Back on Track Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I register for BOT?
- How do I pay my fees?
- How will my medical coverage work while I鈥檓 in BOT?
- Can I stay in 51社区黑料Residence while I'm in BOT?
- Does this program affect my student visa renewal?
- How will my participation in BOT appear on my transcript?
- What happens to my student loan eligibility during my time in BOT?
- Am I eligible for a UPass in Term 1 of BOT?
- Do I have to enroll in anything on go.sfu.ca for Term 1 of BOT?
- Do I have to enroll in anything go.sfu.ca for Term 2 of BOT?
- Do I have to enroll in anything on go.sfu.ca for Term 3 of BOT?
- I am an international student and eligible to register for BOT. What鈥檚 next?
- As an international student, will my participation in BOT affect my study permit conditions?
- As a study permit holder, can I work on and or off campus while I am in BOT?
- Will my participation in BOT impact my eligibility for the Post-graduation Work Permit (PGWP)?
- My study permit will expire soon and I am currently enrolled in BOT. Can I renew my study permit?
For other questions about the Back on Track program, see our Program Overview and Resources pages, or Contact Us.
The first step is to register for an Information Session on our New Intake Information page:
After you鈥檝e completed your Information Session, the Back on Track program office will send you an email with the next steps you need to take to register in the program. This email will have links to our online Student Agreement, access to Intake appointments, as well as your pre-Intake form. You should receive this email within a few business days of completing your Information Session.
Attending an Information Session does not register you in to the Back on Track program. Its purpose is to let you explore your options. It is, however, required if you decide to join.
Once you have completed your Intake appointment and submitted your Student Agreement, you are officially in the program. You may not see the Back on Track program reflected in your Student Information System (go.sfu.ca) account right away. See the question, "Do I have to enroll in anything on go.sfu.ca for Term 1 of BOT?" for more information.
The program fees are posted to your account each term according to the term and/or BOT section you are enrolled in. You pay these fees the same way that you pay your regular tuition fees.
In Term 1 of the Back on Track program, your fees may not appear in SIS immediately. Our program manager will send you an email once the fees have been applied to your account.
For questions about your medical coverage while you鈥檙e in BOT, please see the link below:
Students in all terms of Back on Track are eligible for 51社区黑料Residence. However, a spot is not guaranteed. They require a copy of the confirmation email indicating your Intake appointment time.
See the links below for more information about applying for residence:
For each term you participate in the Back on Track program, you will participate in a different BOT course. Each BOT course has a different number and different corresponding requirements, and each BOT course will show up on your transcript.
- RTW students in Term One will be in BOT 110
- In Term Two, you will be in BOT 120
- In Term Three, you will either be in BOT 140, 145 or 150, depending on your grades in Term Two. Each of the BOT classes are graded as pass/fail, and you will see the 鈥楶鈥� or an 鈥楩鈥� for each class on your transcript.
Additionally, the 鈥淩equired to Withdraw鈥� (RTW) standing is taken off of your record and changed to 鈥淓xtended Academic Probation鈥� (EAP). Provided you pass each term of the program, and are not RTW once you have completed the program, you will not have 鈥楻equired to Withdraw鈥� recorded on your transcript.
Participation in the BOT program will also be recorded in a few additional places on your transcript:
- On the top left hand side of your transcript under 鈥楽tudent Programs.鈥� A notation that says 鈥淏ack on Track Student Success WQB-No; Program IN-Back on Track Student Success.鈥�
- At the very end of their transcript, a note under 鈥楽tudent Group鈥� that indicates the BOT term in which you are currently registered.
All BOT students are subject to the same student loan policies and requirements as all other 51社区黑料students. This means that students are not eligible to receive student loans in Term One of the program, because they are not taking any classes.
Students may be eligible to receive standard student loans in Terms Two and Three of the program. If you are concerned about student loans, please speak with someone from 51社区黑料Financial Aid for detailed and up-to date assistance and advice:
No, students in Term 1 of Back on Track are not eligible for a UPass. Please see SFU鈥檚 UPass BC Eligibilty page for more information:
No. After you have submitted your Student Agreement and have completed your Intake appointment, you will be automatically enrolled in Back on Track by the program office.
Term 1 of the Back on Track program appears in SIS as 鈥淏OT 110鈥�. It may take several weeks after you have completed your Intake for BOT 110 to appear on your record.
Yes. Every student in Term 2 of BOT needs to enroll in a weekly BOT 120 section with a date and location that works with their class schedule.
It depends. Once your academic standing is determined at the end of Term 2, the program office will send you an email to let you know which BOT class you are required to take.
- If you are in Good Academic Standing (GAS) at the end of Term 2, the Program Office will automatically enroll you in BOT 150.
- If you are required to enroll in BOT 140 or BOT 145, you will need to register yourself in the appropriate class section using SIS.
If you are eligible to participate in the BOT program, you will receive an invitation email with additional details about your next steps and instructions on how to join the BOT program.
By joining the BOT program and having your academic standing updated to EAP, you will remain enrolled at SFU. Your participation in the BOT will not negatively impact your study permit validity or compliance with your study permit conditions. For information on how to join the BOT program, please review and follow the detailed instructions in the invitation email sent to you.
If you decide not to join the BOT program by June 02, 2025, your academic standing will be Required to Withdraw (RTW) which will impact your study permit validity and conditions to remain in Canada. For more information about how RTW may impact the validity of your study permit, please review this FAQ here.
As a study permit holder, you are expected to by remaining enrolled and making timely, reasonable progress toward completing your program of study in Canada.鈥�
To be considered actively pursuing studies, international students should be enrolled in a full-time or occasionally a part-time unit/credit load.鈥疐or undergraduate students at SFU, Spring and Fall terms are considered as academic terms for immigration purposes.
The Summer term may be considered a regularly scheduled term break if you meet SFU鈥檚 definition of full time (see Full Time Status) in the academic terms immediately before and after the regularly scheduled break. The scheduled term break during the Summer term also applies to BOT students and can be beneficial for meeting work and post-graduation work permit(PGWP) eligibility requirements. More details on each topic are discussed in the FAQ section below.
Please note that you are not required to study full time in each term in order to maintain your study permit and comply with your study permit conditions. For more information, please review the following resources:
While participation in BOT should not negatively impact your compliance with the study permit conditions, your enrollment status during BOT affects your ability to work on and or off campus under your study permit. For enrollment requirements for working on and or off campus, click on the links below:
In addition, you must meet as outlined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(IRCC). Please review the detailed Working On and Off Campus instruction guide for more information.
To be eligible for the you must maintain continuous full-time status during each academic term(i.e. Spring and Fall terms for undergraduate students at SFU) with the of part-time status during their final term.
If you study part-time during a regular academic term (i.e. Spring and Fall terms), your PGWP eligibility may be impacted. However, if your part-time studies are conducted during a summer term, it does not impact the PGWP eligibility. For more information, please visit here. It is strongly recommended that you should connect with an International Student Advisor, Immigration Specialist should you have any questions regarding the PGWP.
Yes, you may apply to extend your study permit based on your enrollment in BOT. Joining BOT does not replace your main academic program (i.e., Bachelor鈥檚 degree). Therefore, you should include a provincial attestation letter (PAL) exemption letter to demonstrate that you are completing the same level of studies (i.e., undergraduate) at the same institution (SFU).
Please refer to the Study Permit Extension Instruction Guides for detailed instructions on how to apply for a study permit extension, write a PAL exemption letter, and more.