MDS Policies

Program Policies and Regulations

The Master of Data Science Policies and Regulations are part of the campus-wide UBC Policies and Regulations document. Below is a summary of those Policies and Regulations that students frequently ask about and that are specific to the Master of Data Science program.

Quick Links

Looking for information about:

• Unable to complete an assignment or quiz due to illness or other circumstances? See Academic Concessions.
• Submitting work late? See Late Submissions.
• Quiz rules and reservations? See Quiz Policies.
• Understanding grades or academic standing? See Grades and Academic Standing.
• Received two C/C+ grades? See Academic Probation.
• Struggling to keep up with the program? See Seeking Support Before Required Withdrawal.
• Taking time away from MDS? See Leave of Absence.
• Leaving the program? See Leave of Absence & Program Withdrawal.
• Questioning a grade? See Re-grading.
• Academic integrity or GenAI expectations? See Academic Integrity and Use of Generative AI.
• Changing your section or option? See Section / Option Transfers.

Contents

1. Program Expectations
2. Academic Concessions
3. Assessments and Coursework
4. Grades and Academic Standing
5. Academic Integrity and Use of Generative AI
6. Leave of Absence & Program Withdrawal
7. Section / Option Transfers
8. UBC Policies and Student Resources
9. Policy Updates

Program Expectations

Full-time Commitment and Attendance

The MDS program is approved by the UBC Senate as a full-time program. Hence, students must take the program on a full-time basis as part of their cohort and cannot complete the program on a part-time basis.

The program is academically rigorous and time-intensive. We strongly advise against taking on additional jobs, courses, or major responsibilities during the program. Concessions will not be granted for extra responsibilities taken on during the program.

Attendance at all required course activities is expected. Your ability to succeed in the program depends on engaging fully with the material, your instructors, and your peers.

• In most courses, attendance contributes directly to your grade through participation components.
• In project-based courses, attendance may be mandatory for certain sessions to ensure fairness to all group members. Requirements will be clearly stated at the start of the block.
• Failure to meet these attendance expectations can negatively impact your participation grade and, in some courses, may prevent you from passing.

If you are feeling unwell, experiencing flu-like symptoms, or believe you may have COVID-19, please do not attend lectures, labs, office hours, or quizzes in person. Reach out to MDS course cordinators and your instructor to discuss accommodations.

Lecture Recordings

We do not livestream or require instructors to record their lectures. If you miss a class you can catch up by reviewing lecture notes as well as by talking to peers and asking them to share their notes. When past lecture recordings are available, instructors may grant access to students who were absent for approved reasons only (e.g. illness, jury duty, etc.).

Academic Concessions

If you anticipate missing an assignment or quiz for a justified reason, you may request an academic concession before the deadline. According to the UBC Senate policy on academic concession, valid grounds for academic concessions include illness, conflicting responsibilities, or compassionate grounds. Compassionate grounds, as defined by the policy, include situations such as “a traumatic event experienced by the student, a family member, or a close friend; an act of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct experienced by the student, a family member, or a close friend; a death in the family or of a close friend.”

Requirements for Submitting an Academic Concession Request

To request an academic concession, students must fill out the academic concession form and include the following details:

• Reason for the Request:
  • Clearly state the reason for requesting the academic concession in the form. This reason must align with the UBC Senate’s grounds for academic concessions (e.g., illness, conflicting responsibilities, or compassionate grounds).
  • Attach supporting documentation (if available) to validate the reason for the request. If you cannot provide documentation at the time of the request, indicate when you expect to submit it.
• Extension Details:
  • Indicate in the form which specific assignment(s) or deadline(s) you are requesting an extension or exemption for.
  • Specify in the form approximately how long an extension you are requesting.

Submission Process

Once the form is completed, submit it via the Slack Course Coordinator Bot. In Slack, type /cc in any channel and press Enter to open the bot. Select “Submit concession” and follow the prompts to complete your submission. Please do not reach out to instructors for concession requests, as this may slow down the review process.

Incomplete or unsigned forms may delay the processing of your request. Ensure that all necessary fields in the form, including the date, your name, student number, and signature, are filled out. You will also need to include the exact items you are requesting a concession for, e.g. 511 and 521 week 2 labs. Please note that you must submit the academic concession form before the deadline of the assignment or quiz for which you are requesting the concession. Submitting a request does not guarantee approval.

