All sorts of issues can arise during your time at Concordia. This page will feature some of the common ones philosophy students might run into and what you can do about them. Consider this as a sort of “FAQ” section.
Before we begin, we will define a few terms, taken directly from the Arts and Science Federation of Association’s Harassment Policy and which all Member Association executives must abide by:
Discrimination: Any action, behavior, or decision based on prohibited ground which results in the exclusion or preference of an individual or group within the ASFA Community. These include exclusion or marginalization by:
- Pregnancy
- Age
- Historically marginalized race
- Color
- Gender identity
- Sexual orientation
- Civil status
- Religion
- Political conviction
- Language
- Ethnic or national origin
- Social condition
- A disability or the use of any means to palliate a disability
Harassment: Harassment includes:
- Psychological harassment.
- Unwanted physical or verbal behavior, which offends or humiliates and that persists over time.
- Serious one-time incidents can also be considered harassment if it has a significant and lasting impact on a person.
- Sexual harassment, which refers to any unwanted sexual communication or attention that is offensive, intimidating, or humiliating, including in the context of a same-sex interaction.
- Harassment can take verbal, written, physical and/or visual forms.
I Feel Harassed or Discriminated Against by a Professor
Harassment by students or professors is not tolerated at Concordia. This includes intimidation, coercion, and verbal, physical, and sexual harassment. There have been instances of sexual harassment accusations in the past and the accused professor is still teaching philosophy courses at Concordia.
The first thing to do is to try to resolve this with the professor at hand. Be assertive, not aggressive. If they are behaving in a way you don’t like, tell them that you find this behavior inappropriate. It’s often the case that one can unknowingly overstep some boundaries and the professors are well aware of the previous sexual harassment situation. A simple “that is inappropriate” might be all that’s needed to remind someone of some boundaries.
If the behavior continues or you are too intimidated to approach the professor, the second thing you do is to contact the department Chair. They have the most authority in the department.
SoPhiA also welcomes all students to run their situation by us if they want an impartial party or don’t want to or cannot approach the professor themselves. We are here to advocate for you.
We recommend following these two steps first.
If the behavior isn’t resolved or you get an unsatisfactory result, there’s more you can do. You can contact the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. You can also contact the Student Advocacy Center run by the Concordia Student union. The Student Advocacy Center is a student-run center that helps advocate for student rights.
I Feel Harassed or Discriminated Against by Another Student
Although university students tend to be mature in most cases, there are still always cases of intentional and unintentional harassment. Students are still learning and growing, too, and make mistakes.
The first thing we recommend is to communicate with the person in question. Tell them what they did and why it’s inappropriate. They may not realize they have offended or hurt you. By communicating with them, they may realize that they overstepped a boundary and apologize.
If the behavior continues there’s a few things you can do. As a student in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, you can lodge a formal complaint against the person through the Arts and Sciences Federation of Associations (ASFA). ASFA has established procedures and committees to review and act on complaints, and they even consult a legal representative. They have their harassment policy and the complaint form on their website. If you need any help filling out the form we recommend you contact ASFA, but SoPhiA can help too.
I was Cited with an Academic Offence!
Don’t stress, it’s more common than you think. The most common academic offence is unintended plagiarism (the inappropriate use of another’s work without attribution). This often occurs because the student lacks the knowledge of proper citation.
Another common academic offence is working together on an assignment meant to be done by yourself. If it’s not stated, always ask the professor if it’s okay to work together. All academic work should be your own work unless it’s designated as a “group work”.
Several times per year, the Student Success Center offers workshops on what is and isn’t an academic offence.
Often, you will be told what you are cited for and your reprimand. This can include:
- Dismissal from the university
- Academic Probation
- Taking a mandatory ethics course
- Taking additional training
- Getting an F on the assignment
- Rewriting the assignment
For the first offence, you most likely won’t be kicked out of the university.
The Class I Need to get into is Full up!
Don’t panic. It’s not the end of the world.
If the course still has a waitlist, you can put yourself on the waitlist. If the course is closed, there’s still options.
If you’re early in your degree, you can find some other option and work around it. If you’re in your final semester(s), you can contact the professor, Program Advisor, or Chair of the department and discuss your situation. They can offer to register you in the course anyway or put you higher on the waitlist.
They may also be able to substitute another course for the required course (e.g., you take a different 300-level class instead). This is left up to the discretion of the Chair/Program Advisor.
The Final Grade I got for a Course Doesn’t Correspond to my Expected/Calculated Grade
Contact the professor and let them know. Professors make mistakes too. Tell them politely that the final grade doesn’t correspond with what you calculated. They will take a look at it. Sometimes they will even reward students for being proactive.
These are some guidelines on what to do in certain situations. Remember to always feel free to contact SoPhiA if you’re confused, are in a difficult situation, or don’t know what to do next. We’re trained to be able to guide the student in these sorts of situations!
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