Last Updated: April 21, 2020

Hi all,

Here are a few misc. updates from Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) on various grad student services and resources related to COVID-19:

Support for international students – immigration and health insurance

Wellbeing

  • UBC Counselling Services is organizing sessions specifically for graduate students focused on staying connected and drawing on resilience for managing this challenging time. Register for sessions on Thursdays, through to May 28, at 2:00 p.m. PST for an hour. Facilitators will not be able to provide medical information.
  • In addition to the mental health services and resources available to students, the provincial government has announced a new mental health service available for BC post-secondary students. Here2Talk provides all students currently registered in a BC post-secondary institution with access to free, confidential counselling and community referral services, conveniently available 24/7 via app, phone, and web.

Professional development opportunities

  • The CIRTL Summer Institute is a 10-day teaching intensive, from June 8 to 19 that combines an emphasis on learning evidence and theory-based approaches to teaching and learning with the opportunity to apply those theories in practice.
  • The G+PS professional development section of the G+PS website is continually being updated as new online opportunities for students arise. We will continue to send you their weekly updates. You can also follow them on Twitter @UBCGradSchool.

Campus Housing

Student finances

  • G+PS continues to assess and evaluate the feasibility of different forms of financial relief to graduate students. They are working with senior administration on this issue. A reminder that both domestic and international students who are experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 situation (extraordinary expenses, loss of employment, etc.) are strongly encouraged to schedule a confidential advising appointment with an Enrolment Services Advisor. Grad students who have met with an ES Advisor and still have unresolved financial concerns should contact me to discuss further.
  • Eligibility for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program continues to be clarified. The program is intended to provide temporary income support ($500 a week for up to 16 weeks) for those who stopped working because of COVID-19. To be eligible, you must reside in Canada and have a valid Social Insurance Number. Workers who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents – including international students – may be eligible to receive the Benefit if they meet the other eligibility requirements. Although the federal government indicated earlier this week there would be an announcement regarding support for post-secondary students, no such announcement has been issued yet. G+PS will provide updates when more information is received.
  • TransLink has temporarily suspended the U-Pass BC program as of May 1, 2020 and those fees have been removed from 2020 Summer Term.
  • At present there are no refunds on Athletics and Recreation fees. Currently, these fees are part of the discussions around possible overall student fee adjustments, given online course delivery.

With kind regards,
Gayle