return to: Academic Rights and Responsibilities

ACADEMIC CONSIDERATION

Policy on Academic Consideration – Undergraduate Students in First Entry Programs (This policy will be effective as of September 1, 2024)

PURPOSE

This policy sets out the parameters for students to be excused from academic responsibilities for extenuating circumstances (i.e., personal circumstances beyond the student’s control that have a substantial but temporary impact on the student’s ability to meet essential academic requirements). Students experiencing longer-term impacts on their academic responsibilities should consult Accessible Education.

This policy applies only to students who have been admitted to first entry programs at Western University and its Affiliated University Colleges. Students who are in second entry programs, including Education, Law, Medicine & Dentistry, and the Ivey Business School, or graduate programs, are not subject to this policy and should consult their Faculty of Registration for information about academic consideration and how it is handled in their Faculty.

Students whose absence is directly related to a permanent or temporary disability should seek reasonable accommodations through Accessible Education (see policy on Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities). 

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

This policy on academic considerations reflects the following principles and aims:

1. A consistent and fair approach and experience for all students seeking academic consideration.
2. There is no expectation that a student must be in optimum physical or mental condition to carry out their academic responsibilities.
3. A desire to empower students to take responsibility for their decisions about absences and missed work due to extenuating circumstances.
4. Students must demonstrate mastery of the learning outcomes within their coursework (i.e., essential course requirements cannot be excused).
5. A desire to provide a mechanism for facilitating student well-being and academic fairness while acknowledging the integrity of relationships and interactions that students have with individuals and services on campus. These may include faculty members, academic advisors, Accessible Education, Learning Development and Success, Health and Wellness Services and community healthcare professionals.
6. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators are expected approach request academic consideration as being made and assessed in good faith, recognizing that evidence to the contrary (including false statements or altered forms or documents) may be liable to investigation as either a Scholastic Offense or a violation of the applicable Code of Student Conduct.
7. Academic considerations must not place undue hardship on the course instructor.
8. Instructors are encouraged to provide flexible assessments, and to include this information to students in the course outline.

POLICY

1. Requests for academic consideration are made to the Academic Advising office of the student’s Faculty of Registration.

2. Requests for academic consideration must include the following components:
   

   a) Self-attestation signed by the student
   b) Indication of the course(s) and assessment(s) affected by the request
   c) Supporting documentation as relevant

   Requests without supporting documentation are limited to one per term per course.

   Instructors may designate one assessment per half-course weight as requiring formal supporting documentation. In such cases, the instructor must provide the student with another opportunity to demonstrate proficiency in the content evaluated by the missed assessment, within the time frame of the course.

   Documentation for medical illness, when required, must include the completion of a Western Student Medical Certificate (SMC) or, where that is not possible, equivalent documentation, by a health care practitioner.

   Requests for examinations scheduled by the Office of the Registrar during official examination periods and practical laboratory and performance tests typically scheduled in the last week of the term ALWAYS require formal supporting documentation.

   This policy does not apply to requests for academic considerations submitted for attempted or completed work, whether online or in-person.  This includes (but is not limited to) term tests, performances, presentations, and laboratory/tutorial sessions to which the student has reported. Requests for retroactive relief are addressed in the Undergraduate Student Academic Appeals policy.

3. Students must request academic consideration as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after the missed assessment.
   
   
4. Once the request and supporting documents have been received and reviewed, appropriate academic consideration, if granted, shall be determined by the instructor in consultation with the academic advisor, in a manner consistent with the course outline.
   
   Academic consideration may include extension of deadlines, waiver of attendance requirements for classes/labs/tutorials, or re-weighting of course requirements. Some forms of academic consideration, such as arranging Special Examinations, assigning a grade of Incomplete, or granting late withdrawals without academic penalty, may only be granted by the Academic Advising office of the Faculty of Registration. 
   
   
5. An instructor may deny academic consideration for any assessment that is not required in the calculation of the final grade (e.g., “8 of 10 quizzes”). This assessment flexibility must be indicated on the course outline.
   
   
6. An instructor may deny academic consideration relating to the timeframe submission of work where there is already flexibility in the submission timeframe (e.g., 72-hour submission window). This assessment flexibility must be indicated on the course outline.

Appeals

A student may appeal a decision on academic consideration made by the Dean’s Office of the student’s Faculty of Registration to the Senate Review Board Academic (SRBA) as set out in the Undergraduate Student Academic Appeals policy.

