Frequently Asked Questions

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We cannot allow students to return gowns later than 1 hour after your ceremony is over. Gowns are packed up and shipped back to Winnipeg at the end of each day. Any unreturned gowns and hoods will be charged to students at their full replacement cost so please be sure to return the gown after you have finished taking pictures with your friends and family.

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UBC Bookstore works with Books for Africa, a non-profit organization that ships textbooks to Africa. You can donate unwanted books to this program at our front cashiers or to the bin near the upper lobby elevator and we’ll ensure they continue to be of use to students in developing nations.

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Please use this link for ISC Service Now for Workday questions

Helen.Mazzocchio@staples.com (Lower Mainland) and Alan.Homeniuk@staples.com (Okanagan) will still be available to assist with the special quote process for bulk PPE orders, furniture projects, and special-order items not on the Workday/EWAY catalogue.

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We offer a number of products throughout the store made from recycled or eco-friendly resources. We actively seek out and purchase locally-made or Canadian-made products to reduce our carbon footprint. In the Corner Store, we have sourced sandwiches and salads from small, local businesses.

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Please use this link for ISC Service Now. 

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The average cost for Term 1 Arts or Commerce textbooks is $400.00 and for Science $700.00. If you choose used digital, the cost will be much lower. 

UBC Bookstore accepts Canadian currency (in-store only), Visa, Mastercard, American Express (in-store only, WeChat (in-store only), AliPay (in-store only) and Interac (debit cards, in store only). You may use a parent’s credit card, however you must be able to demonstrate you have their authorization.

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All purchases are verified and connected to your CWL account for access, which requires you to purchase the materials through the UBC Bookstore in order to get a receipt that provides the redemption codes. Enter the order number (without the dash) listed on the receipt. See the text highlighted in yellow in the above seciton "Did you Purchase your Canvas Course Materials In-Store". If you purchased your textbook secondhand from another student, there is no way for you to activate your course materials in Canvas.

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Gowns can also be rented on-site on the day of your ceremony. Please arrive a minimum of 45-60 minutes prior to the ceremony to ensure you leave adequate time to pick up your regalia from the Bookstore staff at the Robing Room. You can pay cash, credit, debit or with your Open Account Worktag (UBC Bookstore account).

On-site registration locations are: 

Vancouver – The Robing Room for faculty is located in the Royal Bank Cinema at the Chan Centre. Access via the Royal Bank Cinema entrance off of Crescent Road.

Okanagan – The UBC Okanagan Bookstore

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Clothing vendors supplying products to the Bookstore are expected to comply with the following guidelines which are consistent with those established by the Fair Labour Practices AssociationInternational Labour Organizationthe UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. We will not do business with vendors that do not meet these guidelines.

Health, safety and employment guidelines

Forced labour: There shall not be any use of forced labour, whether in the form of prison labour, indentured labour, bonded labour or otherwise.

Child labour: No person shall be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where the International Labour Organization exemption for developing countries allows) or younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the manufacturer’s country where that age is higher than 15. Currently, employed child workers shall be kept employed and be given access to education and transitional economic assistance. Where a child worker must be displaced, adult family members should have the opportunity to assume the child’s position in order to maintain family earnings.

Harassment and abuse: Every employee shall be treated with respect and dignity. No employee shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological, verbal harassment or abuse.

Non-discrimination: No person shall be subject to any discrimination in employment, including hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, on the basis of gender, race, religion, caste, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation or union membership.

Women’s rights: All employees shall have the right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment and abuse. No worker shall be subject to the forced use of contraceptives or pregnancy testing. Pregnant women will be entitled to appropriate maternity leave and appropriate medical benefits in accordance with national laws and regulations and consistent with national practices.

Health and safety: Employers shall provide a safe and healthy working environment to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of or occurring in the course of work or as a result of the operation of employer facilities. Workers will be provided with health and safety training appropriate to their industry.

Freedom of association and collective bargaining: Employers shall recognize and respect the right of all employees to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Wages and benefits: Employers recognize that wages are essential to meeting employees’ basic needs. Employers shall pay employees, as a minimum, at least the minimum wage required by local law or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher, and shall provide legally mandated benefits.

Hours of work: Employees shall (i) not be required to work more than the lesser of (a) 48 hours per week and 12 hours overtime or (b) the limits on regular and overtime hours allowed by the law of the country of manufacture or, where the laws of such country do not limit the hours of work, the regular work week in such country plus 12 hours overtime and (ii) be entitled to at least one day off in every seven day period.

Overtime compensation: In addition to compensation for regular hours of work, employees shall be compensated for overtime hours at such premium rate as is legally required in the country of manufacture or, in those countries where such laws do not exist, at a rate at least equal to their regular hourly compensation rate times 1.5. All overtime shall be voluntary.
Environmental guidelines: Vendors will seek out, implement and exercise environmental practices wherever possible, including a commitment to packaging standards that reduce the amount of materials used/ or, have a recycled content. Vendors will also demonstrate environmental safety in the handling of all materials.

Legal guidelines: Vendors will be law abiding and will observe criminal, civil and tax codes in the countries they do business and will comply with all applicable legal and customs requirements of Canada.

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New textbooks are brand new, unopened books in an unmarked, undamaged condition. Used textbooks are previously-loved books that come to us in lightly worn, but good, readable condition. They may contain some highlighting and notes from prior use, but should still contain everything you need and have no water damage or missing pages. Used textbooks, if available, cost significantly less than new ones and are GST exempt. You’ll find all used books shelved with the new ones in alphabetical order. Look for the yellow USED sticker! If you don’t see any used versions of the textbook you need on the shelf, it means we do not currently have any in stock.

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Firstly, we commend you on your organizational skills! There are many reasons why your textbook is not available on your first day: the publisher may be out of stock or impacted by shipping delays, your department or professor may have submitted a late request for your book, enrolment may have increased or classes added. These are just some of the most common reasons. When there is a delay, we make every effort to get the books to the store as quickly as possible.

If you are currently outside of BC and are planning on being on Campus for your first day of class, we strongly advise that you select the option to pick up your books in-store, rather than having them shipped to you out of province. This will ensure you receive your books are quickly as possible. Order your course materials here.

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Staples Business Advantage and Staples.Ca are two separate divisions of Staples. UBC’s contract for supplies and copy paper, with Staples Business Advantage, includes special services like

Environmentally friendly delivery with smaller Campus Mail trucks, reducing greenhouse gases and carbon taxes for UBC.

Streamlined Workday/EWAY procurement processes.

Special UBC reporting to meet regulatory requirements. 

These special services, included in the price of the Workday items, help UBC to save money, time and the environment.

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Yes. Contact Campus Mail to arrange pick-up campus.mail@ubc.ca  Tel 604-822-9495 and bring your ID at the time of pick-up. You do not need to change your delivery address on Workday.  The Vancouver Campus supplies and paper pack orders are automatically routed to UBC Campus Mail.

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We start returning unsold textbooks back to the publishers approximately six weeks after the first day of term. To ensure you get your books, we strongly recommend purchasing them at the beginning of term.