After receiving your completed form, the course coordinator, lab instructor, and/or MDS Co-Directors will review your request. You may be asked to provide additional documentation or clarification if needed. Decisions will be communicated as soon as possible. Failure to provide valid documentation when required may result in a denial of your request.

Assessments and Coursework

Late Submissions

A late submission is defined as any work submitted after the deadline. Late-submission occurrences and their associated penalties are tracked program-wide, not separately by course or block. The first late submission receives a 75% scaling of the grade, the second through fifth late submissions receive a 50% scaling, and any subsequent late submissions receive a grade of 0. The late-submission count is cumulative across all MDS courses and does not reset between courses or blocks.

For example, if the Block 1 Week 2 labs are due on Saturday at 6:00 pm, a student with no prior late submissions who submits at the following times would receive the corresponding penalties:

Lab Submission Time Penalty

Exception for Lower-stakes Assessments (worksheets, pre-lecture quizzes, etc.)

• Instructors will specify which assignments in their course are considered lower-stakes assessments.
• Late submissions will not be accepted for lower-stakes assessments. Any such submission after the deadline will receive 0 points.
• To allow flexibility, only the best certain percentage of these assessments (e.g., best 6 out of 8 worksheets) may count toward your grade. Instructors will specify the exact policy for their course.
• These late submissions will not count toward the five late submissions that we keep track of for higher-stakes assignments in the program.
• Since lower-stakes assessments are designed primarily for practice and preparation, this policy should not significantly affect your overall grade.

Quiz Policies

Unless otherwise specified, MDS quizzes are closed book. Some courses may provide limited digital documentation or allow the inclusion of a single-sided, one-page, letter-sized (8.5 by 11 inches) cheatsheet that is uploaded as a PNG to PrairieLearn before the quiz. If the instructors allow you to create your own cheatsheet, ensure that you submit the correct cheatsheet before the deadline and that it complies with all stated requirements.

Please remember to reserve your quiz spot in a timely manner, as availability is limited and may fill up quickly. You will also have to reserve a review session in order to review the results of your quiz. Quiz and quiz review reservations must be made outside of your scheduled lecture and lab times. Once the quiz/review window starts, the course coordinators will not assist with booking or changing reservations without an approved concession.

During the quiz window, students are not allowed to disclose, discuss, or share any part of the quiz with any other individual, except as directly permitted or required by the course instructors. This includes discussions in person, online, or through any electronic means. Violations will result in academic penalties, which may include failure of the quiz or failure of the course.

For more information, refer to the MDS Quiz Guidelines.

The following are NOT permitted:

• Use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT)
• Taking a quiz from a remote location
• Re-entering the quiz room (unless approved by the proctor; please talk to the proctor before the quiz if you anticipate needing to leave the room during the quiz)

Failing to observe the above expectations may result in a zero grade for the quiz in question.

Group Projects

Near the end of a group project, everyone is required to complete a teamwork reflection. This deliverable is an individual report intended to give you an avenue to present your viewpoint as to how the project went, how the group worked together, and your role in the group. Each group member must complete this form to report on the contributions of yourself and the other group members. This is a private, individual report, meaning that none of your group members will see this report.

When needed, we will also use the teamwork reflection, data from remote version control repositories, and/or interviews with team members to assess group performance and adjust the final grades of individuals using the project contribution multiplier.

Re-grading

If you have a question about the way your work was graded, please contact the relevant person based on the table below:

When we receive a regrade request we may re-grade the entire submission; thus, your lab/quiz grade may go up or down as a result of re-grading.

Grading concerns: time limit

If you perceive a problem with a grade, you have one week to raise a concern from the time that your grade was released. After that, your grade is final.

Reasonable grading concerns

If a grade is challenged in a way that is deemed unreasonable, the student will receive a warning. This decision will be made by the instructor (not TA). If a student receives three warnings, the student will lose the privilege to challenge grades for the remainder of the program. This policy applies to both labs and quizzes.

