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ACADEMIC CONSIDERATION

Policy on Academic Consideration – Undergraduate Students in First Entry Programs

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 as set out in the Undergraduate Student Academic Appeals policy.

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