Frequently Asked Questions
What is Orientations?
UBC Orientations is an experience brought together by a series of events and activities that helps UBC students transition to life on campus. It is run by the office of Student Development, and offers a wide variety of orientation and transitional programming for students at all levels.
What do I bring on the first day?
- A print out or mobile version of your Imagine Day Schedule from UBCevents
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Rain jacket or umbrella
- A backpack or bag
- Your class schedule
- Snacks, drinks, and a water bottle
- Clothing in your faculty colour (see your Imagine email for details)
- Pen or pencil
Which classes are being replaced with Orientation Programming?
All 100 level undergraduate classes as well as upper level classes offered by programs in the following list with the exception of those classes that start at or after 5:00pm and meet only once per week:
Faculty of Arts – All undergraduate programs except the Bachelor of Social Work
Faculty of Commerce & Business Administration – Bachelor of Commerce
Faculty of Dentistry – Bachelor of Dental Science in Dental Hygiene
Faculty of Applied Science – Bachelor of Applied Science
Faculty of Forestry – All undergraduate programs
Faculty of Education – Bachelor of Human Kinetics
Faculty of Land & Food Systems – All undergraduate programs
Faculty of Science – All undergraduate programs
What is Imagine UBC?
Imagine UBC is the University’s orientation and transition program for students on September 6, 2011. Once again this year, Imagine UBC will replace all classes on the first day of school for more than 35,000 undergraduate students. In their place, faculty and staff will turn their attention to a wide range of new first-day activities designed to connect students with their professors and classmates to find the support they need for starting campus life, finding out more about their major or getting ready to graduate.
Why should I go to Orientations?
UBC Orientations will:
- Provide new to UBC students with programs, services, and networks that will enhance the first-year experience.
- Enable students at UBC to engage in increasing levels of involvement opportunities to foster the development of socially, culturally, and environmentally conscious and proactive leaders who can learn more about themselves, their team, and their place in the community.
- Facilitate a campus-wide collaborative approach to the first-year orientation and transition experience for our new students and their parents.
Our mission is to promote overall success – with our students, both incoming and current, as well as new UBC faculty and staff.
What is a MUG?
An abbreviation of “My Undergraduate Group.” A MUG consists of one MUG Leader and approximately ten first-year students in the same faculty.
Where do I find my MUG Group on the Day of Imagine?
Your MUG group is assigned a morning meeting location on campus. This location can be found on your Imagine email which you will receive in August. Additionally, you can find your morning meeting location on the map on your personalized Imagine Day schedule.
What should I do if I get lost?
If you arrive late, can’t find your morning meeting location, or lose your MUG at any time, there are several ways of finding out where to go. On the morning of Imagine Day, faculty and staff will be riding bikes around campus helping new students find their morning meeting locations. Also, there are “Ask Me’’ tents located all around campus which have schedules, maps, and helpful people who will assist you in finding your MUG group at any point during the day. Finally, you can talk to one of the many leaders wearing an ‘I AM UBC’ t-shirt who can help you if you are lost. If you happen to have a smart phone and are on Twitter, you can also tweet in to us that you are lost. Please remember to provide your MUG Group name, current location and target destination if possible.
What does UBCevents have to do with Orientations?
UBCevents is the home for the schedule of events for Orientations. Students are provided with an easy method to view and search the many orientation opportunities that will be available on Imagine day and throughout September. UBCevents, in conjunction with faculties, Orientations, and other campus groups has worked to design a site that allows UBC students to access a personalized schedule for Imagine Day.
How do I use this website?
This web page can be used to learn about events and opportunities happening for Orientations and on Imagine Day. The home page has been divided into three tabs: i) Imagine Day, ii) Calendar, and iii) Connect.
Imagine Day: Students can identify themselves as a First Year, Transfer, Returning, Exchange, Graduate, Post-doctoral or Undeclared student. There are also options for Faculty and Staff, Parents and Friends, as well as Alumni. Next, students will further identify themselves by faculty or MUG group and then by department or year level. This will allow UBCevents to search and display a schedule of events for each user specifically.
Calendar: Search and browse for events happening at UBC. Navigate by date, on the calendar, or using the search bar. You can also search using event and subject type categories.
Connect: Stay up to date with campus life via our blog, Twitter and You Tube channels.
What events are taking place outside of Imagine Day?
