Academic continuity

Making progress in your graduate program

If you have challenges with or need advice on how to continue with your program in a remote way, please contact your faculty supervisor or your graduate officer.

If you are a graduate student dealing with a financial emergency and unable to register for graduate courses, please email akim@mun.ca.

Supervisory committee meetings

Graduate students and faculty supervisors are encouraged to meet remotely through videoconferencing where appropriate. There are many options (e.g., Google Hangouts, WebEx, Skype, Zoom), but for supervisor-arranged meetings SGS is recommending the use of Online Rooms in Brightspace or Webex. We encourage graduate students and faculty supervisors to start early when possible to test camera and mic functionality, use the chat feature if you have trouble hearing, and use headsets to avoid causing background noises. In exceptional cases, graduate students may be able to request a Webex host license. Please contact your graduate officer for more information. Graduate students can also set up meetings using Google Hangout, which is accessible as part of MUN’s Google Suite.

Research exams and doctoral defences

For oral comprehensive exams, we are encouraging the use of Webex or Online Rooms where appropriate. For oral comprehensive exams, a dean’s delegate will only be required for re-examinations. For doctoral defences, Webex is being used for virtual defences. As a contingency, in advance of meetings, any presentation slides that might be used should be shared with all members of the committee and phone numbers for all participants should also be shared with the examination chair. For doctoral defences, during the pre-meeting or in-camera discussions, students will be asked to leave the virtual room and return when ready, or those discussions can take place using a breakout room. All examinations and defences will comply with Memorial’s normal guidelines and regulations.

Thesis examinations

Thesis examinations for master’s and doctoral students are proceeding as normal, and we have not seen any interruptions in this process. We want to ensure you that your academic unit, SGS, and the examiners involved are all committed to a fair and timely review of your work. We also realize that, for many graduate students, covid-19 has require changes in research plans. You and your supervisor are invited to draft and submit a covid-19 impact statement along with your thesis, so your examiners are aware of significant changes that were required.

Remote learning – resources and advice

The Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) has created a Student Help site to assist students with remote learning. The site provides information on submitting assignments, presenting and participating in online classes, and accessing learning strategy resources. Live chat support is available through the CITL website.

The Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) is hosting an series of instructional sessions for instructors and teaching assistants on key topics to support effective remote and online instruction. Session topics include preparing to teach remotely, embedding principles of universal design, creating videos of your presentations, alternatives to exams and much more. Graduate students are welcome to attend. Visit the events calendar to view the sessions offered and to register.

Memorial University Libraries also offers expansive resources to support remote learning and research, including access to a variety of research tools such as; databases, e-books, e-journals, streaming film collections, and e-reserves. If you require print books or other materials that are not available online, please review this information on MUN Libraries’ contactless pickup service. Live chat support is also available through the Memorial Libraries website if you need help with research or citing. 

Memorial University’s Information Technology Services offers a number of free software for graduate students to install on personal devices, including Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.) McAfee Antivirus, Matlab, and ArcGIS.

You may also find helpful some of these resources in the public domain: