Today I recieved a Facebook message from a nice first-year student who was confused by the Business school's Handbook (view it in PDF here). The confusion was with how many units he needed to take.

You can view his question and my answer below. I am not a business student, so I am not sure, but I would assume the full 30 unit requirement is necessary. If someone in business school can reply and help him out, that would be great

I'm going to be a first-year commerce (Business I) student in the 07/08 session. I took a 27-unit courseload in order to be recognized as a full-time student for the year, however this is where my issue lies.

In the student handbook for Business I it states that in order for me to progress to Business II (or commerce II) I must have, "attempted a minimum of 24 units." However, earlier on in the handbook it states that "All Business I Students must attempt...30 units." I took 27 units worth of courses so I could have 5 classes in term 1 and 5 classes in term 2; I didn't want to have 6 courses one term and 5 in the other. But now this is where i'm confused, the handbook seems to contradict itself, first it says I must complete 30 units and then later it says I need a minimum of 24 units to advance. Do I HAVE to take 30 units in sept to april so i'm eligible to advance to commerce II? If so, i'll do it but I thought I could have a lighter courseload for the first year and then complete the balance the following year or during the summer.

My response:

I think the answer lies on the second page:
"It is the student's responsibility to know the requirements of their academic program". The guide is written sort of confusing, and I see why you may not understand it fully. You should always refer to the the Undergraduate Calendar from McMaster's website as the OFFICIAL source for course requirements... and just use these guides as quick reference, as the Course Calendar is 100% accurate.

http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...07/sec_193.htm

First you should always contact your faculty to confirm, since I am not an official employee of the Business Faculty or Registrar, and your faculty will know the answer. However, I can give you my opinion:

If you are taking Business 1, first-year business, then as far as I can tell you need to take 30 units to complete the requirements. Almost all first year students that are full-time are taking 30 units. I had to take a full 30 units in first year as well. If each course is worth 3 units, then that means you'll be taking 5 classes each semester, for a total of 10 classes. Some classes are 6 units, where they last over both semesters.

So look at the official Undrgrad Calendar to get the requirements, make sure you take all those courses it lists as required, and then fill the rest of the units with electives to total 30 units.

Goodluck! :-)

You must register for 30 units or course work to proceed to level 2, but you only need to pass 24 units worth. (you may fail up to six units, so long as you've payed for them)

Also don't worry about having 6 courses in first semester, Commerce 1PA0 is just an orientation to help you understand the business program, its only one hour per week and as far as I know there is no exam.

You may fail up to 6 units of electives, as long as your GPA is still above a 5.0 even with those failed courses.

Indeed; you only need more than 21 units in the year to be considered a full-time student.

Yeah but commerce 1 is different. You have to do your 30 credits in your first year Sept-April. After first year it chills out.