To submit an effective regrade request, you only need to follow two steps:

1. Read the solution and the feedback from the grader. Often, this will be sufficient to understand why you lost points.
2. Include a rationale explaining why you think the marking of your submission is unreasonable and should be regraded.
   • This needs to be specific, either include references to the correct solution and explain how your answer is equivalent, or explain why your submission is correct although it is not equivalent to what is in the solution.

Examples of reasonable regrading requests:

• “The solution wrote that the number of bins in a histogram impacts its appearance. I wrote ‘binwidth’ instead of ’number of bins’, but these are effectively the same since the wider each bin, the fewer bins there are along the axis.”
• “I think my code generates the same output as the correct answer. The only difference in code is specify(response = y explanatory = x) and specify(y ~ x).”

Examples of unreasonable regrading requests:

• Demands, such as “I want 80%”, “Please give full credit”, or “This question should have partial marks”.
• Submitting regrading requests without any specifics, particularly multiple ones on the same assignment.
  • “I think my solution might deserve more marks” (no rationale as to why additional marks should be given)
  • “I wrote ‘X’ which is the same as ‘Y’ in the solution” (no explanation for how ‘X’ is the same as ‘Y’; although this might seem obvious to you, the grader will not know what you were thinking when you wrote it.)
• Suggesting that a vague term you wrote meant the same as the solution. We can only give points for what you write, so you need to be explicit in your writing.
  • “When I wrote ‘a smooth line’ in my answer, I really meant ‘kernel density estimate’ as in the solution”
• Minor complaints (e.g. half a mark on an assignment).
• Repeatedly contesting the same issue once a decision has been reached.

Rationale for regrading policy

Grades are not perfect; some randomness in grading is normal, meaning that you’ll generally get more than you deserve in some cases and less than you deserve in other cases. Thus, it is possible to cheat the system by consistently complaining when your grade is too low but not when it is too high. Unfortunately, this takes time away from the course staff which could have been spent on making the course better for everyone. Thus, in our view, students who overzealously contest grades are penalizing their classmates for personal gain.

Sometimes serious grading errors are made, for example when a grader did not see your answer to a question or completely deviated from standard grading practices for some unknown reason. Such situations can be quite frustrating for students, and we want you to feel that the courses are fair. In these cases, it makes sense for the student to bring the error to our attention.

Balancing these two sides is difficult and we have tried to make our regrading policy as explicit as possible to distinguish reasonable and unreasonable grading concerns.

Grades and Academic Standing

General grading scheme

UBC uses a percentage grade system from 0 to 100%. The following table is taken from the UBC guidelines for converting percentage grades to letter grades:

Final course grades

With a few exceptions (communicated at the start of each course), grades are typically calculated as 50% labs and participation + 50% quizzes.

However, if a student fails all quizzes in a course (each score below 60%), their final grade for that course will be capped at 67% (the lower of their calculated grade and 67%).

Failed courses and C/C+ grades

To pass an MDS course, a student must receive a final grade of 60% or higher. To graduate from MDS, a student must pass all courses, with no more than 3 credits in the 60–67% range (C or C+).

All MDS courses are worth 1 UBC credit except for Capstone, which is worth 6 credits. Thus, a student may receive no more than three C/C+ grades in Blocks 1–6 and must receive a final grade of 68% or higher in Capstone. Failing to meet these requirements will trigger the required withdrawal process (see Leave of Absence & Program Withdrawal).

The table below summarizes how course grades affect a student’s academic standing:

Probationary Measures

A student will be placed on Academic Probation if they accumulate two grades in the C/C+ range. Students on Academic Probation are subject to the following mandatory measures, effective immediately upon the release of the second C/C+ grade. These measures are intended to ensure students remain fully engaged with the material and have regular check-ins with program leadership.

Mandatory Attendance:

• Attendance is mandatory for all morning lectures and afternoon labs.
  • Absences are only permitted with an approved academic concession (e.g., for medical reasons) provided in advance by the Faculty Chair of the respective section.
  • Attendance concessions must be requested directly from the Faculty Chair, not the course coordinators.
• Failure to attend without concession will be reviewed by the Program Directors and may impact the student’s standing in the program.

