Academic issues, policies and accommodations

Throughout the course of your undergraduate studies you may encounter certain difficulties of an academic or personal nature. Fortunately, there are multiple resources and supports available to assist any struggling students. If you have any difficulties, academic or personal, during the term that prevent you from performing your normal academic duties, do not hesitate to contact your academic advisor and/or the Student Wellness Coordinator for assistance. If you are unable to write a mid-term or final exam due to illness or a personal emergency, you need to contact your advisor and any course instructor(s) involved as soon as possible. 

If a student fails to write examinations without adequate notification, the student may be Required to Withdraw From Engineering (refer to Examinations & Promotions Rule 9 within the undergraduate calendar for more details). 

Documented evidence of the reason for missing the test or exam, (e.g., a doctor's note indicating the reason for illness, dates of impacts/illness, etc.) will be required as soon as possible. Verification of Illness forms signed by University of Waterloo Health Services are preferred. Verifications signed from other clinics may be rejected.

Accommodations due to an illness that has been documented with a Verification of Illness form are described in the Registrar's Accommodations due to Illness web page. Note that the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering policy on deferred final exams missed due to illness is to require the deferred exam to be written as soon as possible after the student is able to return to normal academic duties.

The Examinations and Promotions rules are used to determine the academic decision for each term and your progress through the Mechanical Engineering program. You are responsible for knowing these rules. To review the rules, please visit this section of the undergraduate calendar online under "Examinations and Promotions".

Courses offered in the Faculty of Engineering place responsibilities on the Faculty of Engineering, the instructor and teaching team and all students. Many of these responsibilities are described at the first lecture or are captured in the policies of the university atSecretariat | University of Waterloo and the Faculty of Engineering Course Responsibilities on the web at Current Students | Course Responsibilities | Engineering UG Studies . There are two responsibilities that have been specified by the Senate of the University of Waterloo as requiring special mention. One relating to the responsibility of students with respect to plagiarism and academic discipline and one relating to the teaching team with respect to students with disabilities. These two responsibilities have been expressed in specific wording by the Senate and are listed below. All courses offered by the Faculty of Engineering subscribe to these specifications except as may be noted on the course syllabus's or during the first lecture.​

Students are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. Students who are unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who need help in learning how to avoid offences (eg., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, TA, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy #71, Student Academic Discipline . Students who believe that they have been wrongfully or unjustly penalized have the right to grieve; refer to Policy #70, Student Grievance . University Policy #71 defines academic offences to include plagiarism, copying and cheating as follows:

Plagiarism is defined as taking "intellectual property," such as words, drawings, photos, or artwork, etc., written or created by others, and passing it off as your own. When you submit a report or assignment with your name on it, it is assumed that you are the author of everything in the assignment except for those materials which are specifically identified as coming from other sources. Therefore, if you include sentences, photos, drawings or figures from other sources in a work report or lab report, the complete reference must be cited. This applies in particular to any material cut and pasted from the internet or any other electronic source.

Cheating includes "copying from another student's work or allowing another student to copy from one's own work, submitting another person's work as one's own, fabrication of data, consultation with any unauthorized person during an examination or test, and use of unauthorized aids."

Collaboration is encouraged among students. Discussion, debate and the collegial exchange of information is encouraged and is always helpful in the education process. Just make sure you avoid plagiarism and cheating.

AccessAbility Services (AAS) collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with functional limitations or disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you suspect that you may require certain academic accommodations to help make your experience more equitable, please contact AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term (or as soon as possible). They will be happy to advise and support you through the process.