Program Policies and Regulations
The Master of Data Science- Computational Linguistics Policies and Regulations are part of the campus wide UBC Policies and Regulations document. Below is a summary of those Policies and Regulations that students frequently ask about and that are specific to the Master of Data Science- Computational Linguistics program.
Attendance
Attendance in lectures and lab sessions is not mandatory but highly recommended. You will get the most out of the program if you show up in person.
Instructors may set their own attendance policy on a course-by-course basis.
If you are feeling unwell, are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, or have reason to believe you may have Covid-19, please do not come to any in-person meetings including lectures, labs, office hours, or quizzes.
Lecture recordings
We do not require instructors to livestream or record their lectures. If you miss a class, you can catch up by reviewing lecture notes as well as by talking to peers and asking them to share their notes. When lecture recordings or livestreaming are available, instructors may grant access to students on a case-by-case basis.
Academic concession policy
If you are expecting to miss an assignment, a quiz, or multiple lectures for a justified reason you can request an academic concession before the deadline. Per the UBC Senate policy on academic concession, grounds for academic concession can be illness, conflicting responsibilities, or compassionate grounds. Examples of compassionate grounds, from the above policy, include, but are not limited to “a traumatic event experienced by the student, a family member, or a close friend”
To request an academic concession, students should immediately send a completed and signed academic concession form to the MDS-CL Program Manager via Slack. Upon receiving the form, the Program Manager, the Instructors and/or MDS Director will make a decision about how to proceed.
Grades and Academic Standing
General grading scheme
UBC uses a percentage grade system from 0 to 100%. The following table shows an unofficial conversion from percentage grades to letter grades (source: 2nd table of this page):
| Percentage (%) | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90-100 | A+ |
| 85-89 | A |
| 80-84 | A- |
| 76-79 | B+ |
| 72-75 | B |
| 64-67 | C+ |
| 60-63 | C |
| 0-59 | F (Fail) |
Group project
For MDS-CL courses with a group project, students are expected to write a teamwork contract. In the case that the contract is not followed, it is possible that students may lose points on their project. Specifics for the team contract are decided on a course-by-course basis.
Failed courses and C/C+ grades
To pass an MDS-CL course a student must score 60% or above.
To graduate from MDS-CL, a student must pass all courses and the capstone project, with no more than 3 credits in the 60%-67% range (C or C+).
All MDS courses are worth 1 UBC credit except for Capstone, which is worth 6 credits. Thus, to graduate from MDS a student can get no more than 3 C/C+ grades in Blocks 1-6 and must also score at least 68% in Capstone.
Final course grades
Both assignments and quizzes are factored into the final grade for each course. If a student fails all the quizzes in a course (each below 60%) then the final course grade will be the lower of their calculated course grade and 67%. This means that to graduate a student cannot fail all the quizzes in more than 3 courses.
Late Submissions
A late submission is defined as any work submitted after the deadline posted on the course page.
Concessions for late assignments are set by the course instructor and may be given if requested in advance of the assignment deadline.
Re-grading
If you have a question about the way your work was graded, please contact the relevant person based on the table below:
| Assessment Type | Who to Contact |
|---|---|
| Lab grade | The grading TA and then the Lab Instructor |
| Quiz questions | The course instructor |
When we receive a regrade request we may re-grade the entire submission; thus, your lab/quiz grade may go up or down as a result of re-grading.
Grading concerns: time limit
Regrade requests are highly encouraged to be submitted within a week of the grade being published. It is at the instructor’s discretion to decide if regrade requests have been submitted too late for reconsideration.
Reasonable grading concerns
Reasonable requests for re-grading will be considered. Please reach out to the course instructor if you are uncertain if the request is reasonable.
Quiz policies
Unless otherwise specified, MDS-CL quizzes are open book.
It is NOT permitted to communicate with anyone else, including via posting quiz questions on internet forums, during a quiz. Quizzes must be written in your own words.
Use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) is also strictly prohibited and can lead to serious consequences.
