New students will get to know the Student Affairs department quickly during New Student Orientation (NSO), where the team gives students an overview of the university’s campus, myUCW portal, library services and resources available.  Attendance at NSO is mandatory.
As well as peer and faculty support, through Student Affairs, students can access:

  • Writing and Numeracy Coaches
  • Academic Advising
  • Campus Information Sessions
  • Workshops and Seminars
  • Student Life and Student Committee Events, such as: holiday parties, end of term socials, movie nights, and much more.

To ensure that your experience University Canada West is enjoyable, should you encounter any challenges, do be advised that a solution is often just a click or call away. Current students should login to myUCW Student Portal. New students can email [email protected].

Let’s start with a couple of key definitions to help you get your issue resolved:

  • A complaint involves a concern, problem or issue other than an academic decision (such as a course grade) or a disciplinary measure (such as a registration hold for non-payment). It’s important to understand that we will not address anonymous or malicious complaints.Oftentimes, issues can be resolved without filing a formal complaint. We encourage you to try to handle complaints first by dealing directly with the person or issue yourself. But if that’s not possible, here are the procedures to make a formal complaint as outlined in
    Policy 1510: Complaints Resolution.
  • An appeal is the appropriate response to a disciplinary measure that you think is unfair or excessive, or to challenge an academic decision (e.g. a grade or an ethics committee decision). Appeals are handled through established university procedures. University Canada West has two policies related to appeals:

This policy describes how you can appeal a decision made about grades or academic disciplinary matters that you believe was unjust or imposed inappropriate consequences. The policy outlines procedures for you to follow when you wish to dispute those decisions.

Policy 5006: Academic Integrity

The purpose of this non-academic appeals policy is to provide the framework for you to be heard in a fair and impartial manner regarding decisions about non-academic misconduct which might impact your student record, standing or continuance at UCW.

Policy 9011: Appeals for Non-Academic Discipline

What other University policies are available to me?

Other policies may include specific appeals procedures. For example, our Policy 9007: Admissions Policy outlines how to appeal an admission decision. Policy 5020: Research Ethics describes what to do if you disagree with a decision by the Research Ethics Committee.

See policies for a complete list of University Canada West policies.