Fast Facts

It is every student?s responsibility to activate and use his/her UWO email account; it is university-wide policy to ONLY use UWO email accounts to communicate with students and we cannot be held responsible if you miss information due to not reading your email or your inbox being full.

To activate your account, go to www.uwo.ca/its. Click on ?Email? and then ?Activate your Western Identity? Students will need their student number and PIN, which appears on the formal offer of admission.

Mail can be checked online at http://mail.uwo.ca. You may forward your UWO email to a personal email account BUT please note that some School Board email systems treat UWO email like SPAM. Therefore, it is recommended that you use your UWO student email account and check it regularly even if you forward it.

Please contact ITS on main campus for technical assistance for your UWO email account: http://www.uwo.ca/its/helpdesk/or 519-661-3800.

Every student at the Faculty of Education is given an Education Computer Account. This account is used to login to the computers at the Faculty of Education Building and for the Graduate Portal during Program Planning. This login information, is the same as your UWO email login. If you have difficulty logging into a computer in the Faculty of Education, please contact our local technical support: 519-661-2111 ext. 84839 or edu.tech.support@uwo.ca

If you don’t know your PIN, go to https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/PIN/GetPinInfo.cfm with your student ID number, SIN/OUAC# and date of birth. Your PIN is also printed on your formal offer of admission. If any info is missing from your file and you are unable to access your PIN, please call 519-661-2100.

A student card is issued to every student when they first come to the University of Western Ontario. The Western ONECard functions as an identification card for exams, bus pass, and Campus Recreation. It is also a library card, meal plan card, and can be used for door access and vending machine purchases.

It is to be kept for the duration of a student’s studies and is to be used only by the person to whom it is issued. A fee will be charged to replace a lost or damaged student card. Please see the Office of the Registrar website at www.registrar.uwo.ca/index.cfm/general-information/western-onecard for more information on the Western ONECard.

In order to obtain your Western One Card, please bring a piece of photo identification to the Student Central Office (Room 1120) located in the Western Student Services Building. On-line Students: Please contact the Graduate Programs & Research Office for instructions on obtaining your student card.

Complete online at the Student Centre (https://student.uwo.ca). Please provide the Office of Graduate Programs & Research with a daytime contact phone number for cases of emergency (e.g. class cancellation). **For students receiving income via UWO Payroll, your contact information must also be updated by following the instructions on “myHumanResources” https://myhr.uwo.ca.

You may from time to time hear the acronym “FIPPA,” which stands for Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act. This Act bounds many of our processes such as the collection, storage and release of personal information. For example, Office of Graduate Programs & Research personnel cannot permit students or faculty behind the counter area of the office due to the personal information that lies on our desks. We are also not permitted to distribute personal information such as your phone number and address, to anyone – including your instructors, without your consent. We are, however, permitted to distribute such information to other UWO staff when it is required for them to do their jobs. If you wish an instructor to be able to reach you by means other than your UWO email address, please provide your instructor with this information and/or inform the Office of Graduate Programs & Research. See also Section 1.02 of the Graduate Regulations as well as UWO’s Privacy web site (www.uwo.ca/privacy).

Fees are set by the University and approved by Senate for fall/winter and separately for summer. Once approved, they are published on the Office of the Registrar’s web site (http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/index.cfm/student-finances/fees-refunds/).

Your Statement of Account can be viewed by signing into the Student Centre (http://student.uwo.ca). Fee bills and statement of accounts are not printed or mailed out to students. Email notification is sent indicating when your tuition account is available for viewing through the Student Centre. For those of you who need to have proof of payment or proof of registration for an external agency, you can print a summary online, via the Student Centre.

All fees must be paid as indicated on your Student Center account. For those receiving WGRS or similar funding, please subtract your “Anticipated Aid” amount from the total.

