Back to School 2024: Course Load

Degrees

While there are many types of degrees and post-secondary pathways (ie. apprenticeships and CEGEPs), the majority of disabled students will pursue an associate degree at a college, or a bachelor’s degree at a university.

Associate Degree: Associate Degrees are typically 2-year programs offered at most colleges, often in a variety of hands-on areas of study. These degrees are often more general, affordable, and shorter than Bachelor’s Degrees, and can be used to enter the workforce or ‘upgrade’ into a Bachelor’s.

Bachelor’s Degree: Bachelor’s Degrees are typically 4-year programs offered at most universities in a variety of more theoretical areas of study. These programs often offer more flexibility, explore the area of study in more depth, and offer specializations and minor programs in upper years.

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Program Requirements

Every program will have unique requirements to complete a degree in their specialized area of study. These requirements often consist of mandatory courses, optional courses from an approved list, and electives.

Pay special attention to how frequently mandatory courses are typically offered, what prerequisites you may require in upper-year courses, and how first-year optional and elective courses can influence your course selection in later years.

We recommend creating a checklist of your program requirements and a list of suitable potential courses to guide you in selecting your courses throughout your degree.?

While the program you entered automatically becomes your major, you can apply for a minor in your second year. Minors require additional courses, but generally fit within the credit requirement of a Bachelor’s degree.

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Selecting Courses

Requirements

Use the student number included in your letter of offer sent by your post-secondary institution (PSI) to set up an online account in your school’s student management system. This account will allow you to register for courses, monitor your progress, pay off your tuition, and more.

A few weeks before official enrolment, a course list detailing courses, teachers, classrooms, and times will become available. Use this time to identify what courses best fit with your program requirements, and what time slots best suit your schedule!

Once enrolment goes live (you can find your enrolment date on your school’s important date web page), you will need to individually select the classes you wish to enrol in for the Fall 2024/Winter 2025 term.

It’s important to note that some classes will fill up quickly – make sure to get on course waiting lists and identify a few back-up options to ensure you aren’t short a few classes!

Accessibility

Course enrolment can be stressful for any student – but disabled post-secondary students often face additional uncertainty and anxiety due to a lack of information on classroom accessibility, professor behaviour, and syllabus requirements!

Date/Time: Where course offerings are more flexible and frequent, students can select classes that suit their schedule. This could be to avoid morning stiffness or an afternoon energy crash, to better align with paratransit or carpool options, or to maintain an ongoing appointment’s timing.

Classroom Location: Some campuses are notoriously inaccessible due to the built or natural environment. Where possible, some students will opt for classrooms in more accessible buildings, or geographically concentrated away from hills. (Close-proximity and barrier-free classrooms can also be requested as an accommodation after enrolment!)

In-Person Vs Online: While online and hybrid course offerings have been disappointingly rolled back in recent years, some students will pursue these classes as electives to lessen the physical toll of largely in-person school, or to fit with their work schedules.

Professor Reviews: RateMyProfessors.com and school-specific Reddit pages can help students anticipate how accommodating potential professors can be – and can help them steer clear of individuals with problematic histories.

Syllabus Requirements: Some students will opt not to take courses with a mandatory no tech policy, mandatory attendance policy, graded group projects, and more in anticipation of potential inaccessibility and discrimination.

Course Load

While you can take up to 6 courses each term, many students with disabilities opt for a reduced course load to reduce stress, spend more time on certain classes, or manage physical symptoms.

Disabled students retain their full-time status at 40% of a ‘typical’ course load - which is important for funding and insurance!

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Time Management

Once you’ve enrolled in your courses for the Fall and Winter terms, you’re ready to create your own timetable! Your school’s student information portal will provide you with a class schedule including dates and times of lectures and labs – but we recommend experimenting with formats that work best for you!

Timetables are an excellent way to schedule out time for classes, studying, work, extracurriculars, and self-care. Don’t forget to include time for travel between activities and meal times!

We also highly recommend creating calendar events for your lectures, tutorials, labs, and assignment due dates to ensure you don’t miss anything!

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Paying Tuition

After you’ve successfully registered for your classes, your Statement of Account will be updated to reflect how many classes you’re taking, and what fees you’ll have to pay to maintain access to services like academic advisors, student gyms, the library, and more.

Most government financial assistance, school-provided awards, or tuition-based awards will be automatically sent to your school to pay tuition and fees. You can request any remaining money as a refund, or leave it there to pay for next year’s tuition!?

If you are paying tuition out-of-pocket, most banks will allow you to transfer the required amount to your school as a “bill payment”. This is a safe and secure way to transfer larger sums of money.

Check out our Back to School 2024: Financial Literacy article for more information on available financial assistance!?

On-Campus Resources

Accessibility Services: On-campus accessibility services are often reserved for registered students with disabilities who are able to provide medical documentation. For those able to access these services, staff can help you request accommodations and provide more accessible testing options.

Learning/Academic Services: Learning/academic services are open to the entire student population, and offer services including tutoring, mentoring, editing, workshops, exam prep, and more in a variety of fields!

Health and Wellness Services: Depending on your school, health and wellness services can provide physical health care including walk-in appointments and prescriptions, and mental health care through talk therapy and counselling.

Program Supervisors: Depending on the size and structure of your program, a faculty member may be identified as an undergraduate supervisor. Depending on their availability, they may be able to support you in understanding course requirements and navigating the program!

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Sources?

Course Registration, University of Alberta’s Office of the Registrar

Steps to Registration, University of Manitoba

Choosing Courses, University of Toronto’s Office of the Registrar

Advice for Picking Post-Secondary Courses, Student Awards