I was completely blindsided by the change that I've been upset the past hour :(

I'm a 4th year student, so I was used to being able to grab my books myself, browse around, etc. before getting in line to pay. I liked it that way. With the new CMA program and the changes they've made to the bookstore setup, I felt utterly lost and frustrated that I lost my bookstore experience. There's also very little signage geared towards people who want to opt out of it (which I plan on doing)

I did ask someone for help and I was sent to the blue line (CMA Cashier, I believe). But I then had to watch as the poor cashier jot down the names of the 3 books I needed on their phone and then run around in the shelves only to find 1. I was then blindsided by the price because I didn't think to check online because I wasn't aware of the layout change, and I was so lost in my confusion and frustration that I forgot to even check while waiting (I've since learned my lesson for next semester and that's on me).

I know the program will be good for many students, and I am truly happy about that. Education and learning materials should be accessible! But this change just isn't it imo. It feels inconvenient and not geared at all to people who want to opt out. I feel pressure to just cough up the $250 when my books aren't even worth that much combined. I have no interest in online access to my materials either bc I might be dyslexic and have formed the habit of marking my books up like crazy to help myself out.

I don't know if anyone else feels like this. Maybe it's just me and that's fine. I guess I just needed to rant </3

I also don't mean to offend people with this. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. If the program works for you, that's great! I'm glad there's a support that helps you with your needs :D

I hope everyone has been having a good first day :)

ualberta students are fine as hell holyyyyyy

When Eurodam asks for a username, use your U of A email and your CCID password.

I was at the club fair today and didn't seem to find anything of the sort, though I'd also assume that different clubs could be tabling for the next two days.

I actually cannot understand my prof for the life of me. She has a very thick accent and talks really fast. Does anyone have any tips to help me with this?

Everyone’s arc card isn’t working at the moment, so don’t worry if yours isn’t working on the way to uni.

FIRST YEARS!!! You don’t have lab the first week of class, it would make literally zero sense.

No you don’t have a lab tomorrow at 8am. No you don’t need your lab manual yet. Don’t have a lab location yet? Yeah that’s fine a lot of first year labs don’t assign lab time until after the add/drop deadline.

The first week is called syllabus week, and all you do is find out rules from the prof and when your labs will be scheduled. Labs won’t be until the second or third week - you have to learn some stuff first before labs would even make sense.

Every other post is about labs 😭 use your noggins and SEARCH THE REDDIT BEFORE YOU POST!
That is all, have a great first day gang 🫡

I know it’s a long shot, but has anyone seen either of these keychains (pics attached) on/around campus since noon sep 1st? they fell off their clasp at some point and they were quite dear to me :( I was around hub, humanities centre, and the benches across the street from SAB/UCOMM today, but i’m worried they fell off on the train. Please let me know if you come across them!!

Hey, I lost my keys last time I remember having them was in the CCIS building at around 930. They have a blue lucario tag and a silver Ironman helmet. Please let me know if you find anything!!

How hard is ENGL 102 at UofA?? I finished with ~81% in ELA 30-1, my reading comp skills absolutely sucked, my writing and unit exam marks are what carried me, but my teacher was extremely harsh at marking and her feedback always made no sense. My highest grade on an essay was like 92 but a usual mark on an essay for me was 75-85. My professor for ENGL 102 is Laya Soleymanzadeh, if that helps. Does it sound like I'll do okay in ENGL 102?? It's the class I'm most worried for this year.

Anyone wants to play bball at vvc at 6?

I get you guys probably hear this 1000 times and thinks it’s dumb but considering the class made me physically ill today I feel like I’ve got a fair argument. Here are my issues: he goes too fast, has a somewhat difficult accent, and the space feels very tight. My eyes were starting around from the board to my computer constantly and it ended up making me motion sick, causing me to lose focus the next class. Also, the notes he posts on canvas seem very helpful, and I tend to understand stuff better after looking it over on my own. Wondering if anyone else has gone through this class and had a similar experience, and whether or not missing these lectures would be more beneficial. Also I’d also like to know how hard the course gets later on. Thanks for any help guys!!

