• Communication Skills Requirement

After Year 1, WLU-registered students who remain eligible to continue their studies in the double degree program are required to participate in the Co-op Option. Refer to the Co-operative Education section later in this chapter. The WLU co-op process involves three (or four at a student's discretion) co-op work terms intermixed with the nine study terms, beginning with a first co-op work term in the January-to-April period between the third and fourth study terms. The earlier May-to-August term between the second and third study terms is an "off" term (where students are on their own for the term, similar to regular-stream students).

For UW-registered students, the co-op process involves four (or five at a student's discretion) co-op work terms intermixed with the nine study terms. The first of these work terms occurs during the May-to-August period between the second and third study terms, thus replacing the corresponding "off" term for WLU-registered students by an extra work term. With this one exception of the first May-to-August period, the term sequencing for UW-registered students is identical to the one for WLU-registered students.

With the sequencing of study terms and work terms indicated above, the normal duration for this program is four and two-thirds calendar years (or five calendar years at a student's discretion). Only under especially mitigating circumstances, and with the approval of both universities, can the term sequencing attached to the double degree program be altered, and such instances will usually result in a delay (possibly as much as one calendar year) of the graduation date.

All double degree program students, regardless of their home university affiliation, are required to satisfy all term-by-term progression requirements of both Laurier's School of Business & Economics and UW's Faculty of Mathematics to remain eligible to continue in the program, and to meet all graduation requirements of both institutions to be eligible for the two degrees. More specifically, students must ensure that their course selection each term, their academic performance level, and their academic conduct in general, comply with all the policies, procedures, regulations and requirements of both universities. Failure to do so will normally result in students being required to withdraw from the double degree program. Such students may remain eligible to enrol in the (single degree) Laurier BBA program (although not necessarily in the Co-op Option) or to enrol in another appropriate (single degree) UW BMath plan respectively, depending upon their individual circumstances.

Each academic term, the last date to add or drop a course without failure will be specific to the institution offering the course.  A business or economics course will follow Laurier's add/drop dates, a math or computer science course will follow UW's add/drop dates.  This policy is specific to students enrolled in Laurier-UW double degree programs only.

Special circumstances do exist for the double degree program including the allowance for 2.5 course credit repeats, instead of the traditional 2.0 course credit repeats allowed in the Honours BBA (WLU) program. In addition, any student who must satisfy UW progression standards and repeat a Math course they have passed will have the original course deemed an extra on the WLU student record. This only applies when the non-BU GPA requirement for progression has been satisfied.

Since strong communication skills are essential to academic, professional, and personal success, the Faculty places a particular emphasis on their development. All students must successfully complete two communications courses:

•  Students in Math/Chartered Professional Accountancy (CPA) must take SPCOM 111 (usually taken in term 1B) and AFM 211.
  
• Students in any Actuarial Science or Statistics plan must take one course chosen from List I (below), and MTHEL 300. Students are expected to enrol in one of the courses in List I in their first term of study in the Faculty of Mathematics. A grade of at least 60 is a prerequisite for enrolling in term 2A, and a grade of at least 70 is a prerequisite for MTHEL 300. MTHEL 300 is expected to be completed before enrolling in term 4A.
• Students in the Business Administration and Computer Science Double Degree plan or the Business Administration and Mathematics Double Degree plan must take one course chosen from List I (below), and BUS 362W. BUS 362W is expected to be completed before enrolling in term 4A. Students must complete a course from List I with a mark of at least 60 prior to enrolling in term 2A.
• Students in all other plans must take one course chosen from List I, and one course chosen from List II.  Students are expected to enrol in one of the courses in List I in their first term of study in the Faculty of Mathematics, and must complete a course from List I with a mark of at least 60 prior to enrolling in term 2A. Students are encouraged to complete the second course by the end of term 2A.

The first course must be chosen from one of the following:

EMLS 101R Oral Communication for Academic Purposes
EMLS 102R Correction in Academic Writing
EMLS/ENGL 129R Written Academic English
ENGL 109 Introduction to Academic Writing
SPCOM 100 Interpersonal Communication
SPCOM 223 Public Speaking

This course must be completed with a mark of at least 60% prior to enrolling in a 2A term. Except for some students in the Double Degree plans, students are expected to enrol in one of these courses in their first term of study in the Faculty of Mathematics.