will not receive an invoice for your school fees because payment is due before course registration takes place.

Canadian students must either pay their school fees in full by the deadline OR submit the online ‘Promissory Note’ if they are paying with a government loan.

International students:

• Non-exchange international students coming to Bishop’s for a degree or certificate program must pay their school fees in full by the deadline AND submit the online ‘Health Insurance Form’ available at http://www.ubishops.ca/school-fees/international-students/. Students applying for US student aid must contact Jamie.berwick@ubishops.ca to answer detailed questions concerning their file.
  
  
• Exchange students coming to Bishop’s for 1 or 2 semesters are NOT required to pay for school fees at Bishop’s, but must have health insurance during the full duration of their studies in Canada. You must submit your ‘Health Insurance Form’ online at http://www.ubishops.ca/school-fees/international-students/, preferably before August 30th so that your insurance card is ready upon your arrival.

If you do not pay your school fees on time, there will be a $65 late charge applied.

You can pay your fees based on a regular full load of 15 credits (i.e. 5 courses) or based on the exact number of credits you will take per semester.

PAYMENT PROCEDURE:

1. Click on this link:  http://www.ubishops.ca/school-fees/.
    
2. Once you choose your status as a Canadian or International Student, complete the FALL CALCULATION FORM.
   
   
3. Select a METHOD OF PAYMENT (cash, cheque, interac or online banking)
   
   
4. Return your payment by the deadline or submit your 'Promissory Note' online  

METHODS OF PAYMENT ACCEPTED

For all school fee related inquiries, contact the Business Office by email at businessoffice@ubishops.ca.

Your $500 residence deposit is applied against your first month’s instalment and the remainder of your first payment/instalment is due on or before August 15, 2011.

Residence fee information is available by going to http://www.ubishops.ca/residence/ and clicking on General Information and selecting Fees and Meal Plans. Room assignment information will be mailed out in late July as well as a student account statement which will outline your residence and meal plan fees.

The following methods of payment are accepted:

• By online banking (preferred method) if you live in Canada (Desjardins, CIBC, National Bank, Royal Bank, Scotia Bank, BMO or TD Canada Trust)
  Payee – Bishop’s University Residences or Bishop's University
  Reference or Account number = your student number
  
  
• By bank transfer - You must call the Residence Office to identify yourself and you will then be able to obtain our banking information and instructions to pay by direct bank transfers 819-822-9600 X 2685.
  
  
• By cheque – Make your cheque payable to Bishop’s University. Please indicate your BU student number and ‘residence deposit’ on your cheque. US cheques are accepted.
  
  
• By cash or debit card at the Business Office counter (McGreer Building, ground floor).

Please note that a ‘Promissory Note’ cannot be used to cover the payment of the first month of Residence Fees.

Please note that the date to have a guaranteed room in residence for fall 2011 has now passed. Consequently, rooms may no longer be available. To be put on a waiting list or to find out more about room availability, please contact the Residence Office at (819) 822-9600 ext. 2685 or residence@ubishops.ca. The online residence application is available at: http://www.ubishops.ca/residence/apply-to-residence.html. In order to apply for residence, you must submit your online application as well as your $500.00 residence deposit. We can only process your application once we receive your deposit.

We encourage all students to move into residence on Saturday, September 3rd , 2011 after 9:30 a.m. so that they can participate in our Residence Orientation events. There are a number of residence activities that will happen on Saturday, September  3rd  including an official welcome from the Dean of Student Affairs, Jackie Bailey.

Special arrangements for International Students to move in on Friday, September 2nd, 2011 can be made by contacting the Coordinator of International Students at (819) 822-9600 ext.2212 or Lillian.rogerson@ubishops.ca.

Orientation Week is organized by students, for students, in conjunction with the Dean of Student Affairs. The Students’ Representative Council (SRC) runs balanced, fun, safe and informative activities over a 6 day period. Orientation week will create a relaxed atmosphere in which you can discover the many services that Bishop’s University has to offer. The Bishop’s Orientation week provides a great start to your Bishop’s experience. Students can pick up their frosh packages on Sunday, September 4th, 2011. Orientation activities will commence on Sunday evening.

Throughout your time at Bishop’s, your Departmental Chairperson will assist you with choosing your courses and will offer you guidance in understanding your program requirements and university policies. In order to ensure a smooth transition to your study at Bishop’s, new students coming from a high school or CEGEP background and entering all programs except Études françaises et québécoises and Modern Languages will have some of their first semester core/required courses pre-registered by their Departmental Chairperson during the summer. The number of courses that will be pre-registered varies depending on the program into which you have been admitted. You will select the remainder of your first semester courses during the in-person registration period that occurs on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

You will have a chance to meet with your Departmental Chairperson at an Academic welcome session during Orientation and/or at the in-person registration. We encourage you to review the Fall 2011 timetable over the summer so that you can consider elective classes that you would like to take in the fall. We will work with you to build your complete fall schedule during the in-person registration process.

A specific time-slot for your in-person registration will be communicated to you in August. Your first year registration process is unique because you will have the opportunity to customize your Bishop’s degree.

If you do not register on time, there will be a $100 late registration fee that will be applied. 

