Frequently asked questions#

When do labs (and/or Tutorials) start?

Physical labs (and/or Tutorials) will not start until Week 2 of the course. See the Course Schedule for more information.

How do I address my professors at UBCO?

Tip

The short answer is: always use Dr. + <last name> or Professor + <last name>. So you would call me Dr. Moosvi in emails and in-person.

The long answer is a bit of a rant, so bear with me here!

Read the long version here!

There is somewhat of a tension in the Ivory Tower as it has long been accepted and assumed that students at university are considered adults and thus, should be on a first-name basis with their professors. After all, if we want students to be comfortable in their environment, and in the name of community-building then students should drop the formalities of titles and just refer to their professors using just their first name. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. It turns out that in our society, job titles have a lot of meaning and authority - particularly for minoritized individuals such as women and people of colour, who are already less likely to be perceived as experts (see this article for more about this). Of course it is very uncomfortable and socially inappropriate to “correct” people about your title, it seems like “bragging” or, being “uptight” and “hierarchical”, as well as a host of other adjectives I’d rather not point out. On the other hand, we also know that students come from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds and it may be completely inappropriate and foreign for them to refer to individuals of authority by their first names. For these students, it can result in crippling anxiety and fear to refer to their instructors by their first names when they insist, so rather than deal with the turmoil of these interactions, they choose to not to interact with their instructors at all. This is very unfortunate, and a reminder to us all that there are always consequences to our decisions and we need to think through our established conventions through the lens of “who is this harming?”.

Finally, I recognize that a lot of this may be “hidden curriculum” and students may not be aware of these conventions. I do not believe that students are intentionally referring to their instructors using incorrect honorifics (Mr., Ms., and the worst: Miss or Mrs). However, it is an unfortunate and dark part of our society that it tends to happen way more to my female colleagues. Practically speaking, in almost all cases^, and instructors here need a PhD to teach, so even if unintentional or accidental, you are devaluing their accomplishments and titles by referring to them as anything other than Dr. or Professor. These titles that have been incredibly hard-earned (PhDs tend to have 5-7 years of additional education and training after a bachelor’s degree), often in extremely traumatic circumstances (particularly for minoritized folks). In general, I encourage you all to look within yourself and fight against your inner biases when it comes to equity and inclusion. Specifically in this case, I suggest you always refer to your instructors at UBCO with Dr. + <last name> or Professor + <last name>.

^ Note: In some rare cases, there may be exceptional senior grad students or exceptional teachers with Masters degrees teaching your courses. Even in those cases, unless they tell you otherwise and insist, it’s usually wisest (and politest) to refer to them as Dr. or Professor as well.

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👋🏽 If you have been referred to this page by me after an email exchange with me, please do not despair or feel bad! I do not think any less of you, I am just using this opportunity to educate you about appropriately addressing your instructors. There is absolutely no need to apologize, all is forgiven! Use this opportunity to learn more about this, and you’ll do the right thing next time, I’m sure 😊!

What if I cannot be in Kelowna by the start of the term?

I understand this is probably a really stressful experience, and there are all sorts of issues with travel delays and visa problems, not to mention the fact that the pandemic is still around. It’s definitely not your fault.

I’ll do my best to make sure the class is setup so that if some students aren’t able to be in class within the first few days can still catch up and not be disadvantaged.

What should I do if I’m joining the course late?

Since I generally teach large classes, this happens quite often! No worries, we’ll get you all caught up. I’ve recorded a quick video showing you how to get oriented with one of my courses. You can watch the video here or watch the embedded version below:

What can I do if my study-permit is delayed and I can’t be in Kelowna for the majority of the term?

You can find more advice about some next steps you can take on this page that’s managed by UBC.

What are the computer requirements for this course?

