Current graduate students

Kido, Otani and Ota — Child and Youth Care graduate student Nozomi Kido with undergraduate students Keiichi Otani and Hiroko Ota. Photo: Christine McLaren.

Graduate program principles

Instructors and students are engaged in a process of collaborative and respectful learning.
The curriculum explores multiple perspectives in pursuit of integrated personal understandings.
Research, theory, and practice are integrally connected.
The needs, perspectives, and realities of children, youth, and their families are central to the curriculum, and the socio-political realities of children and youth are understood as contexts for their care and development.
Learners address individual goals while contributing to and drawing upon the collective resources within the group experience.

Learn about the resources available to you.

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for additional current program information.

Directed studies

Directed studies involve individual work under the direct supervision of one or more faculty members. You will be responsible for approaching potential instructors, and the course must be planned in consultation with them.

Before you can register in the course, the instructor and the school's graduate adviser must approve the course's content, credit value, and method of evaluation. You will also need to complete a pro forma proposal form.

Student responsibilities

You are responsible for:

being familiar with the regulations of the Faculty of Graduate Studies
making yourself familiar with the school’s requirements
ensuring that your chosen courses conform with the faculty and school regulations. You are also responsible for the completeness and accuracy of your registration and program. Discrepancies can often be detected by examining the Curriculum Advising and Program Planning (CAPP) form.
registration for the duration of your program. You must register or withdraw with permission in every term once your program begins (three terms per year).
making yourself familiar with your fee obligations.
maintaining open communication with your graduate supervisor, supervisory committee, and the SCYC graduate adviser through mutually agreed-upon meetings. Bring any problems (current or potential) to their attention -- there are formal routes of appeal.
promptly reporting changes in address and telephone number in your Online Tools. A letter mailed to your address as it appears on record in your Online Tools will be deemed adequate notification for all matters concerning your record.
making yourself familiar with the research approval requirement.

Guidelines for professional conduct

We expect our graduate students to develop and adhere to a professional code of conduct. We support models for professional conduct based on the following guidelines:

submitting to a professional code of ethics
exercise of personal discipline, accountability and judgment
acceptance of personal responsibility for continued competency and learning
willingness to serve the public, client or patient and place them before yourself
ability to recognize the dignity and worth of all persons in any level of society
willingness to assist others in learning
ability to recognize your own limitations
maintenance of confidentiality of information appropriate to the purposes and trust given when that information was acquired
acceptance that your professional abilities, personal integrity, and the attitudes you demonstrate in relationships with other persons are the measure of professional conduct.

Unprofessional conduct

Graduate students are subject to the code of ethics of their respective profession. You may be required to withdraw from the school for violating them. You may also be required to withdraw when ethical, medical or other reasons interfere with satisfactory practice in your discipline.

SCYC graduate student listserv

The grad student listserve is an email list for all SCYC graduate students. It is useful for sharing information about courses events, funding and job opportunities.

We will add your name to the listserve at the start of your program. Contact the graduate program assistant if you have problems or questions.

Self-directed learning

The Master of Arts in Child and Youth Care program is predicated on the assumption that students will approach their learning by participating in a self-directed and responsible manner.

"Self-directed" means taking the initiative to ensure that:

the learning objectives of courses are well-addressed.
course instructors are notified in advance of unavoidable absence.
any missed material or information is passed on by a fellow student or requested from the instructor.
discussions are held with course instructors in advance of deadlines if alternative arrangements need to be negotiated.

Grading

Grades for courses within the School of Child and Youth Care (SCYC) graduate degree program are assigned in the following manner based on SCYC and Faculty of Graduate Studies’ standards:

Faculty of Graduate Studies– Grading Scale

Grade	Grade Point Value	Percentage *	Description	Achievement of Assignment Objectives
A+	9	90 – 100	Exceptional Work	Technically flawless and original work demonstrating insight, understanding and independent application or extension of course expectations; often publishable.
A	8	85 – 89	Outstanding Work	Demonstrates a very high level of integration of material demonstrating insight,,understanding and independent application or extension of course expectations.
A-	7	80 – 84	Excellent Work	Represents a high level of integration, comprehensiveness and complexity, as well as mastery of relevant techniques/concepts.
B+	6	77 – 79	Very good work	Represents a satisfactory level of integration, comprehensiveness, and complexity; demonstrates a sound level of analysis with no major weaknesses.
B	5	73 – 76	Acceptable work that fulfills the expectations of the course	Represents a satisfactory level of integration of key concepts/procedures. However, comprehensiveness or technical skills may be lacking.
B-	4	70 – 72	Unacceptable work revealing some deficiencies in knowledge, understanding or techniques	Represents an unacceptable level of integration, comprehensiveness and complexity.Mastery of some relevant techniques or concepts lacking. Every grade of 4.0 (B-)or lower in a course taken for credit in the Faculty of Graduate Studies must be reviewed by the supervisory committee of the student and a recommendation made to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Such students will not be allowed to register in the next session until approved to do so by the Dean.
C+	3	65 – 69
C	2	60 – 64
D	1	50 – 59
F	0	0 – 49	Failing grade	Unsatisfactory performance. Wrote final examination and completed course requirements.
CTN	Excluded Grade	N/A	Continuing	Denotes the first half of a full-year course.
FNC	Excluded Grade	N/A	For No Credit	Denotes a 100-299 level undergraduate course for no credit in the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Students in the Faculty of Graduate Studies must achieve a grade point average of at least 5.0 (B) for every session in which they are registered. Individual departments or schools may set higher standards. Students with a sessional or cumulative average below 5.0 will not be allowed to register in the next session until their academic performance has been reviewed by their supervisory committee and continuation in the Faculty of Graduate Studies is approved by the Dean. Some academic units may employ a percentage system for evaluating student’s work.
Other Failing or Temporary Grades
N	0	0 – 49	Did not write examination or otherwise complete course requirements by the end of term or session. This grade is intended to be final.
COM	N/A	N/A	Used only for 0 unit courses and other graduate courses designated by the Senate. Such courses are identified in the course listings.
INC	N/A	N/A	Incomplete (requires “Request for Extension of Grade” form). Used for those graduate credit courses designated by the Senate and identified in the course listings; also used, with Dean’s permission, for those graduate credit courses with regular grading (A to F, including N) which are not complete by the end of the term or session due to exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the instructor or student. INC must be replaced by a final grade not later than the end of the next term.
INP	N/A	N/A	In Progress. Used only for work terms; dissertations; theses; projects; comprehensive examinations and seminars offered on the same basis as dissertations or theses and designated by Senate (identified in the course listings). In the case of work terms, a final grade must replace INP within two months of the end of term. For dissertations, theses, designated seminars, projects and comprehensives, a final grade must replace INP by the end of the program. If the student does not complete the degree requirements within the time limit for the degree, the final grades will be N.
N/X	Excluded Grade	N/A	Did not complete course requirements by the end of the term; no supplemental. Used only for Co-op work terms and for courses designated by Senate. Such courses are identified in the course listings. The grade is EXCLUDED from the calculation of all grade point averages.
F/X	Excluded Grade	N/A	Unsatisfactory performance. Completed course requirements; no supplemental. Used only for Co-op work terms and for courses designated by Senate. Such courses are identified in the course listings. The grade is EXCLUDED from the calculation of all grade point averages.
CIC	N/A	N/A	Co-op Interrupted Course. Temporary grade. See “General Regulations: Graduate Co-op.
WE	N/A	N/A	Withdrawal under extenuating circumstances. The WE registration status will replace a course registration or grade when approved by the Dean following a request for academic concession from a student. This registration status is excluded from the calculation of all grade point averages; it will appear on the official transcript.
* The grading scale for the evaluation of course achievement at the University of Victoria is a percentage scale that translates to a 9 point GPA/letter grade system. The 9 point GPA system is the sole basis for the calculation of grade point averages and academic standing. Standardized percentage ranges have been established as the basis for the assignment of letter grades. The percentage grades are displayed on the official and administrative transcripts in order to provide fine grained course assessment which will be useful to students particularly in their application to graduate studies and for external scholarships and funding. Comparative grading information (average grade [mean] for the class), along with the number of students in the class, is displayed for each course section for which percentage grades are assigned.

Academic performance

Every grade of B- or lower in a course taken for credit in the Faculty of Graduate Studies must be reviewed by the student’s supervisory committee or the departmental graduate committee, and a recommendation must be made to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Such students will not be allowed to register in the next term until approved to do so by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Upon the advice of the committee, the Faculty of Graduate Studies may impose conditions for continuation in the program; if these conditions are not met within the specified time limit, the student will be required to withdraw.

Students in the Faculty of Graduate Studies must achieve a grade point average of at least 5.00 (B) for every term in which they are registered. Individual departments or schools may set higher standards. Students with a sessional or cumulative average below 5.00 will not be allowed to register in the next term until their committee reviews their academic performance and the Dean of Graduate Studies approves continuation in the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Note: grades for courses designated FNC (For No Credit) or for Transfer Credit courses will not be used in the calculation of sessional or cumulative grade point averages.

A student who fails to meet academic standards or whose dissertation, thesis, or project is not progressing satisfactorily may be required to withdraw from the Faculty of Graduate Studies with the advice and consent of the department concerned.

Research approval requirement

You are responsible for assuring that you receive the appropriate review and approvals from the Office of Research Services before undertaking research during your program.

The university requires that all studies with human participants receive ethical approval by the human research ethics board before data collection.

Following your committee's approval of the thesis/project proposal, you must complete the appropriate ethics forms and submit them. Approval may take four to six weeks. If you submit your application during the summer, it may take longer.

If you are collecting data in a non-profit or public agency, you will be expected to get approval from the relevant managerial authority. It is useful to obtain this approval before submitting your application to the ethics board.

Get the required forms and guidelines for human research ethics.