Campus Notices
The excitement for this Saturday's Gold Rush draw is growing as big as the pot! With no winners in the last ELEVEN draws, the total pot has grown to more than $40,000, with half going to the winner of the draw.
Gold Rush is a virtual fundraising initiative that raises funds for UPEI’s athletic and recreation programs. You can now select a specific team, club, or program to direct your proceeds from each of your tickets.
Play today and every week for a chance to win! Download the UPEI Panther Recreation app from the App Store or on Google Play, or play from your computer. The weekly draw is held at 8:00 pm every Saturday.
Flags at UPEI will be flown at half-mast on Sunday, September 27, to commemorate Police and Peace Officers' National Memorial Day. In 1998, the Government of Canada officially proclaimed the last Sunday of September as a national memorial day to give Canadians an opportunity to formally express appreciation for the dedication of police and peace officers, and to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in keeping communities safe.
September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to “honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.” (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada). The University will be closed on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to observe the provincial statutory holiday and flags will be lowered to half-mast. Read more about how UPEI will mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
ITSS will be performing a critical update to the Firewalls that control access to the Internet. The update will be applied Sunday, September 27, 2026. The maintenance window for the update on Sunday is 8:00 am to 9:00 am. Expected outage duration is 1 hour.
Outage scope: Internet access in and out – wired and Wi-Fi. This includes Remote access and VPN connectivity into UPEI. Any Internet hosted services (including Email, OneDrive and SharePoint) will not be accessible from the UPEI networks during the outage window.
Not impacted: Access to internal UPEI resources from within UPEI will not be impacted. Log in, printing, file server etc. will remain available within UPEI.
Multiple-choice questions provide an efficient means of assessing a broad range of knowledge. Still, mistaken assumptions persist (such as multiple-choice tests being limited to only assessing recognition of basic facts, rather than the effective application of principles).
In this session, Drs. Scott Cassidy and Blake Jelley (both of whom have used psychometrics in high-stakes testing contexts), will discuss how multiple-choice testing can be effectively deployed within course assessments – with a specific focus on promoting psychometric effectiveness. The session, which will use examples from in-class tests, will include a general discussion regarding the construction, quality assurance, and refinement of multiple-choice questions; as well as a demonstration of how statistical information available through the Remark® software in ITSS can be used to evaluate and refine such assessments.
Due to office closure for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Wednesday, September 30, Financial Services is changing the date of the weekly cheque/payment run to Canadian vendors/payees. The new date will Tuesday, September 29 (one day ahead of schedule). The deadline for submissions for payments will be Monday, September 28 at 4pm. Any questions relating to this message can be sent to apadmin@upei.ca
Faculty and staff are invited to share their feedback on Welcome Week 2026! Whether or not you participated in Welcome Week events or activities, your feedback will help the Office of Student Culture and Community Standards inform future planning and support the student experience at UPEI.
The faculty and staff Welcome Week feedback survey is anonymous and takes approximately 3-5 minutes to complete. Complete the survey by September 25, 2026, and you can enter for a chance to win one of two UPEI prize packs.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Student Experience Coordinator Susie Zavala at szavala@upei.ca.
Join the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation's virtual Lunch and Learn series this week exploring Indigenous perspectives, reconciliation, leadership, health, and confronting residential school denialism. Campus colleagues are especially invited to gather in the Teaching and Learning Centre, Robertson Library 228 on Thursday, September 24 at 3:00 pm to watch Honouring Indigenous Leadership: Perspectives for a Shared Future together.
The UPEI Philosophy Reading Group will meet on Wednesday, September 23, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm in the Lady Slipper Room, Charlottetown Library Learning Centre, 97 Queen Street.
We will discuss pages 27-44 of Félix Guattari’s The Three Ecologies.
This group is an invitation to think with some of today’s most intriguing thinkers—and with one another. No prior experience in philosophy is required. Just an open mind and a willingness to experiment with ideas.
If you would like to attend, please reach out to Dr. Max Schaefer at mschaefer@upei.ca for more information.
“Ecology must stop being associated with the image of a small nature-loving minority. [...] Ecology in my sense questions the whole of subjectivity and capitalistic power formations.” - Guattari
"If there were no philosophy, we wouldn't realize our own level of stupidity. Philosophy prevents stupidity from being as great as it would be if there were no philosophy. That's its splendor." - Deleuze
On Wednesday, September 23, ITSS will conduct maintenance on the myUPEI Self-Service Application and related services from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. During this time, there may be intermittent access to and performance issues with myUPEI, Self-Service, and Colleague.
As a reminder, you can access Moodle directly using https://moodle.upei.ca and Outlook email using https://outlook.office.com. If you have any questions, please fill out our new Help Form: https://go.upei.ca/itrequest
The Faculty of Education is going to have a table in the W.A. Murphy Student Center concourse to answer questions you have when applying for the Bachelor of Education program.
Date: Tuesday, September, 22 from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm and Wednesday, September, 23 from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm.
Location: W.A. Murphy Murphy Student Center concourse
Please come by and chat about the 1-year Bachelor of Education program if you are considering becoming a teacher after graduation. We will answer questions you have about applications!
Join us for a day of reflection, learning, and community as we mark the 11th anniversary of the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)’s "Final Reports" along with "94 Calls to Action," which guide Canada’s path toward reconciliation. Each year, September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR). The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and the ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
To commemorate and honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, UPEI is expanding its annual Mawi’omi (the word for gathering in the Mi’kmaw language) and holding it on September 29. The TRC Mawi’omi is a gathering that will be open to the University and broader community, which will include several activities aimed at increasing awareness, fostering community relationships, and ensuring that the narratives of Indigenous peoples are honoured and understood.