For suggested course sequencing check out your program’s profile in the Academic Calendar. The Academic Calendar provides a basic profile for which courses to take in which semester. The number of required courses varies according to the program. The Academic Calendar provides all of the course descriptions; however, remember that not all courses will be offered each semester. During registration, you will be personally guided as to the best time to take electives, especially if you have already indicated interest in a minor.

Later this summer, the 2011/2012 version of the Academic Calendar will be available at the link above. It is the rules and regulations included therein that will apply to all incoming Fall 2011 students, and this is the version of the Academic Calendar which you should consult during the remainder of your degree.

You have two options to view what courses are offered each semester: (1) by department or (2) by time offered. You can find the Fall 2011 course timetable here.

It is helpful to search by Department for the first few classes and then by Time Slot to fill in gaps in your schedule.

Understanding the Timetable Acronyms:

• MWF: Monday, Wednesday & Friday for 1 hour
• MW: Monday & Wednesday for 1.5 hours
• TH: Tuesday & Thursday for 1.5 hours
• M: Monday for 3 hours
• T: Tuesday for 3 hours
• W: Wednesday for 3 hours
• H: Thursday for 3 hours
• F: Friday for 3 hours
• TBA: To Be Announced. The professor and students will find a common time to hold the class or lab.

For a blank mock timetable grid, please visit: http://www.ubishops.ca/registrarial-services/new-degree-students.html.

As a first year student, you will need to pay the compulsary Student Services and 1st Year fees which include Orientation Week and the English Writing Proficiency Exam.

If you are a Business major or a B.B.A. student, you will have to pay your membership fee to the Bishop’s University Commerce Society (BUCS).

If you are enrolled in the School of Education, you will have to pay EDU Speaker’s Fund fee.

You do not need to include any other incidental EDU or MUS PRAC. fees even if you are an Education or Music student as these fees are in general for upper year students.

Rest assured that any amounts paid in excess of what you owe will be credited to your student account. The Business Office will contact you after the Add/Drop deadline (September 16th) for any fees owing.

Each class is worth 3 credits at Bishop’s. This means that if you are taking 8 credits or less than you are a part-time student with respect to student fees, taking less than 3 courses. A regular course load is 15 credits, or 5 courses per semester. The majority of students will take 5 courses in their first semester.

If you have a specific question about course selection that you would like to discuss with a professor, you may send them an email. The Admissions Office has a very useful guide which includes contact information for each of the University’s five divisions, as well as contacts for each Departmental Chairperson. You can find the information in the "Help! Who Do I Ask?" PDF document (see the bottom of page 1 and top of page 2).

You will be automatically registered to take the English Writing Proficiency exemption exam. The exam is a two-hour long essay exam and intended to test students’ grammar, sentence structure and organization. All non-exchange students must write the EWP. By earning a score of 6 or higher out of 10, you will be granted 3 exemption credits. If you don’t score at least a 6 on your first try, you can re-write the exam or enroll in the EWP 099 course. You must have either gained exemption from EWP 099 or taken the course in order to graduate. For more information, including a sample exam please see: http://www.ubishops.ca/academic-programs/humanities/english-writing-profiency/.

ILT is a one credit lab course taught by the University Librarians in the John Bassett Memorial Library. It is required by some, but not all, majors. Based on your major, you will be pre-registered for the ILT lab when it is your turn to take the course (i.e. Education in the fall; Business in the winter). The lab runs for 6 weeks only and is taken in addition to your normal course load.

The Student Charter of Rights and Responsibilities is a governing document that all Bishop’s students must sign and adhere to when they join the Bishop’s community. Bishop’s was one of the first universities in Canada to have their Charter of Rights and Responsibilities apply to student actions off-campus in addition to on-campus.

You will need to sign the Student Charter of Rights and Responsibilities and bring it with you to registration. You can find the Charter here: http://www.ubishops.ca/registrarial-services/new-degree-students.html.

All new students must submit a photograph for their student identification card. We strongly encourage you to do this before you arrive in September because this will facilitate your move-in. This card is your official University identification and is required for students to access all of the various services at the University. We require a photograph that would be similar to a passport photo, thus no non-prescription glasses or hats/scarves in the picture. It is important that the picture is an accurate representation of yourself.

To submit your photo, log into your MyBU account using the MyBU user name and password sent to you by email earlier this spring, select the Academic tab and then choose student ID card. This page will provide you with all of the details as to how to submit your photo. If you have any problems or concerns when trying to submit your photo please contact Residence and Conference Services at 1-800-567-2792 ext. 2685.

A Bishop’s email address will be created for you on August 15th. After that date, it will be very important that you check your Bishop’s email account because all University-related email communications will be sent there and not to your personal (hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc.) email account. To check your Bishop’s email inbox, go to either www.gobishops.ca or  www.ubishops.ca and click on the WebMail link in the top right corner of the screen. Then log into your webmail account using the MyBU user name and password sent to you by email earlier this spring.

Yes, all international students (exchange and non-exchange) must send a scanned copy of their CAQ and study permit (i.e. student visa) by email to the Admissions Office at admissions@ubishops.ca before arriving in September.