Guidelines for Adjustments for Missed Midterms, Class Tests and In-Course Work

  • These guidelines are intended to:
  • Assist instructors in making academic accommodation decisions;
  • Ensure fairness in assessing student requests;
  • Provide consistency across the Faculty;
  • Provide consistency with University guidelines.
     

STEP 1 - Determine if the student should be granted an accommodation

The following reasons are generally accepted, provided proper documentation:

  1. Religious conflict. The instructor must follow McGill guidelines, which can be found at Holy Days. If in doubt, the instructor can request documentation on official letterhead from a religious leader confirming that the student is a follower of a religion. Instructors are strongly encouraged to consult the list of holy days in advance of scheduling any midterms, in-class tests, in-course deadlines.
  2. Health/medical. Original documentation on official letterhead, signed by the residing medical practitioner, is required indicating the:
    • nature of the illness/issue
      Note: Medical documentation indicating that the student claims that they are suffering from a headache, stomach ache, nausea etc should not be accepted.
    • duration date that the student is expected to be absent
  3. Death in the family. Original documentation is required, such as a notice of death or obituary from a newspaper.
  4. Serious illness/accident in the family. Original documentation on official letterhead from a doctor or a police report is required, stating the dates of the illness/accident.
  5. Intercollegiate event. The following form is required: McGill Athletics. A minimum of one week's notice is required, since these events are known in advance.
  6. Job interview. On a case by case basis, a letter or email from the Engineering Career Centre is required, stating the date, time, and location of the interview. A minimum of one week's notice is required and students have to demonstrate to ECC (ex. Email communication with the company) that they have sought alternatives with employers beforehand.
  7. Faculty-sponsored events held outside of Montreal. Examples include design competitions and job fairs. A letter from the responsible full-time faculty member is required, stating the dates of travel and the student's role in the event. Only faculty-sponsored participation is accepted. A minimum of one week's notice is required.



The following reasons should generally not be accepted:

  1. Travel not related to above issues, such as family birthdays, reunions, vacations.
  2. Misreading of the course outline or calendar.
  3. Having many other exams / assignments in the same week.
  4. Personal matters such as relationship conflicts.
  5. Obligations to student clubs or sports teams other than intercollegiate event discussed above.
  6. Employment obligations.
  7. Sleeping in / falling asleep.

 

Professors should use reasonable consideration in determining if absence or lateness due to inclement weather, traffic delays, and vehicle breakdown is excusable and should be accommodated.

Reasons for absence other than those discussed above should be discussed with the Departmental Undergraduate Program Director, and his/her approval should be requested.
 

STEP2 - If an accommodation is granted:

When an accommodation is granted, the instructor may propose one of the following options to the student. If the instructor and the student cannot agree on an accommodation, the matter is to be referred to the Departmental Undergraduate Program Director.

  1. Reschedule the midterm/in-class test. A make-up test may be given at a different time, usually within a week of the original test. The make-up test should generally be given after the regularly scheduled test.
  2. Shifting the weight of the test to the final exam or other individual test. This is only appropriate if the final or the other test(s) is/are cumulative for the year, otherwise the material on the missed test would go untested. Weight should not be added to group work or class participation.

Instructors should ensure consistency in their mode of accommodation. For example, all students missing a particular midterm, in-class test, and/or in-course work for valid reasons should be offered the same mode of accommodation, to ensure fairness across students.

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