Academic Advising Check-ins:

The student must schedule and attend a check-in meeting with the Faculty Chair of their section in Weeks 2 and 4 of every block. These meetings are designed to monitor progress, address gaps in understanding, and discuss strategies for academic improvement.

The student will remain on Academic Probation for the remainder of the program or until the Program Directors determine that the student is no longer at risk of failing to meet graduation requirements.

Academic Integrity and Use of Generative AI

Plagiarism

Academic integrity means acting honestly and responsibly in your academic work. Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct that occurs when an individual presents the work or ideas of another person as their own without appropriate acknowledgement. Examples of plagiarism can include:

• multiple students submitting the same response
• copying from sources without citing them
• copying verbatim (word-for-word) from a source and citing it, but failing to make it explicit that the text is a quotation (quotations should be used only rarely, if at all)
• sending, emailing, or sharing part of your answers, including code, with anyone else, including classmates (unless you are working together on an official group assignment)
• redistributing assignments or solutions, or using assignments or solutions that have been redistributed.

Plagiarism is a serious form of academic misconduct and may result in academic consequences, including dismissal from the program. Students are responsible for ensuring that their submitted work does not constitute plagiarism. If you are unsure whether something constitutes plagiarism, consult your instructor before submitting the work.

For more information, see the UBC Academic Misconduct policies.

Code Plagiarism

Students must correctly cite any code that has been authored by someone else or by the student themselves for other assignments. Cases of code plagiarism may include, but are not limited to:

• the reproduction (copying and pasting) of code with none or minimal reformatting (e.g., changing the name of the variables)
• the translation of an algorithm or a script from a language to another
• the generation of code by automatic code-generations software

An “adequate acknowledgement” requires a detailed identification of the (parts of the) code reused and a full citation of the original source code that has been reused.

Use of Generative AI (GenAI)

Generative AI tools are increasingly part of professional data science workflows, and students are encouraged to learn how to use these tools effectively and responsibly. Unless otherwise specified by the instructor or assessment instructions, the use of GenAI tools is permitted in MDS coursework.

However, you are responsible for the accuracy, quality, and understanding of everything you submit, regardless of whether or how GenAI tools were used. You should be able to explain the reasoning, code, analysis, and decisions represented in your submitted work.

Instructors may ask you to explain, defend, reproduce, or extend any part of your submitted work, either in writing or orally. This may include explaining code, justifying methodological choices, interpreting results, identifying limitations, or completing a related task without assistance. An inability to demonstrate sufficient understanding of submitted work may affect the grade for the assessment and, where appropriate, may raise concerns about academic integrity.

Individual courses or assessments may place additional restrictions on GenAI use. For example, GenAI may be prohibited during some assessments intended to evaluate independent mastery of specific skills. Any such restrictions will be communicated by the instructional team and must be followed.

When an assessments allows the use of GenAI, the extent of the use will be detailed by the instructors and all use is to be cited appropriately.

For group work, all group members are collectively responsible for the accuracy, quality, and understanding of the submitted work and for complying with any GenAI requirements specified for the assessment.

Privacy and confidential information

Many GenAI tools may store or reuse information provided to them. Do not enter confidential or sensitive information into GenAI tools, including student information (names, student numbers, or other personal information), confidential partner or project information (datasets, proprietary information, or client details), or quiz questions and answers.

Ultimately, GenAI tools should support your learning rather than replace it. Effective use of these tools includes knowing when to use them, critically evaluating their outputs, and ensuring that you understand and can take responsibility for the work you submit.

For additional guidance, see UBC’s approach to generative artificial intelligence tools in teaching and learning.

Leave of Absence & Program Withdrawal

Our goal is to support your success in the MDS program. We also recognize that circumstances sometimes arise that may affect your ability to continue in the program. In these situations, we are committed to helping you understand your options, navigate the relevant processes, and access appropriate support.

Leaving the MDS program before completion, whether through a leave of absence, voluntary withdrawal, or required withdrawal, can have significant academic, financial, and personal consequences. The policies and procedures for each are outlined below.

Leave of Absence

Students experiencing circumstances that prevent them from continuing their studies may request a leave of absence. If approved, a leave allows the student to temporarily pause their studies and return to the program at an approved time.