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
McMillan Hall, W. A. Murphy Student Centre
Volunteers needed - we are looking for some volunteers to assist during the event, please contact Corinne Chappell cchappell@upei.ca if you are interested.
UPEI students, alumni and other members of the UPEI community are invited to a pre-game pub event at the Fox & Crow on Friday, September 25. Your ticket to this event gets you food at the pub, UPEI cheer gear, and a Homecoming ticket valid for any Friday evening soccer or basketball game. Tickets can be purchased here: https://upei.universitytickets.com/
Don't miss this amazing Homecoming 2026 deal!
Consent Awareness Week, held September 21 – 25, is a national initiative that asks each of us to have thoughtful and affirming conversations about consent. Make sure to check out the poster display in the concourse of the W. A. Murphy Student Centre which will be in place from September 21–25.
On Monday, September 21, join the UPEI Student Union and SVPRO for Consent Pizza from 11:00 am-2:00pm in the concourse of the W. A. Murphy Student Centre.
The Student Union will be hosting Paint Your Boundaries at The Fox and Crow on Wednesday, September 23 at 7:00 pm and Sex Toy Bingo at The Fox and Crow on Thursday, September 24 at 7:00pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
Don’t forget, if you experience sexual or gender-based violence, you’re not alone. The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) is here to help. You can reach us at 902-620-5090 or sv-pro@upei.ca. You can also visit us on the second floor of the W. A. Murphy Student Centre, above the UPEI Bookstore from 8:30 am–4:00 pm, Monday – Friday.
Join IKERAS as we honour the Survivors of Indian Residential Schools and remember the children who never returned home.
Wear your orange shirt to show your support for Truth and Reconciliation!
Date: September 24
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
- 1:00 pm | The Tipi - Smudging ceremony
- 1:15 pm | UPEI Campus - Smudge walk
- 2:00 pm | McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre - Phyllis Webstad's orange shirt story and community lunch
Save the Date! Memorial University’s Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) is pleased to host the 2026 Atlantic Universities’ Teaching Showcase on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
Centered on the theme Pedagogy, Practice, and Purpose in the Age of GenAI, this year’s showcase will explore the implications and opportunities of generative AI (GenAI) through shared experiences, perspectives and conversations about teaching, learning, and research.
Join colleagues from universities across Atlantic Canada for this fully online event. Visit the showcase website and subscribe to receive showcase updates.
September has been a busy month of new beginnings, changing routines, and renewed connections across campus. Along the way, many of us have benefited from a colleague's support, encouragement, or willingness to go the extra mile. If someone helped make your September better, consider taking a moment to recognize them through our Recognizing Remarkable Colleagues program. Their impact deserves to be celebrated.
Our Recognizing Remarkable Colleagues feature celebrates the individuals who help make UPEI a supportive and welcoming place to work and learn.
Consider nominating a colleague who has:
- Supported you or your team during a busy time
- Gone above and beyond to help others
- Made a lasting positive impact through their actions
We want to celebrate them!
For details about the program, including links to past issues and access to the submission form, please click here.
Recognition doesn't have to be for a grand gesture. Sometimes it's the everyday kindness, reliability, and commitment of our colleagues that deserve a moment in the spotlight. If someone helped make your September a little easier, brighter, or more successful, we'd love to hear about them.
The deadline for submissions is Friday, September 25, 2026.
Thank you for helping us celebrate the remarkable people who make UPEI such a great community.
Multiple-choice questions provide an efficient means of assessing a broad range of knowledge. Still, mistaken assumptions persist (such as multiple-choice tests being limited to only assessing recognition of basic facts, rather than the effective application of principles).
In this session, Drs. Scott Cassidy and Blake Jelley (both of whom have used psychometrics in high-stakes testing contexts), will discuss how multiple-choice testing can be effectively deployed within course assessments – with a specific focus on promoting psychometric effectiveness. The session, which will use examples from in-class tests, will include a general discussion regarding the construction, quality assurance, and refinement of multiple-choice questions; as well as a demonstration of how statistical information available through the Remark® software in ITSS can be used to evaluate and refine such assessments.
Faculty and staff are invited to share their feedback on Welcome Week 2026! Whether or not you participated in Welcome Week events or activities, your feedback will help the Office of Student Culture and Community Standards inform future planning and support the student experience at UPEI.
The faculty and staff Welcome Week feedback survey is anonymous and takes approximately 3-5 minutes to complete. Complete the survey by September 25, 2026, and you can enter for a chance to win one of two UPEI prize packs.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Student Experience Coordinator Susie Zavala at szavala@upei.ca.
Join the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation's virtual Lunch and Learn series this week exploring Indigenous perspectives, reconciliation, leadership, health, and confronting residential school denialism. Campus colleagues are especially invited to gather in the Teaching and Learning Centre, Robertson Library 228 on Thursday, September 24 at 3:00 pm to watch Honouring Indigenous Leadership: Perspectives for a Shared Future together.
The UPEI Philosophy Reading Group will meet on Wednesday, September 23, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm in the Lady Slipper Room, Charlottetown Library Learning Centre, 97 Queen Street.
We will discuss pages 27-44 of Félix Guattari’s The Three Ecologies.
This group is an invitation to think with some of today’s most intriguing thinkers—and with one another. No prior experience in philosophy is required. Just an open mind and a willingness to experiment with ideas.
If you would like to attend, please reach out to Dr. Max Schaefer at mschaefer@upei.ca for more information.
“Ecology must stop being associated with the image of a small nature-loving minority. [...] Ecology in my sense questions the whole of subjectivity and capitalistic power formations.” - Guattari
"If there were no philosophy, we wouldn't realize our own level of stupidity. Philosophy prevents stupidity from being as great as it would be if there were no philosophy. That's its splendor." - Deleuze
