Regulations Governing University Awards
The following regulations, as approved by the University of British Columbia Senate, govern all awards over which the University has jurisdiction.
Approval of New Awards and Changes to Existing Awards
1. The University shall not normally approve student awards of any type other than the “Student Award Types” defined in this policy.
2. The title of any student award approved by the University must include the term defined in this policy that corresponds to the defined “Student Award Type” to which it belongs, except in the case of Hybrid Awards, which may be titled as “Award”.
3. The University shall not approve any student award that is inconsistent with applicable human rights legislation or offends public policy. No part of this policy should be interpreted to preclude student awards that have as their object the amelioration of the conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups or other bona fide and reasonable justification. When approving student awards established through donations from donors to the University for identifiable individuals or groups, the University shall consider the origin and context of the donor’s gift.
4. In approving student awards, the University shall consider its stated commitments to equity, inclusion, and diversity.
5. The provisions of this policy are not applicable to the extent they conflict, either generally or in any specific instance, with Board of Governor’s Policy #72 (Access to the University of British Columbia).
6. The Senate may periodically review the terms of a student award so that it may better meet new conditions, more fully carry out the spirit of a gift from a donor or maintain the usefulness of the student award. Where the Senate wishes to change the terms of a student award, the Senate will consult with the Office of the University Counsel to determine the necessary process and approvals required to implement that change.
The process and approvals will depend on factors such as:
- Whether the student award is funded by the University or a donor;
- If by a donor, whether funding is annual or endowed;
- If endowed, whether the change is within the scope of the purposes of the endowment or whether the purposes of the endowment would require variation; and
- If variation is required, whether the variation of the purposes of the endowment may be approved by the Board of Governors or requires court approval.
Where variation to the endowment purpose must be approved by the Board of Governors, the variation to the endowment purpose must be approved by the Board of Governors before changes to the terms of the student award are approved by Senate.
General
7. The recording of student awards on a student’s official transcript of academic record shall be determined as follows:
- Hybrid awards given in part on the basis of academic merit, fellowships, medals, prizes, scholarships and any other student awards given solely or partially based on academic merit or other academic achievement, shall be listed on the transcript of academic record unless otherwise approved by Senate.
- Hybrid awards given based on criteria that do not include academic merit or other academic achievement shall not be listed on the transcript of academic record unless otherwise approved by Senate.
- Bursaries and any other student awards that are solely need- based, shall not be listed on the transcript of academic record.
8. Student awards issued by the University are normally first applied to any tuition and other student fees owing. If the amount of the student award is greater than any tuition or other student fees owing, the excess amount is paid to the student.
9. The University does not guarantee the payment of any student awards other than those funded by the University. In any given year, if invested funds do not provide sufficient income to disburse any endowed student award, payment of the student award may be reduced or withheld. The University reserves the right to withhold student awards established through donations from donors to the University where the required funds have not yet been received by the University.
10. A recipient of a student award, other than a bursary, may accept the honour of a student award but decline the monetary value. Any funds so declined will be made available to another eligible student.
11. Student awards, other than prizes, medals or other student awards intended for graduating students, awarded for academic achievement in a specific Faculty or the College of Graduate Studies or a specific discipline or intended for students studying in a particular program are normally conditional upon the recipient maintaining registration in the same discipline or program during the funding period. A change in program by a student to a different Faculty or discipline may result in reassignment of any unpaid funds associated with the award to another eligible student.
Undergraduate Awards
12. Unless otherwise stated in the award description, undergraduate student awards may be received only by students enrolled at the University during the Winter Session, as defined in the Academic Calendar.
13. Marks obtained in courses undertaken during Summer Session, as defined in the Academic Calendar, are not considered in the adjudication of student awards.
14. Subject to Paragraph 11, continuing undergraduate scholarships, and hybrid awards given in part on the basis of academic merit will normally be given to a student who:
- is registered in at least 24 percentage-graded credits in the current session or, for students enrolled in programs customarily requiring credits that are not percentage- graded, is registered in at least 24 total credits in the current session, with the required number of percentage- graded credits determined by the Faculty; and,
- has standing in the top 10% of his/her year and Faculty or an average of 75% or higher (with no failed courses) in the academic session on which the student award adjudication is based. Academic standing for students taking more than 24 credits will be determined on the basis of 24 percentage-graded credits to be chosen in the manner that is most advantageous to the student.
15. Paragraph 14 notwithstanding, students registered with the Disability Resource Centre and taking an approved reduced credit load may be eligible for scholarships and hybrid awards granted on the basis of academic merit if registered in fewer than 24 credits.
16. Recipients of undergraduate continuing and renewable scholarships, hybrid awards and other student awards given in whole or in part on the basis of academic merit are normally expected to be registered in 24 credits in order to retain their scholarship or hybrid award. Scholarships and hybrid awards given on the basis of academic merit are offered only to those who continue their studies to the satisfaction of the Registrar. Students registered in fewer than 24 credits in their final year of study may retain a scholarship or hybrid award given in part on the basis of academic merit and/or be eligible for a prize or medal if their Faculty or School confirms that the number of credits in which the student is registered is sufficient for graduation. In this case, the monetary value of the student award may be reduced.
17. Recipients of undergraduate continuing and renewable scholarships, hybrid awards given in part on the basis of academic merit and other student awards given on the basis of academic achievement who fail to meet renewal requirements in their first year of study due to unforeseen personal circumstances may be permitted to retain their student award at the discretion of the Registrar or the academic or administrative unit responsible for administering the student award. Students permitted to retain their student award after failing to meet renewal requirements in their first year of study will normally not be permitted to retain their student award in future years should they again fail to meet renewal requirements.
