Find Your Programme

Academic Status

Requests for status letters should be made through the Examination Section of the Registry.

Students who wish to change their enrolment status should first go to the Request a Change of Major or Enrolment Status link at the Student Administrative Systems (SAS) Registration Menu which can be accessed at http://www.mona.uwi.edu. Students should then notify the Dean’s nominee in the Faculty Office who will consider the request for online approval. Please note that students who were accepted into the Faculty with lower level matriculation must first complete a minimum of 24 credits and two academic years before being eligible for transfer to full-time.

You will not be credited for the same course twice. You would need to select another course that is not a part of your major that is at the same level of the course you would be required to do and do it. Essentially, you will now have a free elective.

Applications for leave of absence must be made no later than the first week in October and the second week in February for Semesters 1 and 2, respectively.

A student who for good reason wishes to be absent from an academic programme for a semester or more must apply for formal leave of absence via the Automated Student Request System (ASRS) accessed through the Faculty’s website http://www.mona.uwi.edu. Leave of absence may be granted for one semester or for an academic year. Leave of absence, however, will not be granted for more than two consecutive academic years.

Part-time in the Faculty is defined by a student’s work load per semester and does not mean evening studies. While some Level I courses are offered in the evening, the majority of the courses at Levels II and III are taught during the day only. Thus, students registered part-time must be prepared to attend classes between 8am and 5pm.

EXAMINATIONS

If you missed an examination for medical reasons, you should submit a signed medical certificate within seven days to the Examination Section of the Registry. You will likely be permitted to sit the exam at the next available sitting. (Refer to Examination Regulations, Section II, 17-32).

For any other reason, you would normally be obliged to register again for the full course. However, departments, upon being advised of the situation, have other discretionary options that may be applied. Refer to the current issue of the Faculty Handbook, Exams Only Regulations 11.2.

Candidates are informed of the dates and times of written papers by means of the publications of the official examination timetable. This document is posted on the Official Examinations Notice Board located behind the Undercroft.

Candidates who are absent from an examination owing to a mis-reading of the timetable shall be liable to the normal penalties for absence from an examination and will have to await the next official sitting to take the examination. (Refer to Examination Regulations 2008-2009, Section V, 84-96).

N.B. The department does not provide information to students via telephone or otherwise regarding date, time and or venues for examinations.

You may express your dissatisfaction with your results in writing to the Campus Registrar through the Examinations Section. You may do so within two weeks of publication of results. (Refer to Examination Regulations 2008-2009, Section VII, 142-152 to see what other options are available to you).

S/he has failed one or two of the final courses needed to complete the degree programme and obtained a mark of no less that 35% in each course.

S/he has obtained a medical certificate, certified by the University Health Centre.

In exceptional circumstances, the Dean may grant a student a deferral from sitting an exam and permission to take it on a subsequent occasion. Refer to Faculty Handbook for details.

Submit letter of approval obtained from either Examinations Section or your Faculty to the Social Sciences Faculty Office for processing.

Yes. If an oral examination is passed, the student cannot be awarded a mark higher than 40 (a marginal pass) for the course.

No sooner than one (1) year after the date of withdrawal.

ORIENTATION

You should first check your acceptance package for a copy of the Handbook. If you did not receive a copy in your package, you may request a copy from the Admissions Section of the Registry or the Social Sciences Faculty Office. Alternatively, you may view or download a copy from the Faculty’s website.

  Full-time Students        Part-time Students       
Number of Courses (per semester)        5        3       
Number of Credits (per semester) 15        9       

The University operates a two semester academic year with each semester running for approximately 13 teaching weeks followed by 2 weeks of examination. Semester I usually starts during the last week in August and ends late December. Semester II starts about late January and ends around mid May. The Faculty operates a 8½-week summer school programme, inclusive of examinations, usually held during the period June - July. Registration in the summer school programme is optional except for students in the Weekend programme.

