Academic Consideration Requests

Extenuating circumstances are personal circumstances beyond the student's control that have a substantial but temporary impact on the student's ability to meet essential academic requirements. It is understood that minor ailments or stress related to academic performance alone are not usually considered valid grounds for academic consideration. There is no expectation that a student must be in optimum physical or mental condition to carry out their academic responsibilities.

Academic Consideration enables students dealing with extenuating circumstances to complete the essential academic requirements of a course. Conditions typically dealt with through Academic Consideration are extenuating circumstances.

Academic Accommodation reduces or removes barriers that students with disabilities experience, so they may complete the course's essential academic requirements. Conditions typically dealt with through Academic Accommodation relate to long-term or chronic physical or mental health conditions or learning disabilities.

Flexibility in assessment may take the form of:

1. flexible completion e.g., counting the 8 highest marks out of 10 quizzes toward the course grade; and
2. submission deadline followed by a short "no-late-penalty" period, during which a mark deduction will not be applied to late submissions.

When flexibility in assessment is incorporated, a request for consideration may be denied, or may not be necessary at all. Please read your course outline before submitting a request, as it should clearly define the assessments with built-in flex

The no-late-penalty period is a period after the deadline of an assessment, during which submissions will not incur a late penalty.

Important Notes

• Original Deadline Not Extended: It is crucial to understand that the no-late-penalty period does not extend the original deadline. Students are still expected to adhere to the original deadline as closely as possible. The no-late-penalty period simply provides a short period for late submission without penalties.
• Extenuating Circumstances After Deadline: If an extenuating circumstance arises after the original deadline, academic consideration may not be granted beyond the no-late-penalty period.

As per policy, instructors may designate one assessment per half-course weight as requiring formal supporting documentation in their course outline. In other words, students cannot use an undocumented absence for this “designated assessment. If you are requesting consideration for a “designated assessment”, you must include supporting documentation. If you do not include supporting documentation, your request will be denied, and the privilege of undocumented absences is forfeited. It may not be recalled and reapplied.

The 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 not use the Student Absence Portal.

Before using the Student Absence Portal, students registered with Accessible Education should:

• Access their plan of accommodation eligibilities through the Accommodated Examinations Portal.
• Review the plan of accommodation eligibilities to determine if part of the plan supports absences because of their disability condition.

For missed course components or assessments due to extenuating circumstances not related to their disability or plan of accommodation eligibilities, students should submit a request through the Student Absence Portal. (e.g. I have accommodations for notetaking support and I need to miss today’s test because I have the flu. This event is not related to my academic accommodations or disability-based needs.)

For missed course components or assessments due to circumstances related to my academic accommodations and/or disability-based needs, do not use the Student Absence Portal to report this event. Contact the Accessible Education Office on your campus for assistance as soon as possible (e.g. I have accommodations for absences and need to miss today’s test because I am scheduled for dialysis).

The Student Absence Portal is where students can request 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 responsibilities). Students experiencing longer-term impacts on their academic responsibilities should consult Accessible Education.

The Student Absence Portal is also where students can request religious accommodation, and notify academic advisors about test/exam conflicts, multiple exam situations, etc. The “Type of Absence” list in the portal is listed below:

• Undocumented Absence
• Medical Consideration
• Compassionate Consideration
• Varsity Athletic Commitment
• Other University-Sanctioned Extra-Curricular Activity
• Test/Exam: Direct Conflict
• Class Conflicts
• Test Exam: Multiple Exam Situation
• Religious Accommodation
• Other

Nursing students are not to use the Student Absence Portal for absences from clinical learning (lab, sim, clinical). Nursing students must complete the Absence from Clinical Learning form found on the Nursing Undergraduate Sharepoint Site if absent from clinical learning, and should also review the School of Nursing’s Absence from Clinical Learning Policy. 

