Hey! Welcome to the Asper Scoop – a place to find everything you need to know about the Commerce Students’ Association. Here, you will find information about upcoming events, student features and, well… all things Asper! In this segment of the “Scoop”, we’re covering Asian Heritage Month, grade exclusion options, and more. So, without further ado, keep reading and spring forward on this blog to get the latest must-knows for the month of May.
Events
Asper is a lively community and a variety of different events are held by both the CSA and various Asper Student Action Groups (STAGs) throughout the year. While the summer months are finally upon us, May is a slower month for new events in Asper. This is all the better for students to unwind and relax post-exam season (or maybe take a summer course and start an internship). But, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for June where the Shinerama charity campaign will be in full swing!
Student Stories
In the “Student Stories” section, we aim to promote some of our hard-working students and share a little bit about them! The Asper School of Business is constantly working towards the goals of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and it is important to acknowledge the roles students play in accomplishing these objectives. The new CSA general council has worked to improve its commitment to EDI this year through the International Engagement Co-Chair positions and a newly appointed EDI Officer on the council.
The month of May is Asian Heritage Month, and this year’s theme is Recognition, Resilience, and Resolve. Asper is committed to supporting all Asian students and wants to shine a light on all of the various achievements and contributions these students have made to the community. In recognition of Asian Heritage Month, the CSA wants to share the stories of two phenomenal Asian students in Asper who have both been thriving, even in the midst of a virtual school year.
Cindy Nguyen is a third-year student in the Asper School of Business majoring in Finance and Marketing. She was recently appointed as one of the International Engagement Co-Chairs of the Commerce Students’ Association. Cindy has a stellar past work experience, including work on a front-end administrative team and as a sales associate. Cindy is a very passionate student and outside of her studies, she loves to get involved in youth associations, work with others in her community, and learn about various cultures. When speaking about Asian Heritage Month, Cindy told the “Scoop” that she believes that this month is an opportunity to showcase the contributions of people of Asian descent towards Canadian culture. She is grateful for this meaningful event, as Asian Heritage month makes her feel more at “home” and boosts her pride in her ethnicity. Cindy is looking forward to eventually return to Asper in person where she hopes she can use her position as International Engagement Co-Chair to further connect with all of the international students attending Asper.
Tahbit Dewan is a 3rd-year student majoring in Marketing and Finance at the Asper School of Business. Tahbit is a very passionate and hardworking individual who is committed to enhancing student life at the University of Manitoba. He began his journey at Asper as a member of the first-year committee and is now entering his second consecutive year as a graphic designer on the CSA’s General Council. Tahbit is also the president of the University of Manitoba Bangladeshi Student Association, a group that “…aims to organize social, cultural, educational, and sporting activities for Bangladeshi students and [others looking] to explore [Bangladeshi] culture”. Recently, Tahbit was also elected as the Vice President of the University of Manitoba Marketing Association (UMMA) where his election platform vowed to connect marketing students to industry professionals, help UMMA members to apply their skills and knowledge, and implement content creation competitions for Asper students. In addition to all his other experiences, Tahbit is also the Director of Marketing for JDC West 2022. In his free time, Tahbit loves to travel and enjoys photography. In 2019, Tahbit was awarded the Leadership Excellence Award by The International College of Manitoba for his contribution to the international student community. Tahbit is very happy to tell his story during Asian Heritage month in order to share his experiences with other students. Tahbit is hoping to continue his journey through Asper with an optimistic outlook and to continue to connect with his fellow classmates in order to continue enhancing the student experience in the Asper School of Business.
University Life
Exams are finally finished and with final grades being released, many students have important decisions to make regarding compassionate grading. For those who may be unaware, compassionate grading has been implemented by the University of Manitoba this year in order to provide students with some leniency during virtual schooling. With compassionate grading accommodations, students have the option to exclude either one grade from each of the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semesters (3 credit hours each) or one grade from a spanned course (6 credit hour total). By “excluding” a grade it will not contribute towards GPA calculations; however, the credit hours from the said course will still be contributed towards things such as program requirements and scholarship qualifications. If students choose to exclude one or two grades, the resulting adjusted GPA calculation will be used for program progression, probation, suspension, requirements to withdraw decisions, and to determine eligibility for UM bursaries and scholarships.
However, if students choose to utilize compassionate grading accommodations, the grade will not disappear entirely. The letter grade will still appear on your academic transcript and will be used to meet any admission requirements (both for classes and programs at the University of Manitoba). External schools and programs also may use the grade as criteria for admission as they see fit.
The choice to exclude a grade should not be taken lightly, as it is an irreversible decision. If you have any additional questions or concerns, seek out an academic advisor to discuss the implications of utilizing compassionate grading. Students are able to exclude grades by using a widget they can access by logging onto UMLearn. Graduating students are able to use the accommodation until May 11th at 11:59 pm and all other students can exclude a grade up until May 31st.
To Drop a Grade:
- Log onto UMLearn
- When on the home page, look for the “Welcome to the Grade Accommodation Selection Site” title
- Read through the rules and use the GPA Calculator link to see the impacts of dropping a grade, when finished select “Continue”
- Next, you will arrive at a deadline screen, review and select “Continue”
- You will be taken to a screen that shows all of the courses you have completed in the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semesters, and the letter grades you received for each course
- Note: If you have already utilized the compassionate grading accommodation to exclude a grade from the Fall 2020 semester, you will not be able to view your fall courses
- Select either a 3 credit hour course from Fall 2020 and/or Winter 2021 semesters OR a 6 credit hour spanned course from Fall 2020/Winter 2021
- After selecting the course(s) to exclude, select “Continue” and confirm your selections to officially drop your grade(s)
Want to keep up with the CSA? Follow us on Instagram @aspercsa and on Facebook @AsperCSA!
This article was written by Avery Groeneveld