Programme of Study

The Faculty usually encourages students to combine their major with a minor offered by another Faculty. We ask that you first select the major or minor online, then seek the permission of the Deans and Heads of Unit/Department of both Faculties. If permission is granted, the Head of Unit/Department you wish to enter is responsible for granting online approval.

Additional courses are those taken in excess of the number of courses normally permitted in any semester or academic year. Students may apply to take an extra course provided they meet the following criteria: Part-time students who have obtained a GPA of 3.3 may be allowed a maximum of 7 courses (21 credits) for the academic year. Full-time students who have obtained a GPA of 3.3 may be allowed a maximum of 11 courses (33 credits) for the academic year. However, in exceptional circumstances, twelve (12) courses (36 credits) many be allowed. All finalizing students may apply to do additional courses.

Course substitution refers to the replacement of a core course in a student’s programme of study. You must seek and obtain permission from the Faculty Office for such a replacement.

A timetable is automatically generated after you have selected your courses online. Alternatively, you may view or print a copy of the timetable from the Faculty’s website via www.mona.uwi.edu/socsci/.

Students reading for a special will not be allowed to read for a major. However, you may combine a special with a minor in any other discipline.

A Major comprises a minimum of thirty (30) credits at Levels II and Level III in the subject area while a Special is made up of forty-five (45) credits at Level II and Level III in the subject area.

A Minor comprises a minimum of fifteen (15) credits in the subject area at Levels II and III.

A pre-requisite is a course listed in the Faculty Handbook or departmental handbook which must be completed before registration for another course is permitted. Usually, a pre-requisite course provides many of the fundamental concepts required for the more advanced course.

An anti-requisite is a course with substantially overlapping content as another course and which therefore cannot be taken by a student, for credit, who has already completed the course for which it is an anti-requisite.

An elective or free elective is any course that is listed in the Faculty Handbook or departmental handbook which is optional in the degree programme concerned and may be selected from any Faculty.

Core courses are courses that students must complete in order to be awarded a degree. These courses are stated explicitly in the Faculty Handbook underneath your major/option/special or minor being pursued.

You may be permitted to do so at the discretion of the lecturer. Bear in mind, however, that a pre-requisite course provides many of the fundamental concepts required for the more advanced course.

It is an online process.

Log on to SAS → Registration page → Change of Enrollment Status → Select New Major → Submit

It takes ten (10) – fourteen (14) working days.

It is an online process. Log on to SAS → Student Services → Apply for a Programme Transfer → Input information in Transfer Programme

Application for exemption and credit must be made through the Faculty Office via the Automated Student Request System (ASRS) via www.mona.uwi.edu/socsci/.

It depends on the level of the course for which you have been exempted from and you can only replace the courses with the same level.

Registration

Registration consists of the following three components:

 Online Selection of & Approval of Courses
 Financial Clearance*
 Registrar’s Approval

* Financial clearance is normally granted within two (2) working days after the payment of fees and Registrar’s Approval will be granted on the receipt of Financial Clearance.

For additional details about these processes, visit the Student Administrative Services (SAS) website and download the current publication of the Undergraduate Financial Information and Registration Guidelines.

Course selection is done via the Internet at the Student Administrative Systems (SAS) website which can be accessed at http://www.mona.uwi.edu. Students may complete this process from any computer, on or off campus.

Yes. The normal registration period usually runs through the first week of September for Semester 1 and the last week of January for Semester 2. A late registration fine is applied to students who fail to complete the registration process within this period.

During orientation week, all computer labs in the Faculty are staffed with personnel specifically trained in providing assistance with the online course selection process. Alternatively, students should follow the registration steps outlined in the current issue of the Undergraduate Financial Information and Registration Guidelines.

This depends on the programme in which you have been offered a place. Your letter of acceptance should indicate this. The FSS student undergraduate handbook or your departmental handbook lists the course requirements for each programme of study. Just follow the list. Also, refer to your MSBM orientation package/handouts; it contains the list of courses, by majors, students should register for.