• Internet banking through major Canadian banks is the preferred method of payment.  The majority of graduate students use this method to pay their tuition.  Add University of Western Ontario – Tuition to your list of bank payments (there may be a variance in the way each bank lists the University of Western Ontario as a payee). Your student number is your account for Internet payments.
• Graduate students have the option of paying half (50%) of the tuition plus a $26.00 deferred payment charge on the published due date with the balance (50%) on October 13th.
• Recipients of external scholarships such as OGS, OGSST, SSHRC and NSERC may pay their tuition in 3 equal installments plus a deferred payment charge added to the first installment.  These installments will be due the last day of the month for the first three months of term.
• Students whose fees will be paid by an external sponsor must provide proof of funding for each term to Western Student Services Building, Room 1140F before the tuition deadline to avoid late payment charges.  Students are responsible for payment of any fees or penalties not paid by the sponsor.
• For additional payment methods including how to arrange payment from outside of Canada please consult: www.registrar.uwo.ca/index.cfm/student-finances/fees-refunds/payment-information
• Payments received after the published due date will be assessed a late payment charge ($124)
  

OSAP loan applications received by Student Financial Aid at least 4-6 weeks prior to the start of the term should be available for pick up at the start of term. All students picking up loan documents must present a Social Insurance Card and a valid government issued Photo Identification. Your student card is no longer acceptable for OSAP related purposes. This is a Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities policy, and no exceptions will be made. Loan documents must be negotiated within 30 days. You can pick up your OSAP loan documents at the following times & locations at the Faculty of Education (not main campus):

September 2:
Time: 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Location: Gym, Faculty of Education Building

September 3:
Time: 9:00am - 11:00am & 3:00pm-4:00pm
Location: Gym, Faculty of Education Building

September 7-10
Time: 10:00 am - 11:30 am & 2:00 pm -3:30 pm
Location: 1166(Preservice Office), Faculty of Education Building

September 13 and after:
Time: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Location: Room 1166(Preservice Office), Faculty of Education Building

Student Financial Services can be contacted by calling (519) 661-2100 or at finaid@uwo.ca

Full-time students are automatically enrolled in the SOGS health and dental plan. Students are assessed their annual premium in September (appears in fall fees) and have access to their plan benefits through to August 31. If you have alternate coverage and wish to opt-out of the SOGS health & dental plan you have to submit your request on-line through the Graduate Student Web Services Portal by September 30. Part-time students are not automatically enrolled in the SOGS health and dental plan, but may opt-in through SOGS. To opt-in to the SOGS health & dental plan you have to submit the “Health Plan OPT-IN” form located on the SOGS website at http://www.uwo.ca/sogs/Benefits and submit it to the SOGS office, UCC Room 260, by September 30.

Mandatory health insurance coverage for non-Canadian residents and their families.  The cost is included in International fees.  New applications must be completed upon arrival for your first registration term.  The forms are available in the Room 1120 in the Western Student Services Building and must be completed by a staff person there.  UHIP coverage for returning or renewing students will automatically be renewed based on data from the Office of the Registrar.
Additional premiums are payable for eligible family members within 30 days of arrival in Canada.  International students with dependents can complete their application in Room 1120 in the Western Student Services building. Penalties will be applied by UHIP for late applications. For information on UHIP – how to enroll, what is covered, etc. please visit www.uhip.ca.

Students need to be familiar with and adhere to the graduate programs policies as listed on the Policies page of our website and in the Graduate Regulations listed on the SGPS website.

Graduate students must maintain continuous registration and pay fees in each successive term from initial registration until all requirements for the degree are completed. “Registration” may include a course or other degree requirements, such as Independent Proposal Preparation, Internship, Directed Research Project or Thesis (Masters students); or Qualifying Papers or Thesis (Doctoral students). For those students registering for course work in the Summer Term, registering in any of the various sessions offered by the Graduate Programs & Research Office satisfies this requirement.

The Vice-Provost (Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies) may grant a leave of absence for pregnancy/parental, medical or compassionate grounds normally to a maximum of three terms or 12 months, on the recommendation of the Graduate Program.
While on leave, students are expected to be away from normal activities as graduate students (e.g. attending classes, conducting research). However, students and supervisors may negotiate ongoing communication during this period.
The start and finish of the leave may begin or end at any point in the term; normally the leave will coincide with the start and end of terms. Requests for Leave of Absence are completed on-line on the School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies’ website by login into the Western Graduate Student Services Portal. More information about Leaves of Absence can be found in the Graduate Regulations Section 4.06.

