FAQs Undergraduate

You are required to have completed a CPR Basic Life Support (BLS) Level for Healthcare Nursing Students course before you begin your clinical practice experience. BLS/CPR certification is provincially required to be renewed annually for healthcare students, regardless of the expiry date indicated on your initial BLS certificate. According to the BC practice Education Guidelines, BLS for nursing students requires annual recertification, hence the 3-year certification is not accepted by this program.  Please note, organizations may have different terminology for their CPR BLS courses, so you need to ensure that the course you register for is Basic Life Support for nursing students with a 1-year expiry (not a 3-year expiry). 

Although BLS providers may have a variety of business names, it is very important to ensure that your BLS provider has been certified by one of the 5 national training agencies (i.e., Heart & Stroke Foundation; Canadian Red Cross; St. John’s Ambulance, CA, Ski Patrol or Lifesaving Society). 

The BSN program accepts CPR BLS Certification from Only Canadian organizations listed below. Please ensure the CPR BLS course provider you attend is certified by one of the 5 national training organizations listed below. You may visit their website to verify that the provider you are using is a certified BLS provider: 

Canadian Lifesaving Society
Website: https://www.lifesaving.bc.ca/

Canadian Red Cross
Website: https://www.redcross.ca/

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Website: https://cpr.heartandstroke.ca/s/?language=en_US

St. John Ambulance
Website: https://www.sja.ca/en/first-aid-training

Canadian Ski Patrol
Website: https://www.skipatrol.ca/

Doctoral Student 

A minimum mark of 68% must be obtained in all courses taken as part of a qualifying year for a doctoral program. When repeating a failed required course, a minimum mark of 74% must be obtained. Higher minimum marks may be required by the graduate program or the Faculty of Graduate Studies. For doctoral students registered in the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Fail (F) for individual courses is defined as below 68%. Some graduate programs may require a higher passing grade for specific courses.

Masters Student 

A minimum of 60% must be obtained in any course taken by a student enrolled in a master's program for the student to be granted pass standing. However, only 6 credits of pass standing may be counted towards a master's program. For all other courses, a minimum of 68% must be obtained.

When repeating a failed required course, a minimum mark of 74% must be obtained. Higher minimum grades may be required.

However, only 6 credits of pass standing (60-67%) may be counted toward a master's program. For all other courses, a minimum of 68% must be obtained. Some graduate programs may require a higher passing grade for specific courses.

If a course is repeated, both marks will appear on the transcript. The higher mark will be used to determine promotion in a program and in any decision to admit or withdraw a student from a program. For all other purposes, averages will be calculated using both marks.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are facing low scholarship, the first course of action is to speak with your instructor, and the next course of action is to speak with the Graduate Program Coordinator. 

G+PS Policy on Academic Progress / Low Scholarship 

The Practice Education Guidelines for BC has clear guidelines around Negative Behaviour in the Practice Setting. If a student experiences any form of negative behaviour with a Health Care Organization (HCO) staff member, patient or other student, they should:

• Not ignore it or assume it will go away by itself.
• Tell the person that the behaviour is unwelcome and request that the behaviour(s) stop, if the student feels safe to do so.
• Immediately report the situation to the Post Secondary Institution (PSI) Educator or Health Care Organization Educator.
• Keep a record of all relevant facts including the date, time, and location of the incident(s). If possible, obtain the names of any witnesses.
• If a request to stop does not resolve the matter or if the student is not able to address the problem with the individual concerned, the student should bring the complaint to the supervising PSI Educator or HCO Educator for immediate investigation and follow-up.
• If the student feels unsafe in the practice environment, they should immediately inform the HCO Educator and/or HCO Unit Manager and leave the environment. In this situation, the student must immediately inform the PSI Educator or Liaison.

All of the clinical instructors are professional nurses and work within the BCCNP Professional Standards and take student concerns seriously.

In case where you feel that practice related issues have not been resolved, or cannot be addressed directly, refer to practice leader (in the larger clinical courses) or course leader (in the smaller clinical courses).

Student Health Services & Counselling Services have urgent care options for student emergencies. 

If you are experiencing an emergency always call 911

Also keep these numbers in mind:

• UBC Mobile First Aid - 604-822-4444
• UBC Campus Security - 604-822-2222
• UBC Hospital Urgent Care - 604-822-7222
• Ambulance - 604-872-5151
• Campus Fire Department - 604-665-6010
• UBC RCMP Detachment - 604-224-1322 (non-emergency only)

Finally, these resources from UBC Student Health are available to students experiencing an after-hours emergency. 