Students are expected to register for all applicable schedule types (e.g., lectures, tutorials, labs) during the course selection process via the internet at the Student Administrative Systems (SAS) website which can be accessed at http://www.mona.uwi.edu. Failure to do so will result in an error and you will not be able to save your selection.

Yes. Students are urged to complete courses offered at a lower level (i.e. Level 1) before attempting courses at higher levels (i.e., Levels 11 and 111). It is important to note that each degree programme consists of two parts.

Part 1 (or Year 1) consists of a minimum of 30 credits, normally ten (10) Level 1 three (3) credit courses. These include three (3) foundation courses, pre-requisite courses for Part II courses and/or free electives, and any other courses designated by your department which are not included in the above.

Part II (or Years 2 & 3) comprises of a minimum of 60 credits, normally a combination of twenty (20) Level II and Level III courses.

The FSS Undergraduate Handbook or your departmental handbook lists the course requirements for each programme of study. Just follow the list.

N.B. Students should ensure that they first obtain the pre-requisites for courses they are required to do or are desirous of doing. If necessary, students may use free electives for completing pre-requisite courses.

Yes. You will earn 3 credits for each Foundation Course. These credits are University credits and do not go towards the Degree GPA but must be attained before your degree can be awarded.

The Foundations Courses are:

English for Academic Purposes or Writing in the Disciplines* offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Education. All queries about these courses should be directed to aforementioned Faculty Office. Sciences, Medicine and Technology in Society offered by the Faculty of Science and Technology. All queries about this course should be directed to aforementioned Faculty Office.

Caribbean Civilization+ offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Education. All queries about this course should be directed to aforementioned Faculty Office.

* Students with Grade 1 or 2 passes in CAPE Communication Studies are required to do Writing in the Disciplines instead of English for Academic Purposes.

+ Students pursuing a Social Work (Special) are required to take Law, Governance, Economy and Society instead of Caribbean Civilisation.

Applications for exemptions and credits must be made through the Faculty Office via the Automated Student Request Module (ASRM) via SAS.

A student who has obtained Grades I to IV in the following CAPE subjects may receive exemptions without credit for the corresponding UWI Level 1 courses:
 
CAPE Subject        UWI Level 1 Course
               
Accounting Unit 1        Financial Accounting
Accounting unit 2        Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting
Caribbean Studies        Caribbean Civilisation
Economics Unit 1        Introduction to Microeconomics
Economics Unit 2        Introduction to Macroeconomics
Pure Mathematics Units 1&2        Mathematics for the Social Sciences
Sociology Unit 1        Sociology for the Caribbean
Statistical Analysis        Introductory Statistics or Introductory Statistics for the Behavioural Sciences

A Campus Restriction error means that you have attempted to register for a course that is being taught at another campus. Please ensure that you are selecting a course that is being taught at the campus to which you are attached.

Registration after the normal registration period may be permitted in exceptional circumstances. Application to add or drop a course may be made through the Faculty Office via the Automated Student Request System (ASRS) via www.mona.uwi.edu/socsci/. Late registration attracts a financial penalty.

You would need to request a Course Override.

If a student has received an error in trying to Add/Drop Classes due to non-fulfillment of pre-requisites or co-requisites, course quota or credit limit restrictions, the student may choose to proceed by requesting an override for that course by clicking on the Request Override link. Alternately, the student may go directly to request an override from the main menu using the following:

Log-in to SAS → Student Services → Registration → Request for Course Overrides Then:
Select the relevant course(s) from the drop-down listing.
Type a message to the Faculty explaining reasons for requesting the override (optional)
Click on Submit Request.
Revisit the Request for Course Overrides site to monitor Faculty decisions.
Courses which have been granted Faculty or Departmental Override should then be added to your record. Please note that overrides requested may not be approved but instead, may be declined.

N.B. Unless you previously attempted to add the course to your record using the Add/Drop page (and received an ERROR), that course will not be available to you.

Each lecturer actions their course override requests and it should take no more than 24 hours after the override request to be granted.