Frequently Asked Questions

Graduating this year? Student graduation regalia (gown, hood and mortarboards) can be reserved online in advance of your ceremony. Appropriate academic attire is required of all participants. Regalia rentals for Spring 2024 ceremonies open on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024.

Vancouver – www.buildagrad.ca/UBC
Spring 2024 May Ceremonies: The online rental deadline for Vancouver students is May 3, 2024 at 11:59 pm (PT).

Okanagan – www.buildagrad.ca/UBCO
Spring 2024 June Ceremonies: The online rental deadline for Okanagan students is May 17, 2024 at 11:59 pm (PT)

Missed the online rental deadline? Don't sweat it! You can still rent a gown on-site on the day of your ceremony for an additional charge. We have enough regalia of all sizes and colours to allow anyone who misses the advance registration deadline to attend. The cost for day-of rental is $75 and payment can be made by Credit or Debit (tax included, Visa, MasterCard and Visa Debit accepted). There is no need to provide us with your information in advance once the online rental website has closed.

To rent on the day of your ceremony, please arrive at the gown pick-up area 1.5 hours before your ceremony start time.

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.

Vancouver – The drop off location has changed! Gowns must be returned to the UBC Bookstore, located at 6200 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 no later than one hour after your ceremony concludes.

Okanagan – Regalia must be returned to the UBC Okanagan Bookstore.

Please return your gown no later than 1 hour after your ceremony concludes.

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.

Job Aids have been created to guide you through the use of Workday and ordering office supplies. Please refer to this link to the ISC Service Now.

Typically, publishers will place restrictions on actions you can take within their eBook platforms. This usually includes restrictions on both copying text and printing. However this varies from publisher to publisher.

In our warehouse we recycle all of our cardboard in a compactor.  We also recycle packaging (paper, foam chips and plastic) and reuse it wherever possible for our outgoing shipments including packages to customers and returns to vendors. Wooden pallets are also recycled.

We recycle printer ribbons and cartridges, batteries and pens.  The collection container is at the back of the store.

All metal fixtures are taken to a recycling centre.

We also encourage re-use of textbooks through used books, buybacks and rental books.

Order history is not available through Workday. Users with a previous EWAY ID can still access your EWAY order history to find item numbers.  New users can email SBA Customer Care at easyservice@staples.com for assistance with item# to add to cart.

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.

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.

As an ethical buyer, the Bookstore responds to any reports of labour rights violations as follows:

• If we receive a report, that we consider credible (examples might include reports from a non-governmental organization, labour organization or media source), that a vendor or subcontractor has violated the Vendor Code of Conduct contained in this policy, the Bookstore will inform the vendor of the specific complaint. The vendor will have 30 days from the date of the notice to respond to the allegation on behalf of itself and its subcontractors. If the vendor acknowledges the allegation is wholly or partially correct, it must provide a detailed rectification plan acceptable to us outlining a program of  how it will rectify the problems within a year
• We can request an inspection of a vendor’s facilities by a third party to determine if a violation occurred or to establish whether the violation has been addressed. The cost of this inspection is borne by the vendor
• In the event that violations are found, whether they are acknowledged by the vendor or verified in an inquiry by an independent inspector, remedial action by the vendor must include, as a minimum, the reinstatement of any worker found to have been unlawfully dismissed, as well as compensation for lost wages
• If the vendor does not respond to the report of a violation, fails to cooperate with an inspection or fails to provide a rectification plan acceptable to us, we will terminate without notice or penalty any contract and will not conduct any future business with the vendor.

Staples Business Advantage (SBA) is the commercial division of Staples providing a higher level of business solutions, like Workday integration to EWAY, custom reporting and customized delivery solutions, for large complex accounts like UBC. Staples retail and Staples.Ca are not part of the UBC agreement.

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.

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 Association, International Labour Organization, the 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.

Gowns can be purchased from our supplier Gaspard: www.gaspard.ca