There is a great variety of social, academic, and wellness related events happening outside of Imagine Day. Information about these events can be found on the UBCevents website. Remember to check the dates of the events posted to find out when they are taking place. Be sure to check out Firstweek, a week’s worth of outrageously fun back-to-school events, brought to you by the AMS. There are also many other events happening for all members of the UBC community throughout September and the rest of the year. These can be found on the left side of the UBCevents webpage at www.events.ubc.ca.
Who plans the Imagine Day?
The Imagine Day is planned and coordinated by the UBC Orientations office in conjunction with faculties, undergraduate societies, and many other departments from around UBC.
Who do I contact for more information?
As your first day at UBC approaches, we would like to ensure that you receive the support you need to be ready for Imagine UBC and beyond. Should you have any questions, you can have them answered by the UBC Orientations Team in person at the Centre for Student Involvement on the main floor in Brock Hall, by telephone at 604.822.8698, or by email at imagine.info@ubc.ca. The friendly and knowledgeable students and staff at the CSI are always happy to help!
You will also be able to tweet in your questions to UBCevent’s Twitter account: UBCevents. Orientations staff will be on hand responding to your tweets leading up to and on Imagine Day.
For information on UBCevents and its related services, please contact; info.events@ubc.ca
General Questions
- What is UBCevents?
- What types of events can be posted?
- Who can create events?
- How do I create events?
- Do I need an account to post items on the events calendar?
- What if I don’t have a CWL account?
- Can I download events into my personal calendar?
- How can I integrate UBCevents into my web site?
- What is the program being used for the events calendar?
- Who manages UBCevents ?
- I have more questions, who do I talk to?
General Questions
1. What is UBCevents?
UBCevents ( www.events.ubc.ca ) is your new campus-wide events calendar, the central hub for students, staff, faculty and the public when it comes to happenings at UBC.
2. What types of events can be posted?
The events calendar is for the entire UBC community — that means students, staff, faculty, alumni, visitors, those who live on campus and those who just want to experience what UBC has to offer. As such, there aren’t many limitations on the types of events that can be posted; however, they should be either hosted or supported by a UBC organization (student clubs, departments, administration units etc). One important thing to note, though, is that all events posted must follow official UBC policies . If they do not, the managers of UBCevents reserve the right to delete those infringing events.
3. Who can create events?
www.events.ubc.ca . Sound too good to be true? That’s okay; we think you deserve it.
4. How do I create events?
Once your organization or group is set-up as an event provider with UBCevents , simply give your event details to the calendar representative for your organization. He or she will log in with a UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) into a web-based calendar administration site and post the event for you. Look atquestion #9 for details on how to get your organization set-up.
5. Do I need an account to post items on the events calendar?
Yes. If you would like your organization set-up to post events, please e-mail us at info.events@ubc.cawith either your UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) login name or of the individuals from your organization who should be enabled to post events on your organization’s behalf.
6. What if I don’t have a CWL account?
If you work for a UBC organization that wishes to be a part of UBCevents, but don’t have a CWL account, please email info.events@ubc.ca with the following information:
- Organization name
- Your name and position within the organization
- Your contact information (e-mail and phone number)
We will review this information and let you know whether you qualify for a CWL account.
7. Can I download events into my personal calendar?
Yes. Each event in the calendar can be downloaded as an iCal standard file or imported into an iCal compliant client like Microsoft Outlook. Look for the icon on each event to add it to your personal calendar.
8. How can I integrate UBCevents into my web site?
Whether you are interested in integrating the entire calendar or just your group’s events into your web site, we can help you out! Please e-mail us at info.events@ubc.ca and we will be happy to discuss the options available (including a simple RSS feed).
9. What is the program being used for the events calendar?
Bedework , the calendaring software engine behind UBCevents , was originally built by the University of Washington (just down the road from us). The development, enhancement and support of Bedework as an open-source, enterprise calendar system for the benefit of higher education institutions is led byRensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) . Where does the word ‘Bedework’ come from? Well, that’s another story for another time…
10. Who manages UBCevents ?
UBCevents is a joint venture between UBC Public Affairs, Office of the Vice-President Students and UBC Information Technology.
11. I have more questions, who do I talk to?
Have more questions or want to get set-up as an events provider? Send us an e-mail at info.events@ubc.ca. For emergencies, contact Jamil Rhajiak at jamil.rhajiak@ubc.ca , and he’ll be happy to help-out.
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