Policies & Resources

The Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology will NOT revise/upgrade marks except on sound academic grounds. Once computed, the marks in a course will NOT be altered/increased arbitrarily. Decimal points will be “rounded off” as follows: if the final aggregate mark is computed to be 79.5%, the mark will be reported as 80% (an A-); a final aggregate mark of 79.4% will be reported as 79% (a B+). These marks are FINAL and non-negotiable.

A midterm exam or other in-course assessment (i.e. quiz, assignment, paper, etc.) in a course administered by the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology may only be deferred in the case of a justified absence due to serious illness or significant extenuating circumstances AND when valid documentation¹ is received by the Course Coordinator within FIVE working days of the original midterm exam or due date.

If the deferral request is accepted by the Course Coordinator, students may be offered one or both of the accommodations below, depending on the grading structure of the course:

a) Add the weight of the midterm exam/in-course assessment to the final exam or another course component
b) Write a deferred midterm exam/submit a deferred assessment which will be scheduled/due within 10 days of the original midterm exam/due date²

1. Valid documentation includes:

• A medical note, dated and signed by a licensed healthcare professional clearly indicating: the name of the student, the date that the student was seen, the date(s) that they were unable to attend school/complete a midterm exam/submit an in-course assessment due to illness which must include the original midterm exam or due date.
• Documentation regarding serious extenuating circumstances such as an obituary or other relevant notice/letter
• A fully completed and signed Student Self-Declaration Form (to be used only when no other supporting documentation is available and only for courses administered by the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology)

2. This option is only required in cases where adding the weight of the midterm/assessment to the final exam would make the final written exam worth more than 75% (Article 6.1.3, Student Assessment Policy)

Please note:

• Students who have already written a midterm or submitted an in-course assessment may NOT request a deferral (Article 3.4.5, Student Assessment Policy)
• In cases of incidental illness (e.g., a cold, headache, nausea, etc.) which affects a student’s study time but where the student was recovered on the day of the assessment, a deferral will NOT be granted.

Requests to defer a final LAB exam for an ANAT course scheduled during the final exam period must be made directly to the Course Coordinator using the request form found on the departmental website: www.mcgill.ca/anatomy/undergraduate/policies-resources.

Important note: Requests to defer a final WRITTEN exam must be made using the deferred exam application in Minerva: www.mcgill.ca/exams/dates/supdefer.

Students registered with Student Accessibility & Achievement (formerly OSD) may request to complete a deferred lab exam with Student Accessibility & Achievement in accordance with the deadlines and procedures set out by that office, as per the Departmental policy on accommodations for anatomy lab exams.

• All deferred anatomy lab exams will be delivered in the same format as the original lab exam.
• Timing of deferred final lab exams:
  • Fall semester classes: Date to be set within the Winter Add/Drop period, in consultation with students.
  • Winter semester classes: Date to be set during the first week of May, in consultation with students.

• All Biologically-Oriented Course (BOC) substitutions must be approved in advance. Retroactive requests will NOT be considered.
• A maximum of 6 credits of program courses can come from approved course substitutions.
• Requests will only be considered for 400 and 500-level courses which are biologically-oriented, offered by the Faculty of Science, and related to the Anatomy & Cell Biology program.
• Requests must include the reason why the student thinks the course is an appropriate substitute and an explanation of how this course will fit within the student’s program/career goals (i.e. related to their ANAT 432 project, related to course X and Y which they are also taking, prerequisite for a graduate/professional program, allows the student to learn a specific skill or topic not available within the BOCs, etc.).
• Send requests by email to undergradadvisor.acb [at] mcgill.ca, include the most recent syllabus for the requested course, and allow at least a week for the request to be reviewed and answered (i.e. don’t wait until the last day of the Add/Drop period to make a request, as it may not be possible to review it in time).

Please note:

• No substitute course requests are accepted for Advanced Anatomy Courses (AAC), only those courses on the approved AAC list will count towards the Anatomy & Cell Biology program requirements.
• Students in the ACB Liberal program can count any of the courses on the BOC (and AAC) lists for the ACB Major and Honours programs without needing special approval.