For all requests other than undocumented absences, you should be attaching supporting documentation. Without supporting documentation, requests may be “bounced-back” to you, requesting more information, or they may be denied altogether. This can delay the process and impact the consideration, if approved. Some examples of supporting documentation include:

• Student Medical Certificate
• Other Medical Professional Note
• Death Certificate / Obituary
• Varsity Athlete Commitment Form
• Letter from Coach (athletic events outside Western)
• Travel Documents (e.g., tickets)
• Wedding Invitation
• Veterinary Bill/Invoice
• Conference Registration/Receipt (with dates)
• Competition Registration (with dates)
• Interview Invitation (with dates)
• Invoice/Bill from Mechanic or Tow Truck Company
• Police Report
• Collision Report
• Invoice/Bill from Technology/Computer Repair
• Other

It is your responsibility to ensure that all documentation provided is valid. Submitting a false medical certificate or other documentation under false pretenses will be treated as a Scholastic Offence. Scholastic Offences can be enforced retroactively (including after graduation) if it becomes known that fraudulent information/documentation was submitted in the past. 

Should a student submit a fraudulent medical note, Western will notify the medical professional, who may take legal action. In addition to any proceedings within the university, evidence of wrongdoing may result in criminal prosecution.

• Does the medical or compassionate circumstance genuinely affect my ability to complete academic work?
• How long will the situation last?
• How hard will it be to make-up the missed work?
• Has the instructor indicated how missed work will be made up?
• How might my absence impact my group members?
• Is the course component I want to submit a request for eligible for academic consideration (e.g., is flexibility in assessment already incorporated)?

The intended use of an undocumented absence is when extenuating circumstances arise and it is difficult to obtain supporting documentation. Requests without supporting documentation are limited to one per term per course.

Undocumented absences cannot be used for examinations scheduled by the Office of the Registrar during official examination periods (including take-home final exams and December mid-year exams for full courses) and practical laboratory and performance tests typically scheduled in the last week of the term. Undocumented absences also cannot be used for the “designated assessment” in each course. When flexibility in assessment exists and is clearly stated on the course outline, both undocumented absences and academic consideration requests with documentation may be denied.

Certain documentation may require more than 48 hours to obtain. In such cases, you must submit your request in the Student Absence Portal within 48-hours of the missed assessment, and use the textbox to explain why you have not been able to obtain documentation. Once your documentation is available, attach it immediately. Your request cannot be properly processed until documentation is attached. These late documentation submissions will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be denied without sufficient justification. This does not typically apply to Student Medical Certificates, which must be completed at the time of the illness/absence, and must not be back-dated.

Academic considerations are intended to deal with extenuating circumstances. Stress related to academic performance alone is not usually considered valid grounds for academic consideration. If students plan to use the undocumented absence to deal with their regular workload, rather than practicing time-management, they will be unable to rely on it should an extenuating circumstance occur for which documentation is difficult to obtain.

When selecting "Undocumented Absence" on the Student Absence Portal, there will be no time frame associated with the absence. Students will then select ONE element from the missed course work drop-down menu. In other words, an undocumented absence cannot cover multiple missed assessments/tasks in the same course. Students are also expected to explain their absence in the textbox provided on the Student Absence Portal.

The Student Absence Portal should be used when you are requesting academic consideration for any required academic component of your course that you are unable to complete due to extenuating circumstances, regardless of weighting. For example, if you cannot attend class due to illness, and class attendance is tracked for participation/grading (and flexibility is not built in) you can use the Student Absence Portal to request consideration for your absence. If you cannot attend class due to illness and missing the class will have no impact on participation, grades, groupwork, etc., you do not need to use the Student Absence Portal.

Once a request for Academic Consideration has been submitted through the Student Absence Portal, it cannot be retracted. The only edit permitted is the attachment of supporting documentation if not readily available when submitting your request. Please see the answer above for more information on what to do in that scenario.

Yes, you can still submit a request for consideration. All requests submitted after the 48-hour window will be flagged as late requests. You can use the text box on the submission portal to explain why your submission is late. Late requests without compelling reasons beyond your control may be denied.

Health Care Professionals in the following regulated health professions can complete the Student Medical Certificate:

• Physicians
• Nurses/Nurse Practitioners
• Mental Health Professionals
• Other (must specify)

The textbox provides an opportunity for students to add clarification and context to their academic consideration request. Please use the textbox to explain the extenuating circumstance and how it impacts your ability to complete essential academic requirements in a timely manner.

