Placement Procedure

ALL incoming students who wish to take ANY CHIN, CNTO, or CLCH courses are required to complete the placement procedure, regardless if you are a new or returning student.  

Students who do not follow the placement procedure and are identified as underqualified or overqualified will be removed from the course. If this occurs after the Add/Drop deadline, a ‘W’ will be noted on your transcript and fees may be incurred.

Step 1: Take the Online Questionnaire

The online questionnaire will place students into courses according to their language background. Please register for a Chinese course specified on your online questionnaire result (certificate). 

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Step 2: Understand Your Result

Upon completing the online questionnaire, students will receive an email with their certificate and the subject line “Placement interview completed.” Please read through your certificate carefully. 

 

 

What to expect?

If you are eligible to enroll in your course(s)

You can ignore the prerequisites for your approved courses and register for them on SSC. You are not required to schedule a placement interview.

You will need a placement interview if:

a) Your placement certificate states you need to schedule an interview

This is usually because you have a complex language background, and we are required to complete a placement interview to better determine your language level. 

b) You have concerns regarding your online questionnaire result (certificate)

If you think your placement does not accurately reflect your language level, please schedule a placement interview↓. If you have further questions concerning your placement, you can email Chinese.Placement@ubc.ca. Please follow the email formatting found here.

c) You are requested to schedule a placement interview

The Department Office, or your instructor may request you to book a placement interview upon reviewing your placement questionnaire answers. Please Schedule a placement interview↓

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Step 3: Complete the Mandarin Assessment if requested by your instructor 

2-4 weeks before school starts, the instructor of the course you are registered in will communicate with you via the email you provided the UBC system. Your instructor may ask you to complete the Mandarin Assessment. This assessment is NOT a test but a tool to verify if your language level fits the class. Please complete it by yourself, without the help of any external resources. Contact your instructor if you have any questions. 

What to expect?

If your language level fits your registered course 

After you complete the Mandarin Assessment, inform your instructor by email. Your instructor will email you back to confirm your registration.  

You will need a placement interview if: 

Your language level does not fit that of your registered course. In this case, your instructor will inform you to schedule a placement interview↓. 

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PLACEMENT INTERVIEW

The placement interview will take place on ZOOM. 

Please enroll yourself to THIS CANVAS COURSE↓ to schedule an appointment and access the zoom link. 

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Email Format

If you have further questions concerning your placement, you can email Chinese.Placement@ubc.ca.

Your subject line should include your FULL NAME and STUDENT NUMBER (e.g. Robert Smith, #12345678). If you are concerned about your eligibility for a course, add the course number at the end (e.g. Robert Smith, #12345678 CHIN233).

You can expect to hear back within 48 hours during regular teaching days. During peak registration days, please allow up to 5 days before sending in another email with the same inquiry. You may experience delays if your subject line does not follow our convention.

Please note if your question is specifically about CNTO courses, please email the Cantonese Language Program at cantonese.info@ubc.ca