Withdrawal from a program can occur in one of two ways.

If it is necessary for you to withdraw from the program you can do so through the SGPS Graduate Student Web Services Portal under Change of Registration. Assuming the student is in good standing at the time of withdrawal, he/she will be invited to reapply to the program. If the student does so within a two-year period of withdrawing, the Graduate Programs & Research Office will normally recommend that advanced standing be given for all courses completed at the time of withdrawal. If the student reapplies after this two year period, he/she applies and goes through the same competitive process as first-time applicants. Normally, advanced standing would only be recommended for up to two half or one full course. Please contact the Graduate Programs & Research Office for information and assistance with reapplication procedures following a voluntary withdrawal.

Alternatively, the Graduate Programs & Research Office or the School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies can withdraw a student for failure to meet admission conditions, progression requirements, specified deadlines for completion, or failure to pay fees. Graduate students are expected to meet progression requirements in a timely fashion according to milestones specified by the program concerned. If the Associate Dean (Graduate Programs & Research) and/or Supervisor judge that process in scholarly work or research is unsatisfactory, a student may be required to withdraw at any time. In addition, a graduate student must maintain at least a 70% averaged over all courses of the degree program with no grade less than 60%. A student who fails to achieve this standard will be considered as not making satisfactory progress towards the degree.

Once withdrawn from a program (and the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies), the person withdrawn is no longer a student and may not attend classes, receive supervision, or have access to any resources of the University.

Mandatory annual process for all Graduate Education students, takes place in June. Students register for both course and non-course program requirements. Each term, a few weeks before the end of the term, we do the “course upload” or process that formally registers you for the following term. Once this occurs, you will see your courses in the Student Centre. You can always see your courses in the Grad Portal though, even if you do not have access to make changes. The one exception to this is students registered in thesis (9590,9790,9791) and IPP-9683; the course numbers assigned to these are internal designations used for record-keeping purposes. The corporate database does not recognize thesis as a course and this is why these students see “no current course registration” once the course upload is done.

Final transcripts, proof of Study Permit etc. – In the case of a Study Permit, fee bills will not be produced, nor will you be registered in courses until you clear this condition. In the case of final transcripts, these need to be provided as soon as they are available. For those who have just completed a previous program, you must wait until your transcript specifies “degree conferred.” Please contact the Office of Graduate Programs & Research if you have questions about outstanding admission conditions.

Current and former students can order their transcript in four different ways: in person, by mail, by fax or online. A student’s transcript is a confidential document. To ensure student records are kept secure the student’s signature is required for verification purposes or if ordering on-line a combination of your student number and personal identification number (PIN) are required before copies of your academic record can be released. For more information - http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/InfoServices/Transcripts.cfm

Please note that the Office of Graduate Programs & Research does not have a reporting relationship with the OCT as the Preservice and Continuing Teacher Education Offices do. Once you complete your degree requirements, you will need to order an official UWO transcript and send it to the OCT for your record to be updated.

For informal verification letters (i.e. not needing University Seal), please see your Graduate Assistant in the Graduate Programs & Research Office. For Statements of Registration, Canada Pension Plan, Orphan’s Benefits, Scholarship Voucher/Passport to Education (BC), or forms/letters requiring University Seal, go to room 1120 Western Student Services Building. Please note that there may be a charge for documents requiring the University Seal.

Student Centre: UWO-wide application. Login using your UWO Computer Account. View and/or update your personal information, grades, unofficial transcript, fees account, apply to graduate. Please note that there are some features you may have used as an undergraduate student that do not apply to graduate students: timetable information and the Add/Drop function. See Graduate Programs & Research web site for this information.

Student Services: UWO-wide application. Login using your UWO Computer Account. View and print your tax receipts—T2202A and order your transcripts online.

Grad Portal: Faculty of Education application. Login using your Faculty of Education computer account. View your past courses, current course registration, and future course selections.

Graduate Student Web Services Portal- SGPS application. Login using your UWO email login and password. Apply for Leave of Absence or Change of status to full/part time status.

There are several sources where you can find or from which you will be notified of dates and deadlines: emails from the Office of Graduate Programs & Research (or other UWO staff/faculty); term deadlines and monthly calendars posted on the “Timetables and Calendars” webpage, the “Announcements” webpage, the Graduate Programs & Research web site (the “Forms and Guidelines” page – Thesis and DRP guides, IRR Guide etc.) and the School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies web site: http://grad.uwo.ca.

The academic year is devided into three terms: Fall, Winter, and Summer. The Summer term is further sub-divided into the following sessions: Intersession, Summer Session, Summer On-line. Fall, Winter, and Summer On-line courses typically run for 12 weeks (or the equivalent), with the exception of Counselling Psychology classes which run for 13 weeks (or the equivalent). Intersession courses run for two evenings per week for 6 weeks beginning in May. Summer Session courses run for 3 mornings or afternoon per week for 4 weeks in July.

Timetables are posted on the Timetables & Calendars web page. Timetable information (room number, time) is not listed in the Student Centre.

Course descriptions are posted on the Course Descriptions web page.

Please do not attempt to add or drop courses in the Student Centre! Ceasing attendance to a class does not constitute dropping it. Please see attendance policies on the Policies web page on this site, or on all course outlines (applicable for on-line and onsite courses).

All course changes must be approved by your Academic Advisor.  Please contact your Advisor with your request and have him/her email the appropriate Graduate Assistance with approval:

TBA - M.Ed. Counselling Psychology; M.Ed. Educational Studies - all programs

Tina Beynen (tbeynen@uwo.ca) - Ph.D.; Joint Ph.D.

Add/Drop Deadlines

Adds - students may request to add a course before the second class takes place. As a result, add deadlines are typically at the end of the first week of classes during the Fall and Winter terms. These dates are prorated for condensed summer sessions.

Drops - Drops up to 30 days from the start of a term will not appear on a student's transcript; after 30 days and up to 60 days from the start of the term dropped courses show as "WDN" (withdrawn) on a student's transcript; dropping a course after 60 days from the beginning of a term results in a "F" (fail). These timelines are prorated for condensed summer sessions.

Deadline for graduate students wishing to take undergraduate courses is September 21st. View the Registrar’s website at www.registrar.uwo.ca for times and locations. See also section 6.07 of Graduate Regulations. Please note that undergraduate courses are not included in graduate tuition, you will be assessed tuition for these separately.

Graduate Education students may request permission to take up to 2 half or one full course in other faculties at UWO, or other accredited universities. Provincially and nationally, this is referred to as “(Ontario) Visiting Graduate Student” or “(O)VGS.” Permission must be obtained from each institution or faculty involved. Forms can be obtained on the “Forms & Guidelines” page.

All of Faculty of Education graduate courses are hosted on the University of Western Ontario’s WebCT OWL learning system (http://webct.uwo.ca). On-line Courses:  All Online Courses are taught through the WebCT OWL platform. On-site Courses:  Your instructor may choose to supplement their regular classroom environment with WebCT OWL. To login to WebCT OWL you will use your UWO Computer Account login (same as your UWO email account, ex. jsmith). Your courses will not appear in WebCT until the first business day of the term (i.e. on or after September 1; January 1; May 1). For assistance with WebCT OWL contact the ITS Support Centre at 519-661-3800.

Final grades can be viewed on the Student Centre (https://student.uwo.ca). Please note that grades for continuing students are not due until a couple of weeks into the following term (including the summer, regardless of which session you study in), and will show in the Student Centre shortly thereafter. The Office of Graduate Programs & Research is not at liberty to provide students with grades.

Education texts and materials can be purchased from Books Plus (plaza at the corner of Sarnia and Western Roads). On main campus the Bookstore is located in Room 7 (lower level) of the University Community Centre. Please visit www.bookstore.uwo.ca for business hours. Typically you will be provided with textbook information the first day of class, but periodically you will be contacted in advance of the start-date of a course with information such as the course outline, text book requirements, or initial readings/assignments. To order text books on-line, go to www.bookstore.uwo.ca and click on the purple “textbooks” box at the top of the page and the textbook search link.  Graduate Education is not specifically listed in the drop box; select “University of Western Ontario” followed by the appropriate Grad term. Select your course from the list (“GED” prefix followed by the course number) and follow the prompts to order and pay for your text. The Bookstore will ship books overseas in approximately one week, for a fee (approximately $45).