Failing to observe the above expectations may result in a zero grade for the quiz in question.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism, which is intellectual theft, occurs where an individual submits or presents the oral or written work of another person as his or her own and can include:
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multiple students submitting the same response
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copying from sources without citing them
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copying verbatim (word-for-word) from source and citing, but failing to make it explicit that this is a quotation (quotations should be used only rarely, if at all)
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sending/emailing/sharing part of your answers, including code, to anyone else, including classmates (unless you are working together in an official group assignment)
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redistribute or use redistributed assignments and solutions.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated in the MDS-CL program and may result in dismissal from the program. Students are responsible for ensuring that any work submitted does not constitute plagiarism. Students who are in any doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism should consult their Instructor before handing in any assignments.
For more information see the UBC Academic Misconduct policies.
Code Plagiarism
Students must correctly cite any code that has been authored by someone else or by the student themselves for other assignments. Cases of code plagiarism may include, but are not limited to:
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the reproduction (copying and pasting) of code with none or minimal reformatting (e.g., changing the name of the variables)
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the translation of an algorithm or a script from a language to another
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the generation of code by automatic code-generations software
An “adequate acknowledgement” requires a detailed identification of the (parts of the) code reused and a full citation of the original source code that has been reused.
Use of LLMs
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Use of LLMs on quizzes in MDS-CL will be strictly prohibited. The purpose of our quizzes is to test your knowledge, not the LLMs. It is important that you can explain your answer to all quizzes and assignments if prompted.
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In some assignments in MDS-CL you will be explicitly asked to use LLMs so that you get practice working with them.
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If you are not asked to use an LLM to solve a problem in MDS-CL, you probably shouldn’t use them to directly solve the problem. By doing so you are only cheating yourself of the practice and learning you would get by solving the problem yourself.
Leaves of Absence (medical or personal)
Students in good academic standing may request long-term academic leave from the program for medical or personal reasons and return, within a year, to complete the MDS-CL program. These requests must be discussed and submitted in writing to the MDS-CL Leadership Team well in advance.
It is also possible that the MDS-CL course offerings and orders change from year to year. Hence, students who are on leave from the program may have to take their outstanding courses in a different order than expected. Please be aware that fees and other costs (loss of student loans and bursaries) may apply depending on individual situations.
Program Withdrawal
Students may withdraw from the MDS program for medical or personal reasons. Depending on the timing of the withdrawal, full or partial tuition fee refunds may or may not be given. A request to withdraw from the program must be submitted in writing to the MDS-CL Leadership Team.
The MDS-CL Leadership Team may request a student to withdraw from the program. This is only done after extensive discussions between the instructional team, the leadership team and the affected student. Reasons for this may be related to the health and well-being of the student in question or his/her peers, not meeting program requirements, unsatisfactory conduct or other significant reasons.
Full-Time Commitment
The MDS-CL program is approved by the UBC Senate as a full-time program. Hence, students must take the program on a full-time basis as part of their cohort and cannot complete the program on a part-time basis.
Respectful Environment
The University of British Columbia envisions a climate in which students, faculty and staff are provided with the best possible conditions for learning, researching and working, including an environment that is dedicated to excellence, equity and mutual respect. The University of British Columbia strives to realize this vision by establishing employment and educational practices that respect the dignity of individuals and make it possible for everyone to live, work and study in a positive and supportive environment, free from harmful behaviours such as bullying and harassment.
The MDS-CL program supports the maintenance of a respectful environment. Students will not be discriminated against, and we are committed to making our students feel accepted during their time at UBC. A link to the full UBC respectful environment policy can be found here: (https://hr.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/documents/UBC-Statement-on-Respectful-Environment.pdf)
UBC’s Policies and Resources to Support Student Success
UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for those suffering with metal health concerns and survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious, spiritual and cultural observances. UBC values academic honesty and students ae expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their actions. Details of the policies and how to access support are available here.
Transfers
Transfer between options is generally not permitted. In exceptional circumstances (e.g., an external job offer requiring a different area of specialization), a transfer request may be considered if: a) a written rationale is submitted prior to the end of Block 2, b) the student is in a good academic standing, and c) the student had initially been accepted to both options. Final decisions will be at the discretion of the Option Directors, following discussion with the instructional and leadership teams.