Urgent care - Student Health Service reserves several same-day appointments each day for sudden illness and urgent care. The type of cases we see at that time tend to be sudden illnesses that interfere with your ability to function as a student. Please use these times for unexpected illnesses only.

After-hour emergencies - If you are a patient at Student Health Service and you have an urgent concern that cannot wait until the clinic opens, please call 604.822.7121 and ask to speak to the doctor on call.

Counselling Services reserves same day emergency appointments for urgent concerns.

What are urgent concerns? Urgent concerns are problems or issues that must be dealt with immediately, such as imminent safety concerns.

How to access emergency appointments? You can request an emergency appointment by calling Counselling Services reception at 604.822.3811 or visiting the office in person at 1040 Brock Hall.

After-hour emergencies - If you call Counselling Services at 604.822.3811 after hours, you will have the option of being linked to the Vancouver Crisis Line.

Please familiarize yourself with the following reference documents:

• BSN Program Levels of Appeal 

It’s important to also be aware of the following posts/policy reference:

• UBC Vancouver Academic Calendar: Regulations
• School of Nursing Policies & Regulations

If you find yourself in a situation where you need to discuss these policies and regulations, your first point of contact for receiving academic advising is the BSN Student Advisor. Please visit the “Who’s Who” page of the BSN FAQ Blog to find out the Faculty member currently in this role.

There is a list of emergency phone numbers and instructions located in each room.

SoN is located on the third floor of the acute care hospital (Koerner Pavilion). In case of fire or other emergency all hospital fire and safety protocols must be observed. Please familiarize yourself with the information provided in the safety folder. Overhead speakers located in the hallways will announce and provide information during emergencies.

In case of fire (Code Red) locate the appropriate exits closest to you. Remain in the area and continue normal activities until instructed otherwise or the evacuation alarm is sounded. Ensure the door to the room is closed and that the lab personnel or lab instructor is aware of your presence.

If needing to evacuate (e.g. fire alarm rings continuously at 120 strokes per minute) immediately evacuate to the closest safe stairway exit and leave the building. Regroup in the parking lot outside the MacDonald Building (Dentistry). Classes should stay in a group with a faculty member and wait for further instructions.

The minimum passing grade is 60%.  The student must be identified as in Good Standing to progress from one academic term to the next, which means that the student’s cumulative grade average is 65% or higher.

In most faculties, individual courses are normally graded base on the Grading Practices guidelines in the UBC Academic Calendar. 

             However "The Faculty of Dentistry and the schools of

             Library, Archival and Information Studies, Nursing, and

             Rehabilitation Sciences define Fail (F) as below 60%."

The School of Nursing grading practices are outlined in the Grade Assignment Guidelines Policy. 

As UBC Students, students in the School of Nursing have access to a wealth of resources with regards to student awards and financial aid. If you have questions about your tuition, your student account, or information on funding and awards opportunities for all students (graduate and undergraduate) please contact the Enrolment Services Professionals at Brock Hall.

Reference for Undergraduate (BSN) Students: How to Contact Enrolment Services at Brock Hall

Reference for Graduate Students: Email your name, student number, and question to es.gradsupport@ubc.ca 

If a student receives a failing grade (60%) in a course in the BSN program, they must make an appointment to meet with the BSN Academic Advisor. The BSN Academic Advisor will take the student's case to the Progressions Committee, and together the Progressions Committee will decide on future steps for the student.

A few important points to note:

• In the case of an academic or clinical failure, both the practice and the theory component of the course must be repeated in order to advance in the nursing program.
• The academic advisor oversees each student’s subsequent progress and advises on academic options in regular consultation with the SoN progression committee.
• Subsequent planning and decision-making for students who have encountered progression challenges are overseen by the academic advisor.
• All students who do not progress to the subsequent term are classified as one of the following: academic probation, academic failure, or program failure.
• A student who fails a course for a second time, or fails two or more courses will be required to discontinue.

For more information, please review the Progression & Advancement Policy and Flowchart. 

 If you have a question about a grade for the purpose of learning where you could improve or what you need to focus on to ensure academic success, you are encouraged to contact your course leader to set up an appointment to bring forward your questions.

Please note, the primary focus of such a meeting is purely pedagogic - and not an avenue to challenge a grade received.

If the grade you have questions about is a final examination in an NURS course, please review the School of Nursing Policy on Reviewing Undergraduate Examinations. 

If you wish to appeal a grade you've received for a course, please visit the information on appealing grades at the School of Nursing.