This page is your guide to the system you will use throughout your academic journey for events like course planning, registration, adding or dropping courses, applying to graduate, and more. Please note that the first actions you need to take in Workday include checking your personal and contact information, setting up your third-party authorization, adding your emergency contacts, and adding your direct deposit information.
New Students
Welcome to the UBC Faculty of Forestry! We’re excited to welcome you to the Forestry community at UBC – a vibrant and supportive community comprised of passionate students, researchers, instructors, and staff who are committed to making a positive change in the world. We have created a course entirely designed to support you as you prepare for your studies in the Fall – you will find helpful information about a variety of topics, including registering for courses with Workday Student, and more.
Current Students
UBC has replaced the Student Service Center (SSC) with a cloud-based, mobile-friendly software called Workday Student. Everyone gained access to the new system on May 21, 2024, and will be using it for all academic activities related to the 2024 Winter session and beyond. Expect to see your academic record in Workday and you can start planning your course schedule for the 2024 Winter Session. We have prepared a detailed guide in Canvas with lots of how-to tutorials for you so you can navigate the new system smoothly.
More Information from UBC
UBC made the decision to bring a renewed, reliable, and secure student information system in support of UBC’s academic mission and to give you a better experience as you navigate your time at UBC. The new Workday system offers better security for your data and options for how you access your information – it is mobile-friendly, amongst other things.
Workday Video Tutorials
Decoding Workday Words
If you are a current student, you may notice that terms in Workday Student are different from the SISC. Here are some common terms you may find helpful.
| TERM IN THE SISC | TERM IN WORKDAY STUDENT |
|---|---|
| “Degree Navigator” | “Academic Progress Reports” |
| “Approved” for graduation | “Approved for Completion” |
| “Add/Drop Deadline” | “Drop without Record End Date” |
| “Worklist” | “Saved Schedule” |
| Graduation | “Program Completion” |
| Domestic student | Resident |
| International student | Non-resident |
| “Major/Minor/Option/Specialization” | “Program of Study” |
*Special Note: The Academic Progress Wheel: The Academic Progress Wheel can be a little misleading so it’s best to understand what it means. It will only reflect how many of the degree specific requirements you have met. It will not necessarily mean you are ready to graduate when it is showing 100% complete. Please look at the Overall Academic Progress (OAP) which will show what remains to be completed by you prior to graduation (likely certain electives).
Deciphering the Course Display
Updates for Forestry Students
NRES 341
NRES 341: Intermediate Geomatics for Natural Resource Management is a Term 2 course that is available for students who are taking NRES 241: Introduction to Geomatics for Natural Resource Management in Term 1. For the degrees that have FRST 443 listed as one of the requirements or options, NRES 341 will satisfy your requirement for FRST 443. It is also the pre-requisite forNRES 441: Advanced Geomatics for Natural Resource Management.
CONS 314:
Due to some technical issues with Workday, students were unable to register directly into CONS 314. You should now be able to register into this course, however you will need to add a discussion (to trick the Workday System and allow you to register in the course). Please note that the discussion will not actually be held, students will only need to attend the lecture. If you have a conflict between the discussion and another course, please contact Forestry Student Services.
FOPR 362:
To successfully register in FOPR 362 you will also need to add both the lecture and lab L01, however the lab will not be held.
First-year MATH Courses:
Forestry Student Services is aware there are some issues with students registering in first-year MATH courses. A number of students are being put onto waitlists and others are reporting not even being able to access waitlists. Student Services is aware of these issues and we are working to support students who are encountering this.
We would like to remind you all that MATH 190 is an option for the following majors/programs: Conservation and Forest Management (and Urban Forestry students who want to take a MATH course as one of their first-year Restricted Electives). There are still seats available for students to register in this course.
MATH 190 is a course offered specifically for students in the Faculty of Forestry, and has a smaller class size compared to other first-year MATH courses. Many of our students in the Conservation and Forest Management majors typically choose this course for their first-year Math requirement. MATH 190 will satisfy the co-requisite for FRST 231 for students in the Conservation or Forest Management programs. If you are a student in one of the eligible majors/programs and would like to take MATH 190, please email forestry.undergrad@ubc.ca and we can assist you.
Please note that MATH 190 is a terminal course, meaning that it is not transferrable and it will not allow students into subsequent MATH courses. If one of your degree requirements needs MATH as a pre-requisite, or you are thinking of taking a course in the future that requires it, you will then need to take another 100-level MATH course (MATH 100, 180 or 110) to satisfy the pre-requisite.
CHEM, BIOL, MATH and ECON Waitlists :
CHEM, BIOL, MATH and ECON Waitlists
We are aware that there are issues when you try to register for CHEM 121, BIOL 121, MATH 100/180 and ECON 101. For now, if there are no open seats please try to register for a waitlist. If there are no waitlist(s) for the course(s), keep checking back on the course(s) often as seats typically do open up between now and the first days of class. Also, please note that if you are on a CHEM 121 or CHEM 111 waitlist, you will not be able to register in the CHEM 123 lecture or waitlist.
You can read more about Waitlists and Registration here.
If your error is not about seat availability, please check the Forestry Canvas page for troubleshooting tips.
Transfer Students Enrolling in WRDS 150B:
Transfer students this year might need help with registering in WRDS 150B. If you need assistance, please complete the Transfer Student Registration form here: https://jwam.ubc.ca/undergraduate/writing-requirements/ and identify yourself as a transfer student. We will prioritize your registration and will send you a confirmation once you are registered in a WRDS 150B class.
Academic Progress Wheel:
The Academic Progress Wheel can be a little misleading so it’s best to understand what it means. It will only reflect how many of the degree specific requirements you have met. It will not necessarily mean you are ready to graduate when it is showing 100%. Please look at the Overall Academic Progress (OAP) which will show what remains to be completed by you prior to graduation (likely certain electives).