Senate Academic Policies:
Rights and Responsibilities - Academic Consideration – Undergraduate Students in First Entry Programs  

Policy on Academic Consideration for Medical Illness – Undergraduate Students (This policy will become ineffective as of August 31, 2024)

The University recognizes that a student’s ability to meet their academic responsibilities may, on occasion, be impaired by medical illness. Illness may be acute (short term), or it may be chronic (long term), or chronic with acute episodes. Academic Consideration provides students with consistent, fair, and pedagogically appropriate consideration, without compromising the academic integrity of the course or program, when they have been unable to complete
some component of a course due to short-term extenuating circumstances. Students who have long-term or chronic medical conditions (physical or mental) that may impede their ability to complete academic responsibilities are
directed to seek Academic Accommodation through Accessible Education (Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities).

The University further recognizes that medical situations are deeply personal and respects the need for privacy and confidentiality in these matters. However, in order to ensure fairness and consistency for all students, academic consideration for work representing 10% or more of the student’s overall grade in the course shall be granted only in those cases where there is documentation indicating that the student was seriously affected by illness and could not reasonably be expected to meet their academic responsibilities.

Documentation shall be submitted, as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after the end of the period of absence covered, to the Academic Counselling unit or Dean’s Office of the student’s Home Faculty together with a request for relief specifying the nature of the academic consideration being requested. These documents will be retained in the student’s file, and will be held in confidence in accordance with the University’s Official Student Record Information Privacy Policy. Once the petition and supporting documents have been received and assessed, appropriate academic consideration shall be determined by the Dean’s Office in consultation with the student’s instructor(s). Academic consideration may include extension of deadlines, waiver of attendance requirements for classes/labs/tutorials, arranging Special Exams or Incompletes, re-weighting course requirements, or granting late withdrawals without academic penalty. Academic consideration shall be granted only where the documentation indicates that the onset, duration and severity of the illness are such that the student could not reasonably be expected to complete their academic responsibilities. (Note – it will not be sufficient to provide documentation indicating simply that the student “was seen for a medical reason” or “was ill.”)

Whenever possible, students who require academic consideration should provide notification and documentation in advance of due dates, examinations, etc. Students must follow up with their professors and their Academic Counselling office in a timely manner.

Documentation from Family Physicians/Nurse Practitioners and Walk-In Clinics

A Western Student Medical Certificate (SMC) is required where a student is seeking academic consideration. This documentation should be obtained at the time of the initial consultation with the physician/nurse practitioner or walk-in clinic. An SMC can be downloaded at https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/medicalform.pdf.

Documentation from Student Health Services

At the time of illness, students should make an appointment with a physician/nurse practitioner at Student Health Services. During this appointment, request a Student Medical Certificate from the Physician/Nurse Practitioner.

Documentation from Hospital Urgent Care Centres or Emergency Departments

Students should request that an SMC be filled out. Students may bring this form with them, or request alternative Emergency Department documentation. Documentation should be secured at the time of the initial visit to the Emergency Department. Where it is not possible for a student to have an SMC completed by the attending physician, the student must request documentation sufficient to demonstrate that their ability to meet their academic responsibilities was seriously affected.

Academic Consideration by Instructor for work worth less than 10% of the overall grade in a course

Instructors are encouraged, in the first instance, to arrange participation requirements and multiple small assignments in such a way as to allow students some flexibility.

A student seeking academic consideration for any work worth less than 10% must contact the instructor or follow the appropriate Department or course specific instructions provided on the course outline.

In arranging academic consideration, instructors will use good judgment and ensure fair treatment for all students. Instructors must indicate on the course outline how they will be dealing with work worth less than 10% of the total course grade. In particular, instructors must indicate whether medical documentation will be required for absences, late assignments or essays, missed tests, laboratory experiments or tutorials, etc. Where medical documentation is required, such documentation must be submitted by the student directly to the appropriate Faculty Dean’s office, and it will be the Dean’s office that will make the determination whether academic consideration is warranted. Given the University’s Official Student Record Information Privacy Policy, instructors may not collect medical documentation.

In all cases where academic consideration is being sought for work totalling 10% or more of the final grade in a course, students will be directed to the appropriate Faculty Dean’s office.

Students who have been denied academic consideration by an instructor may appeal this decision to the appropriate Faculty Dean’s office but will be required to present appropriate documentation.

A student may appeal a decision on academic consideration made by the Dean’s Office of the student’s Home Faculty to the Senate Review Board Academic (SRBA) as set out in the Undergraduate Student Academic Appeals policy.

Senate Academic Policies:
Rights and Responsibilities - Academic Consideration for Medical Illness – Undergraduate Students