$105 for the lab manual is crazy.

With the new CMA (Course Materials Access) program rolling out some of you may have noticed it (About $250 per semester ) added to your fees and wondering if you can opt out the answer is YES :)

Although it's great if you have MANDATORY textbooks worth more than $250, these days many professors have gone away with physical textbooks/utilize free resources. Or it might be the case that you only need a couple textbooks that are worth less than $250. For example, this year I only needed two textbooks worth a combined total of $150. So what I did was cancel my CMA and then just buy them with my debit card, it saved me 100 bucks (or a few beers at Dewey's).

If you are in this same predicament and want to avoid subsiding others/wasting your hard-earned moola....

here is how to OPT OUT:

1. Go to http://accessportal.follett.com and hit "create an account" Use your CCID email.

This is what you screen should show (photo)

1. Verify your account (once you sign up the verification email will be sent to you).

2. Log into your Follet account and navigate to your dashboard (or go to: http://access.follett.com/Dashboard)

3. There you should see a list of classes on the right hand side of the screen. Hot opt out for all classes (it's all all or nothing program so if you only opt out of some you will still be charged the full fee).

4. Once you refresh the button should now say "opt-in" if that looks good then you successfully cancelled. The adjustment to your fees should be shown by September 23 (according to the U of A).

What your screen should show

1. You can do this before or after but go to the bookstore and go to the cashier line (the line on the far left) and buy your books, just be sure to specify you want to pay for them, not use the CMA program.

Important Info/Common problems (aka stuff I ran into):

- To see what are your required textbooks go to Canvas > Click Profile/Account > Course Materials Access, there you will see what textbooks are mandatory. A quick Google search/popmover to the bookstore can get you the price to help you determine if staying in the CMA program is worth it.

- Some people had trouble cancelling successfully from their phone so you should use a laptop or at least put your browser in desktop mode.

- Even with doing everything right it doesn't always work so you can also go to the book store and they can add you to a list of people who have trouble cancelling, I still don't trust them to not accidentally forget so I will probably check in after a week or so.

- I hope this helps!

P.S. I absolutely hate the new bookstore line up, I liked being able to wander the isles. :(

Why is there no permits available this sem for so many lots?? checked the parking portal on the 31st but there was no permits available for September yet, which makes sense, I checked again last night and it said it was down for maintenance till 2am. This morning I see there’s some but not any for the main ones like Winsor, Lot V, and others. I have a hard time believing so many people bought permits before 9am this morning. Am I missing something or are there no permits offered for these lots this sem? I ain’t tryna pay every day man.

Lost wallet found in No.8 bus

The owners initials are HL. Please tell us if this belongs to you, otherwise we’re gonna go give it to UAPS!

Im in my last semester of classes and its been nice having the upper year courses of ~20-50 people, but i need my last 4 classes to be options, so I took 200 level courses that sounded interesting, two of which are fully online while the other two are in person (but 100% slides and midterms/finals).

I dont know why but i feel so anxious about going to these two other classes and i dont know if it would be better if i just stayed at home and read the material on my own, im conflicted and wanted other people’s opinions on this, is it just the heat getting to me?

If anyone plans to drop this class, please lmk.

if anyone is dropping out of the course please let me know... I really need it for my credits to graduate. thanks!! or if anyone could send me the course material from class today and syllabus so i could study it too.

I’m in lec k04 (online at 10:30am, T and TR), I’m trying to get into k03 (MWF 1-3:20pm).

Please let me know if you’d like to swap!

It’s my first year, and on bear tracks it states there is a lab today under the view my classes category. However the CMPUT 174 syllabus states there is no lab today or any time this week. I know it’s syllabus week, but I’m just confused is this a usual problem with bear tracks?

Not an expert but I don't think this yellow + white combo is ideal.☠️

My friend lost her AirPods in CAB around 11:20am to 12:20pm near the Tim Hortons, if anyone finds it please do lmk🙏🙏