Failed final = failed course in every faculty in Waterloo?

My friend and I were comparing the difference between the grading system in UToronto and UWaterloo and he asked me, "Does failing the final mean you failed the whole course even though your cumulative grade for the whole course is above 50?"

I cannot answer him, even though I know that for the Faculty of Math, you must pass the Finals to pass the whole course. Can anyone tell me if the other faculties are the same?

Thank you!

Originally Posted by ak47num1

My friend and I were comparing the difference between the grading system in UToronto and UWaterloo and he asked me, "Does failing the final mean you failed the whole course even though your cumulative grade for the whole course is above 50?"

I cannot answer him, even though I know that for the Faculty of Math, you must pass the Finals to pass the whole course. Can anyone tell me if the other faculties are the same?

Thank you!

Nah some courses dont have these requirements I believe, I only know of CS (pass weighted avg of final/midterm) and Math (some, i'm not sure if all of them have this requirement.. I should know this by now but I dont :P )

I believe some of the arts courses might let ya through. I think it varies on a course to course or instructor to instructor basis.

Hope that helps!

In UW Engineering, you can fail a final exam and still pass the course.

Originally Posted by ak47num1

I cannot answer him, even though I know that for the Faculty of Math, you must pass the Finals to pass the whole course.

Wow, so if your average was like 95% going into the final exam and then you got 49% on the final, you would fail the entire course?
Thank god my university days are over with....

Originally Posted by Rehan

In UW Engineering, you can fail a final exam and still pass the course.

This is sorta vague. It depends on course really, different professors tend to mark differently. For some courses the mark break down is different if you got below 50 on the exam (i.e. they may neglect any project or assignment marks).

I think it depends on the weight of your final exam. If your final exam is worth 50% of the final mark, then obviously you would have to pass the exam to pass the course (unless you have 100% going in).

Check the course calendar or registration handbook, it should be specified if the policy is 'failed final = failed course'.

Originally Posted by pebbles10

I think it depends on the weight of your final exam. If your final exam is worth 50% of the final mark, then obviously you would have to pass the exam to pass the course (unless you have 100% going in).

Do they not teach math in school anymore?

If your final exam is worth 50% of the total mark, you could pass the course even with a 40% (failure) on the final exam if you have 60% or more on midterms/assignments/labs/etc.

In all of the engineering courses I took at UW, there wasn't a single one in which a failure on the final exam would have automatically meant a failure in the course.

Originally Posted by ak47num1

My friend and I were comparing the difference between the grading system in UToronto and UWaterloo and he asked me, "Does failing the final mean you failed the whole course even though your cumulative grade for the whole course is above 50?"

I cannot answer him, even though I know that for the Faculty of Math, you must pass the Finals to pass the whole course. Can anyone tell me if the other faculties are the same?

Thank you!

it really depends on course...some course have some special requirements in which you must pass the final exam to pass the course...other courses say that the weighted average between your midterm and final must be a passing mark, while others don't care....

Originally Posted by Rehan

Do they not teach math in school anymore?

If your final exam is worth 50% of the total mark, you could pass the course even with a 40% (failure) on the final exam if you have 60% or more on midterms/assignments/labs/etc.

nah, they don't teach such simple math anymore...who needs simple math when everyone uses a calculator....it's an asumption that if university teaches complex math (such as calculus), they should now how to multiply and do all the other simple arithmetics...

Originally Posted by j3fan

it really depends on course...some course have some special requirements in which you must pass the final exam to pass the course...other courses say that the weighted average between your midterm and final must be a passing mark, while others don't care....

university of toronto doesnt allow a course to be marked on a single evaluation

I'm taking CS at UT and they have a thing for every CS course where you have to get at least 40% on the exam to pass the course.

Originally Posted by MizTEcK

university of toronto doesnt allow a course to be marked on a single evaluation

not true...case in point...law school (undergrad), and also many graduate courses

People here are right...CS courses generally have the 50% on final to pass rule (such as CS240, here: http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~cs240/info.html), however not all courses, specifically arts classes, are like this (such as my music 100 class, where the final is only worth 30% and you can get 0% on the final and still pass the course).

Also, from what my GF has told me, all distanct education courses DO have the 50-on-final to pass, as there are no midterms and there's never any other face-to-face interaction.

Originally Posted by ak47num1

My friend and I were comparing the difference between the grading system in UToronto and UWaterloo and he asked me, "Does failing the final mean you failed the whole course even though your cumulative grade for the whole course is above 50?"

I cannot answer him, even though I know that for the Faculty of Math, you must pass the Finals to pass the whole course. Can anyone tell me if the other faculties are the same?

Thank you!

I don't think this is true for Science. Yea, some of the exams were 70% but that doesn't mean if you fail the exam you fail the course necessarily. It depends on the course and professor.

Originally Posted by ian1386

Also, from what my GF has told me, all distanct education courses DO have the 50-on-final to pass, as there are no midterms and there's never any other face-to-face interaction.

Distance education courses do have assignments, though, so it's not like the whole mark is based on the final exam. For example, this one has a final worth 35%.