Currently, the only acceptable file formats are JPEG and PDF. HEIC (commonly used on Apple devices) are NOT supported. Please change the format of HEIC images to JPEG before submitting

Yes. There is a check box that students can select to indicate they write with accommodated exams.

Please note that if you have an exam scheduled with Accommodated Exams that has now been moved to a different date, please contact Accommodated Exams (accommodatedexams@uwo.ca) to notify them of this change and use the Accommodated Exams Portal to cancel (fees may apply).

Exam conflicts (including final exams and midterm tests) are to be submitted through the Student Absence Portal as soon as possible. Failure to report the conflict promptly may result in your request being denied. Depending on your situation, you can select either “Test/Exam: Direct Conflict,” “Test Exam: Multiple Exam Situation” or “Class Conflict” when selecting the Type of Absence. Please use the textbox to specify which tests/exams and/or which courses are creating the conflict, and then select each class and assessment within the portal

If you have missed/will miss a make-up exam that takes place after the end of the examination period, please contact your faculty advising office directly. Considerations regarding make-up exams scheduled after the end of the examination period are not part of the Student Absence Portal.

Please attach any supporting documentation to your request within the Student Absence Portal, and DO NOT send supporting documents in separate emails to your instructors. The Student Absence Portal was constructed so that instructors see exactly what is necessary to move forward with your academic consideration request.

Please review the How-to-Guides and Tutorial Videos posted above. If you are unable to resolve your issue, please contact absence.portal@uwo.ca for assistance.

After submitting your request, you will receive an email notifying you the request has been received. Please read the information in that email carefully. While you are waiting to hear back about the results of your request, you can check for status updates by logging into the Student Absence Portal. Please ensure you have read your course outline, as it will often indicate how to proceed when course work is missed.

While you are waiting to hear if your request is approved or denied, you may continue to work on assessments and course work as your condition allows. Please be patient as advisors and instructors work through hundreds of requests, and please ensure you have read your course outline, as it will often indicate how to proceed when course work is missed.

Please log into the Student Absence Portal to check your request status and your UWO email for updates. If your request still has the status "Request Submitted", it has been more than three business days since you submitted your request, AND the request is time-sensitive (e.g., upcoming make-up test), please follow these steps:

1. Check your course outline and Brightspace for instructions on how to proceed. There may be specific instructions on how considerations are handled for certain assessments. If there is a make-up date mentioned, plan to write on that make-up date.
2. If the course outline does not provide the instructions on how to proceed, Contact your instructor. Notify your instructor that your request has been submitted, you are waiting for a response, and are planning to write the make-up test on the scheduled date. If you are handing in an assessment that is late, but now complete, please submit the assessment as soon as possible and do not wait for the result of your consideration request. 

No. Each student is permitted to request consideration through an undocumented absence once per course, in fall term, and once per course, in winter term. It is imperative that you read your course outline carefully, to ensure your undocumented absence request is submitted for an eligible assessment/missed course work. Students are expected to complete all course work by the deadlines posted. The undocumented absence is intended for unforeseen extenuating circumstances, when documentation may be difficult to obtain.

Please check the Student Absence Portal and your UWO email for an explanation of why your request was denied (see reasons below). For further clarification, please consult your course outline, the FAQs on this webpage and the academic considerations policy. If you have read all these documents diligently and still disagree with the decision on your academic consideration request, you may follow the appeals process listed at the bottom of the academic consideration policy. If you have questions or concerns about your progress in the course and how it aligns with your academic plans, please contact your academic advising office. 

Requests may be denied for several reasons. The response you receive from your faculty advising unit and/or your instructor will have reasoning for why your request was denied. Some common examples include:

• You submitted an undocumented absence for an ineligible assessment (e.g., designated assessment)
• You submitted a request for consideration for a task that already incorporates flexibility in assessment (e.g., 8 of 10 quizzes counting toward final grade, 72-hour no late-penalty period)
• Your submission included dates that were incorrect (e.g., incorrect date and time of assessment)
• You submitted fraudulent documentation. In this case, further disciplinary action will occur

Please read your course outline carefully before submitting a request for consideration to ensure that you are submitting for an eligible assessment/course work.