Students should review UBC’s Leave of Absence policy and procedures for information about eligibility, duration, registration status, and other university-level requirements.

To request a leave of absence from MDS, students must submit a written request to the MDS Leadership Team (mds-leadership@stat.ubc.ca), along with a memo explaining the reasons for the request. The MDS program will forward the request to the Associate Dean, Students of the Faculty of Science, who makes the final decision.

Voluntary Withdrawal

Students may choose to withdraw from the MDS program for medical, personal, or other reasons. Depending on the time of the withdrawal, the student may be eligible for a full or partial tuition refund.

A request for voluntary withdrawal must be submitted in writing to the MDS Leadership Team (mds-leadership@stat.ubc.ca).

Required Withdrawal

A student may be required to withdraw from the program for failing to meet MDS academic performance requirements, for academic misconduct, or for other types of misconduct.

For academic performance, the required withdrawal process is initiated when a student no longer meets the program’s academic standing requirements, for example, by accumulating four C/C+ grades or failing a course.

Once the criteria for required withdrawal have been met, the withdrawal process is automatically initiated. The student will be notified in writing, and the case will be forwarded to the Associate Dean, Students of the Faculty of Science.

Upon notification of the withdrawal, the student is immediately restricted from registering for future courses. If notification occurs during an active block, the student may complete any courses in that block for which they remain academically eligible (i.e., they have satisfied the required prerequisites). However, they may not enrol in, register for, or attend courses in any subsequent block.

Seeking Support Before Required Withdrawal

We recognize that academic difficulties are often connected to personal, health-related, family, or other challenging circumstances. If you are experiencing difficulties that may affect your ability to keep up with the program, it is important to seek support as early as possible. The earlier concerns are communicated, the more options may be available before your academic standing is affected.

• If circumstances beyond your control are affecting an assessment, such as illness, a family emergency, or other significant personal circumstances, submit a concession request to the course coordinators (@mds-course-coord on Slack and mds.cc@ubc.ca by email) before the assessment deadline whenever possible. You should also keep your instructor informed of your situation.
• If you are struggling academically or falling behind in a course, contact your instructor or section chair as soon as possible. They may be able to provide guidance on study strategies, direct you to relevant resources, connect you with tutoring support, or help you develop a plan to get back on track.
• If you are struggling across multiple courses, are concerned about your overall academic standing, or are unsure what to do, reach out to the MDS Co-Directors (@mds-co-directors on Slack AND email mds-leadership@stat.ubc.ca). The Co-Directors can help you understand your situation and options and connect you with appropriate resources or university offices.

In general, the earlier you seek help, the more options may be available. Once the required withdrawal process has been initiated, the MDS program’s ability to intervene is significantly more limited.

Appealing a Required Withdrawal Decision

If you receive a required withdrawal decision and believe there are mitigating circumstances that should be considered, you must follow the formal appeal process communicated by the Associate Dean’s Office. This process provides you with an opportunity to explain your circumstances and provide relevant supporting information.

The MDS instructional team and Co-Directors cannot overturn or modify a required withdrawal decision.

Important: The MDS instructional team and Co-Directors are responsible solely for academic assessments and program-level academic support. They do not have the authority to waive academic standing requirements, grant registration extensions, or retroactively alter a student’s academic standing. Any mitigating or personal factors must be presented through the formal appeal process established by the Associate Dean’s Office. The final decision rests entirely with the Associate Dean’s Office.

Section / Option Transfers

• Transfers between sections are not permitted.
• Transfers between options are generally not permitted. In exceptional circumstances (e.g., an external job offer requiring a different area of specialization), a transfer request may be considered if: a) a written rationale is submitted prior to the end of Block 2, b) the student is in a good academic standing, and c) the student had initially been accepted to both options. Final decisions will be at the discretion of the Option Directors, following discussion with the instructional and leadership teams.

UBC Policies and Student Resources

UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious, spiritual and cultural observances. UBC values academic honesty and students are expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their actions. Details of the policies and how to access support are available here.

Policy Updates

We reserve the right to make changes to this policy during the program as required. Announcements for relevant changes will be made to the students via the appropriate Slack channels.