Please review the information on the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ web site with regard to scholastic offences, including plagiarism: http://grad.uwo.ca/current_students/graduate_regulations/section_10.htm. Plagiarism – the “act or an instance of copying or stealing another’s words or ideas and attributing them as one’s own.” (Excerpted from Black’s Law Dictionary, West Group, 1999, 7th ed., p. 1170). This concept applies with equal force to all academic work, including theses, assignments or projects of any kind, comprehensive examinations, laboratory reports, diagrams, and computer projects. Detailed information is available from instructors, Associate Deans, or the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students also may consult style manuals held in the University’s libraries (see www.lib.uwo.ca/services/styleguides.html). Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by proper referencing such as footnotes or citations. The University of Western Ontario uses software for plagiarism checking. Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form for plagiarism checking. Please also see the Student Code of Conduct: www.uwo.ca/univsec/board/code.pdf .

Card-swipe access is in effect at the Faculty of Education Building between 7:00pm and 7:00am, Monday to Friday, and on the weekends. Students need their Western ONECard to enter the building during theses hours. If you have an old Western ONECard you may need a replacement card, verify that on the back of your card (at the bottom) it states “HID iCLASS”.

The Graduate Student Lounge is located in Room 1142M, above the cafeteria. To access the lounge you will need a key code that is distributed at the Graduate Programs & Research Office. The lounge contains: study carols, meeting tables, a sitting area and computers. The lounge is restricted to graduate students.

Drop-in computer lab for students in the Faculty of Education is located in Room 1130. Computer labs in 1156 & 1158 may also be used when not booked for classes or other uses. There are also computers in the Graduate Student Lounge above the cafeteria (key code needed - available at the Graduate Programs & Research Office) and the Education library (first come first serve). To log into the computers at the Faculty of Education students use the same login and password they use for their UWO email account. Students must also complete the "Western Identity Manager" process at http://idm.uwo.ca/ in order to synchronize their password. You will not be able to log into a computer in the lab if you have not done this.
Internet access is also available on main campus in NSC 110, UC 2, SH 1310, NCB 105, HSB 13, HSB14, HSB16, SSC1000, SSC1012, SSC1032.

Wireless internet access is available at the Faculty of Education Building and many campus locations. Please refer to the Wireless Coverage Map for specific buildings and areas with wireless coverage located at: http://wireless.uwo.ca/coverage.html. When you open a browser, after connecting to the UWO network, you will be redirected to Wireless Network Log In Page. You will use your UWO Computer Account credentials to log in.

Printing credits can be purchased at main reception (Room 1044 FEB). Cost is $0.05/page and a minimum purchase of $2 is required. The graduate student printer is located in Room 1137 (key code required - distributed at the Graduate Programs & Research Office) and is connected to computers in the Graduate Student Lounge, PhD Area in Room 1135, and the PhD Portable Offices.

Located in the Cafeteria and the Library, operate on a coin/card based system (same system as on main campus). A Western Graphic Services card can be purchased at the library for photocopying.

Key requisition forms can be picked up from Ruth Burger in Room 1044 (main reception). Please note that there is a $25 deposit per key, refundable when the key is returned. Please take the signed requisition form and your student card with you to Room 2380, Support Services Building to pick up your keys. Key requisition will be required for PhD Portable Offices and for access to the Community Room (Room 1139). PhD students located in Room 1135 can pick up the key for their desk pedestal from Ruth Burger at main reception.

Ph.D. students are allotted a mailbox slot in the Graduate Programs & Research Office. Please note that these mailboxes are for internal, UWO mail only – they are NOT for the purpose of receiving personal mail. Mail can be picked up between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday to Friday. Please check your mailbox regularly; we cannot be held responsible if you miss information because you do not check your mail. Mail for Master’s students is sent to the mailing address we have on file. Please note that cheques are not put in mail boxes for security reasons.

