As a student, you may encounter situations such as significant illnesses, ongoing medical conditions, or other circumstances that prevent you from meeting academic obligations.
The Academic Considerations and Accommodations section of the Undergraduate Calendar will provide an overview for accommodation.
Need to be absent from class?
- Due to a Short term absence (Quest)
- Due to a Religious/Creed-based absence (Quest)
- Submitting a Verification of Condition (Absence database)
- Due to an Extenuating circumstances (Absence database)
- Accommodations due to long-term chronic illness, disability, or suspected disability
Note: If you have been absent from classes for two weeks or longer, whether by illness or extenuating circumstances, you should follow-up with your individual instructors and your academic advisor to assess whether completing your classes is still viable.
How to declare an absence due to short-term illness:
Students have the following two options for declaring an absence. Students are expected to notify their instructor(s) before or within 24 hours of the missed course element.
- Short-term Self-declared Absence - An absence of 2 calendar days or less during the Formal Lecture Period self-declared for any reason that prevents a student from meeting their academic obligations, with the exception of Laboratory (LAB), Clinic (CLN), Field Studies (FLD) and Studio (STU) courses/class components (These courses/class components do not qualify for accommodation as a result of a self-declared short-term absence).
- Submit a Verification of Condition (VOC) form (see Verification of Condition Services for more information)
Who should use this VOC submission process?
- Undergraduate students from the Faculty of Arts who are taking courses
If you are an undergraduate student from the Faculty of Science, Engineering, Environment, Health or Math, please refer to your home Faculty's process for VOC submissions.
How to declare an absence due to Extenuating Circumstances
Students can request academic considerations for extenuating circumstances such as:
- bereavement
- emergencies
- University of Waterloo sanctioned academic or athletic events
The above list is not exhaustive. Submissions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Student responsibilities:
- Gather supporting documentation. The supporting documentation will be considered similarly to a VOC. Official documentation is necessary before any action can be taken.
- Please note that we cannot accept documentation for anyone other than the student who is submitting an absence. All documents submitted in another language should include an English translation.
- Supporting documentation should provide a reason for the absence and the impacted dates
- Examples of documentation are:
- plane/train/bus tickets for emergency travel
- court documents
- police reports
- death certificates/obituaries/letters from funeral directors
- counsellor letters.
- Examples of documentation are:
2. Contact their instructor(s) notifying them of the situation, AND
3. Submit a PDF or high-quality photo of supporting documents to the Absence Database when able to do so. You will need to login to access the form.
- Include your full name and ID number.
- The submission must include the dates during which you've experienced these extenuating circumstances and graded course work you have missed during those days.
4. Come to an agreement with their instructor regarding how any missed mandatory class, lab, assignment, test or exam will be addressed.
Academic Accommodations due to Creed/Religion
Students should refer to the Academic Considerations and Accommodations sections of the Undergraduate Calendar.
Students can complete the Religious Observance Self-Declaration Form in Quest, which will inform their instructors of the potential conflict for certain dates. As the dates of important religious observances are generally known well in advance, students must consult with their instructor(s) within two weeks of the announcement of the due date or scheduled examination date for which academic accommodation is being sought. The Short-term Absence form for short-term absences may also be used by students requiring an absence of two days or less during the Formal Lecture Period.
Academic Accommodations due to Other Code Grounds
Students seeking an academic accommodation related to a protected ground should inform their instructor/academic unit as soon as they become aware of the need.
Instructors should refer to available resources on this topic, which includes dates of major religious observances. The Equity Office is available to instructors if they have any questions about an accommodation requests.