UQAM students feel sting of strike
The consequences of the protracted student strike are starting to be felt at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Students are starting to face the reality there will be no reimbursements for dropped classes, and that classes may be cancelled outright, which could result in a failing grade for students. If the strike continues, it could also mean students will not be reimbursed for a course they will have to take again.
Students had to decide by April 20 if they were going to drop a class, which was one way of avoiding a failure on their transcript, said Jenny Desrochers, interim director of media relations at UQAM.
“Mention of a failure on your transcript is really not good,” she said. “If they dropped a course, they can retake it next year but they will have to pay again.”
The problem, according to Justine Boulanger of the Association facultaire des étudiants et étudiantes en arts, is that the offer to drop the classes came a bit prematurely and before some students were ready to make a decision.
“The concept might seem fair but there are circumstances for students and it’s too soon for some to make the decision,” she said. She said students have been asking to prolong that period.
Benoît Lépine, of the political science and law student association, said he believes the university might offer an additional period to drop a class when the strike is settled. But he doesn’t believe it is something the majority of students will choose.
Desrochers said the period to drop classes was made to give students a chance to avoid a failing grade. But everything in the UQAM plan, including the extension of the semester to June 22, is contingent on students returning to class by May 7. If they don’t, everything will be re-evaluated on May 8.
There will a shortened summer session this year, too, and Desrochers said the decision to cancel classes will be made on a case-by-case basis. For example, if the class can’t get lab time or have teaching assistants available in the extended period, it may have to be cancelled, which could mean a failure for students who have been on strike.
Of the university’s 40,000 students, 27,000 students have been boycotting classes.