Since its creation in 1848, the University has striven to provide education in English and French to residents of Ottawa and beyond, with both linguistic communities cohabitating in harmony. The Regulation on Bilingualism sets out the linguistic rights and obligations of the members of the University community. The present Academic Regulation on Bilingualism specifies the rights and obligations of faculty members and students in their educational programs.
To review the institutional regulations on bilingualism, go to Bilingualism page.
Every student has the right to use French or English to communicate with the University’s central administration and general services, and with the administration of the academic unit in which the student is enrolled. Students have a right to receive services in their official language of choice.
Every student has the right to require that a course be given in the language used to describe the course in the course calendar.
Except in programs and courses for which language is a requirement, all students have the right to produce their written work and to answer examination questions in the official language of their choice, regardless of the course’s language of instruction.
In programs that are aimed at Francophone communities in Ontario and Canada, academic units will report to the Senate the measures they have taken to ensure that students have mastered the French language to a level such that they can exercise their profession.
A-1.1 Language of instruction and learning material used in courses
(Approved by the Senate on April 17, 2023, and effective May 1, 2023)
Learning material produced by the professor, such as course notes, course syllabus, presentations, lab instructions, and information presented orally by the professor during the course must be delivered in the language of instruction of the course. External learning material, such as manuals, publications and reference articles, should be provided in the language of instruction of the course but can be provided in the other official language if not available in the language of instruction or if the professor deems that the material available in the language of instruction is not as relevant as the material available in the other language.
All subject matter that is provided in the official language that is not the language of instruction must be discussed or presented in class in the language of instruction in order for it to be used as part of an evaluation in the course. For bilingual courses, it is important to ensure a balance between the two languages for any learning material, whether produced by the professor or from an external source.