If you need to leave something (e.g. an assignment) for a staff or faculty member, please take it to main reception. The Office of Graduate Programs & Research does not have mail boxes for faculty.

Please see Ruth Burger in Room 1044 (main reception) if you wish to rent a locker in the Faculty of Education Building. The cost to rent a locker is $25.00/year.

The University of Western Ontario is committed to achieving barrier free accessibility for persons with disabilities studying, visiting and working at Western. As part of this commitment, there are a variety of services, groups and committees on campus devoted to promoting accessibility and to ensuring that individuals have equitable access to services and facilities. For information on accessibilty-resources available at Western, please visit the Accessibility at Western website at: http://accessibility.uwo.ca/index.htm. Western’s Campus Accessiblibty Map (http://accessibility.uwo.ca/floorplans/campus.pdf) may be of assistance in locating accessible routes between builidng on campus. For accessiblity arrangements at the Faculty of Education Building, please contact Colin Couchman at ccouchma@uwo.ca.

The following link takes you to a number of campus maps: http://www.geography.uwo.ca/campusmaps Also on this page is information about visitor parking, driving directions to Western, accessibility, housing, wireless coverage, campus recreation and campus safety.

For a complete listing of campus buildings please consult the online Western Directory available here: http://www.uwo.ca/westerndir/help/buildings.html

Located in room 4150 Support Services Building. Open Monday – Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm. Parking permits are transponders that activate electronic gates. Parking information and rates can be located at www.uwo.ca/parking. Student card required for pickup. Due to construction of a new residence, parking in the student lot to the north of the building is not accessible as of September 2011. There will be limited student parking (accessible only via a permit during day time hours) to the rear of the building (same entrance by the Education Library). Coin Entry will be available in this lot for $5.00 per entry, between the hours of 4:00 pm - 7:00 am.

For full-time students only, included in ancillary fees. No opt-out option. Available in SOGS office, room 260 UCC. Graduate students will need to present their student card in order to receive their bus pass. SOGS office hours are Monday – Friday: 9:00 am-4:00pm.

London is served by an extensive bus network with regular access to the University area. Timetables and maps are available at the Information Desk at the University Community Centre and on-line at www.ltconline.ca.

The International Student Identity Card or ISIC is the only internationally recognized proof of full-time student status, and is a student discount card in 70 countries, including Canada. To obtain your ISIC and a booklet outlining all of the discounts available in both Canada and abroad, bring both a passport size photo and your student card to the SOGS office (UCC Room 260).

To receive a student discount, a student card is required. On campus, the InfoSource (UCC Atrium) is an authorized Greyhound ticket agent. You can purchase tickets, print tickets purchased online or find route information at the Infosource. For more information, please see www.greyhound.ca.

Students wishing to receive a discount from VIA must provide their ISIC card. For more information, please see www.viarail.ca.

SOGS is a student group established in 1964 to work on behalf of all graduate students at Western. It consists of an executive body and a council that includes more than 100 representatives from graduate departments across campus. SOGS administers a number of benefits for full- and part-time graduate students including health, dental and vision coverage. In addition, SOGS offers its members several bursaries and subsidies including travel, child care, and thesis subsidies, and Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund, Outof- Province, Grad Club, and travel bursaries. SOGS coordinates the Western Graduate Review, an online publication highlighting graduate student research at Western, and works with the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to organize the GraduatemStudent Teaching Awards. SOGS also partners with the Canadian Federation of Students tomprovide benefits such as the StudentSaver discount card and the International Student Identity Card (ISIC) which provides discounts on airfare, train and bus tickets. Finally, SOGS owns and operates the Grad Club, a restaurant and bar located in Middlesex College for graduate students, faculty, and staff. The Grad Club features a big screen TV and live entertainment.

SOGS COUNCILLORS: A request will be sent via email in September for volunteers (likely 3 or 4) who will attend monthly meetings and represent Graduate Education Students. Nomination forms can be found at www.uwo.ca/sogs/Forms .

All full-time graduate students have access to campus recreation facilities and programs as part of their ancillary fees. Part-time graduate students may purchase a membership for a very low monthly rate. Graduate students also have the option of adding family members (partners and children) onto their memberships for very reasonable rates. Western ONECard is required for access.