Before enrolling in this course, ensure that your laptop meets the minimum requirements:

  • runs one of the following operating systems:

    • Macs:

      • Latest: macOS 12.5

      • Recommended: macOS 10.14.6 or higher

      • Required: macOS 10.11 (El Capitan)

    • Windows:

      • Latest: Windows 11

      • Recommended: Windows 10 (64-bit) or higher

      • Required: Windows 7 or higher

    • Ubuntu:

      • Latest: Ubuntu 21.10

      • Recommended: Ubuntu 20.04 or higher

      • Required: version 18.04

  • can connect to networks via a wireless connection

  • has at least 5 GB disk space available

  • has at least 4 GB of RAM

  • uses English as the default language (if you want TAs or the instructor to help you)

  • student user has full administrative access to the computer

We will do our best to help you if your laptop does not meet the minimum requirements, but there are no guarantees we will be able to get things to work so be warned.

If this is going to be a problem, please contact me through a private message on Ed Discussion (sign up using your cwl@student.ubc.ca email here) and we can work out an accommodation.

Do I need to buy anything for this course?

No, you do not need to purchase anything for this course.

It would be helpful if you had access to a computing device as we’ll be conducting all of our homework and tests online. If this is going to be a problem, please contact me through a private message on Ed Discussion (sign up using your cwl@student.ubc.ca email here) and we can work out an accommodation.

Which textbook are we using for this course?
Will lectures be recorded so I can re-watch them to study?

Yes, lectures will be recorded and posted - mostly for students that miss the class and want to catch up on missed announcements.

In general, I do not think re-watching lectures is a good way to study (even at 1.5x speed). It will be far more beneficial for you to try doing more problems and come to student hours or go to tutorial for extra help!

What should I do if the course is full and I’m on the waitlist for the class?

If the course is full, please register to the waitlist and monitor the SSC for an open seat. Should a mass seat release be approved by the Department Head, all waitlisted students will be notified by email to register on a first-come, first-served basis.

Check the SSC website frequently to see if any spots open up in the class, and self-register if you can. Closer to the start of term students are always switching classes and sections so this is probably your best to get registered into the course. If you are set on joining the class, I suggest attending class physically in-person for as long as possible so you are not behind if/when you do get into the course. Most of the content I use is open source so you can access the course website.

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Unfortunately the course instructor has no control over student registration and you will not be able to join the Canvas course until you are officially registered in the class. If you have specific questions, I suggest contacting the department cmps.okanagan@ubc.ca. Note: the operating hours for the CMPS office are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (PDT).

What if I can’t register in the lab/tutorial I want?

Unfortunately, there are no waitlists for labs or tutorial sections. I suggest you definitely register for the course and keep monitoring the space in the section you want (maybe once or twice a week?). Please continue to monitor the schedule over the summer for an open seat. The department often adds additional seats, or opens more labs depending on enrolment. I expect that after things stabilize and students choose their final list of courses, the lab spots will be readily available. Some lab sections are often blocked to help minimize cases where there are only 3-4 students in a lab section, and depending on enrolment, may open up in the future.

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This is usually not an issue, and I don’t expect this to be an issue in the future. I know it’s a bit frustrating, but students always over-register into more courses than they can realistically take while they consider their options. If by the start of term, you’re still not in a lab/tutorial, then I suggest contacting cmps.okanagan@ubc.ca to let the department know that you’re not able to get into a lab/tutorial along with your constraints, and they will likely provide you with some advice.

Is this course hard? Will I fail?

I have done my best to setup this course so that if you are willing (and able) to put the work in, you will leave this course with a good grades! I can pretty much guarantee that - there are lots of opportunities for you to work collaboratively with your peers during the lectures and on homework assignments. There will be frequent tests (roughly every two weeks) in this course and you will always have an opportunity to redo your test for a higher grade.

If you come in with good work ethic, the right attitude, and sufficient motivation, you will do really well - I promise!

Is attendance mandatory in lectures and labs?

  • Attendance is highly recommended in lectures and labs, but not required.

  • Labs will not be recorded, Lectures will be recorded and made available via Canvas.

  • There is a passing requirement in this course: you must achieve a score >50% on all the labs together, to pass the course, and it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to pass the labs if you skip the labs!