This policy applies to students currently registered in full-time graduate programs at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus who are in good standing and making satisfactory progress toward the completion of their degree. Students must have completed at least one term of full-time study in their program. (See also On-Leave Status).
The policy makes it possible for a student to maintain full-time student status during an eight-week period surrounding the arrival of a new child, with all the benefits of such status, by standardizing a minimum level of academic accommodation during that period.
A graduate student with substantial parenting responsibilities for a newborn or newly adopted child during their course of study may apply for parental accommodation. The parental accommodation period must start within eight weeks of the (expected or actual) date of childbirth or adoption.
Parental accommodation periods must be approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
An application for a parental accommodation shall be made as far in advance of the requested parental accommodation period as possible, with 30 days being the minimum notice allowed.
Students who are approved for parental accommodation will be granted a parental accommodation period.
During the parental accommodation period, the student will continue to be registered as a fulltime student, and tuition and student fees must be paid as usual.
Academic deadlines and expectations are to be flexible and modified to accommodate the student's new parental responsibilities, as follows:
- The parental accommodation period will be tailored to fit the student's individual circumstances and timing considerations.
- Students will be allowed to postpone completion of course assignments, examinations, and other academic requirements. Such modifications of academic expectations should be mutually agreed upon by the student and their supervisor or program coordinator, and course instructor(s) as applicable, in advance of the parental accommodation period.
- It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that this consultation takes place.
- It is the responsibility of the supervisor or program coordinator to be flexible in their expectations.
In the event that a student and their supervisor or program coordinator cannot come to an agreement regarding the modification of an academic expectation as per above, the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies shall make a determination.
Graduate programs that are structured with regard to the sequencing and scheduling of courses and other academic requirements, such as those that are cohort based, may have particular constraints on modifications to academic scheduling, but are still expected to exercise flexibility in supporting a student during a parental accommodation period.
For graduate students enrolled in undergraduate courses, normal concession policies for those courses still apply.
Modification of Time Limits1
Students who are approved for parental accommodation will automatically have four months added to their maximum allowable time in program, and, for doctoral students, to their maximum allowable time to advance to candidacy.
Individual graduate programs are expected to extend any internal deadlines for the completion of academic requirements (such as comprehensive exams or coursework) by a minimum of four months.
Further extensions beyond these minimums are possible, subject to the approval of both the graduate program and the College of Graduate Studies.
Graduate Awards and Fellowships
A graduate student granted a parental accommodation period retains the full value of any fellowship or other award for which the terms and conditions are established by the College of Graduate Studies and will experience no change in this funding during the parental accommodation period. Payments will continue on the usual schedule. There will be no change to the total amount granted or to the completion date of the scholarship.
Awards for which the terms and conditions are not established by the College of Graduate Studies will be paid according to the terms and conditions established by the donor or granting agency.
1Exceptions to this policy may be approved by the Dean of the College as an academic concession following the applicable policy.