Western Campus Recreation provides a variety of drop-in activities, intramural sports, instructional courses, sport clubs, and wellness services to meet the diverse fitness and recreation needs of all Western students. The state-of-the-art facilities, located in the new Western Student Recreation Centre (opened in January 2009) are open long hours year-round to provide ample opportunity for busy students to make fitness a part of their lifestyle. More information on Campus Recreation can be located on their website at: www.campusrec.uwo.ca.

If you have a University related problem or concern, please visit the web site for the Office of the Ombudsperson: www.uwo.ca/ombuds.

Student Health Services provides medical and counselling services by a team of doctors year-round. Doctors at Student Health Services work in the same capacity as your family doctor and can order x-rays and blood tests, and make referrals to specialists and physiotherapists. For more information, visit their website at: www.shs.uwo.ca.

Western’s Student Development Centre (SDC) is dedicated to the provision of an array of integrated professional and accessible services that help graduate and undergraduate students achieve their personal, academic, and professional goals in a confidential and caring environment. The SDC is home to the Writing Support Centre, Indigenous Services, International and Exchange Student Centre, Learning Skills Services, Psychological Services, and Services for Students With Disabilities. For more information, please visit their website at: www.sdc.uwo.ca.

The Centre offers free comprehensive writing support to students, faculty, staff, and all other members of The University of Western Ontario community. Programs and services include one-on-one appointment and drop-in services, as well as workshops and seminars. Specifically for graduate students, the Writing Support Centre offers the GradWRITE! program.
Information on this, and other services offered by the Centre can be found online at: www.sdc.uwo.ca/writing.

Indigenous Services offers a variety of services and programs designed to assist Indigenous students in succeeding at Western. Resources available include an up to date computer lab exclusively for Indigenous students, a job board, a quiet study area, and an archival collection of more than 1,200 books (available in Weldon Library), as well as a variety of other academic, research, and informational needs resources. Services include a Visiting Elder Program, a Cultural/Personal Counsellor, and administrative support to serve as liaison between students, the University and Indigenous communities.
Indigenous Services is located in the Western Student Services Building, Room 2100. For more information, visit their website at www.sds.uwo.ca/Indigenous.

Students from other countries who are recent arrivals on campus are advised to contact International Student Services. Staff can help with getting settled in Canada, immigration regulations, financial matters, and personal/cultural adjustment issues. Download the online International Student Pre-Arrival Guide at the ISS website (www.sds.uwo.ca/int), and pick up an International Student Handbook upon your arrival at Western by going to the International Student Centre.

SDC’s Learning Skills Counsellors provide information and support to Western students to help them improve or maintain their academic performance. Learning Skills Services is for all students - undergraduate and graduate students; students who experience academic setbacks, as well as students who want to maintain exceptional academic standing. Learning Skills Services are located in Room 4100, Western Student Services Building. For more information, visit www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning.

Psychological services provide support and strategies for coping with relationships and family issues, stress and decision-making. We offer individual counselling and group workshops. Same day crisis appointments are available. Please visit their website at: www.sds.uwo.ca/psych for more information.

Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) assists students who have ongoing conditions or challenges that may include: chronic illnesses, chronic pain, attention deficit disorders, learning disabilities, psychiatric disorders, and vision, hearing or mobility impairments. Students with disabilities can find help accessing locations, services, technology and information at the University. Academic accommodation can also be arranged. SSD offers the Adaptive Computing Technology Centre located on the 4th floor of the Western Student Services Building and the Access Lab and Learning Opportunities Lab located in the Weldon Library. For more information, visit their website at: www.sdc.uwo.ca/ssd.

Western’s Off-Campus Housing Service maintains an online list of housing available throughout the City of London. Students also have access to the Off-Campus Housing Resource Room in Elgin Hall, Room 109, every day from 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Visit them online at www.has.uwo.ca/housing/offcampus.

UWO Police Department SLB 57. You must enter from the parking lot behind SLB. Student cards that have been lost will be turned in to SLB 190. Locally at the Faculty of Education, see Ruth Burger in Room 1044 (main reception).