18. Students who have completed at least one year of study at the University may be eligible to defer scholarships, hybrid awards, or other merit-based student awards for up to one year, provided they show satisfactory reasons for postponing attendance. Requests for deferment must be made to Enrolment Services. Students wishing to take up a deferred student award must advise Enrolment Services in writing before the first day of the Winter Session, as defined in the Academic Calendar, in which they intend to take up the student award, or such other date identified to the student at the time of or prior to the deferral of the student award.
19. Students who have been granted deferred admission will automatically have any scholarships, hybrid awards or other merit- based student awards deferred until they begin their study at the University unless the student is otherwise notified at the time the student award is offered or at the time the deferral of admission is granted.
In order to receive a deferred student award, students who are granted permission to defer their admission and therefore their student award, will have to satisfy any conditions of admission imposed at the time of admission, must apply to take up the deferred offer by the application deadline of the following year, and must register in the program and at the campus to which they were admitted.
20. Once a student has completed all requirements to graduate from the degree program in which the student is enrolled and is not otherwise ineligible to graduate, the student’s eligibility for future student awards may be limited at the discretion of the Registrar, or in the case of a specific student award, the academic or administrative unit responsible for administering the student award.
Co-operative Education Programs
21. Students enrolled in co-operative education programs will be eligible to receive payments for student awards specifically intended for students enrolled in co-operative education programs during any academic session in which they are enrolled in a co-operative education program.
22. Students enrolled in co-operative education programs may remain eligible to receive award payments they would otherwise receive during any winter session in which they complete one or more co-op terms, despite being enrolled in fewer than 24 credits. Award payments may be adjusted to reflect the student’s credit load or deferred to a later session.
23. Payments for student awards that would normally be deferred under this policy to a future academic session, may be made in extenuating circumstances to students enrolled in co-operative education programs at the discretion of the Registrar or the academic or administrative unit responsible for administering the student award.
24. Students may remain eligible to receive student awards in the winter session that follows a winter session in which they have completed one or more co-op terms despite having completed fewer than 24 credits in that winter session. Award payments may be adjusted to reflect the student’s credit load in the previous term or deferred to a later session.
Exchange
25. Students enrolled in exchange programs will normally be eligible to receive payments for student awards during any academic session in which they are enrolled in an exchange program;
26. Students will normally be eligible for student awards in the winter session following the winter session in which the student was enrolled in an exchange program, in accordance with paragraph 14. Grades achieved while on exchange may be translated or adjusted for consistency with the University’s standards and practices regarding grading and academic standing.
Graduate Awards
27. Student awards offered to graduate students, unless otherwise approved by Senate, are available only to support students engaged in full-time study and/or research leading to a degree at the University and will normally be paid only if the recipient is registered as a full-time student at the University during the payment period.
28. In cases where students are offered both major University graduate fellowship or scholarship funding and funding from a source external to the University for full-time study and research at UBC, the value of the University fellowship or scholarship funding will be adjusted as follows: if the value of the external award funding is less than the value of the University fellowship or scholarship funding, the student will receive the difference between the major University graduate fellowship or scholarship and external award funding. If the value of the external award funding is greater than or equal to the value of the University fellowship or scholarship funding, the University fellowship or scholarship funding may be withheld, or the amount may be adjusted. This provision is not intended to limit a student’s ability to receive multiple awards from the University. The criteria by which graduate student awards are identified as major awards shall be determined by the College of Graduate Studies.
Vantage College
29. Student performance during the entire 11-month Vantage College program may be considered when assessing the eligibility of Vantage College students for continuing student awards.
Definitions
Academic Merit shall refer to a student’s academic performance as represented by the student’s academic average in 24 credits completed in a single session. For students completing more than 24 credits in a single session, the 24 credits used to calculate the academic average will be selected in the manner most advantageous to the student.
Continuing shall refer to a student award given according to criteria met or demonstrated by a student while enrolled as a student at the University or while completing non-credit programming offered by the University.
Merit-based shall refer to a student award given based on academic merit, other academic achievement, or other achievement, such as service, leadership, or research.
Need-based shall refer to a student award given based on assessed financial need.
Renewable shall refer to a student award that provides annual funding over multiple academic sessions, subject to the student meeting renewal criteria.
Student Award shall refer to any type of financial award or assistance, including any bursary, fellowship, hybrid award, medal, prize, or scholarship, that is given to students or participants in non-credit programming by the University using University funds or established through donations from donors to the University.
Bursary shall mean a student award that is solely need-based.
Fellowship shall mean a merit-based student award usually disbursed at the beginning of an academic session to a graduate student primarily based on academic achievement and/or research ability and potential.
Hybrid Award shall mean a student award for which neither financial need nor academic achievement is the sole criterion considered. (e.g., a student award given on the basis of achievement other than academic achievement, including, but not limited to, service, leadership, or research, or a combination of academic and other achievement or a combination of academic and/or other achievement and financial need). Awards of this type may be identified as “Award” in the award title. Hybrid awards given in part on the basis of academic merit shall be identified as “Academic Award” in the award description.
Medal shall mean a merit-based non-monetary student award, normally given to a graduating student at the conclusion of an academic session based on Academic Merit or other academic achievement.
Prize shall mean a merit-based student award given at the conclusion of an academic session based on academic merit or other academic achievement such as performance in a particular course, research performance, or publication record during the previous academic session.
Scholarship shall mean a merit-based student award given solely on the basis of academic merit or other academic achievement usually disbursed at the beginning of an academic session.