As a student, you may encounter situations such as 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 of accommodations.
Need to be absent from class?
Due to extenuating circumstances
Accommodations due to long-term chronic illness, disability, or suspected disability
Submitting a Verification of Illness Form (VIF) and/or other supporting documentation
Note: Students who have been absent from classes for two weeks or longer, whether by illness or extenuating circumstances, should follow up with their individual instructors and their academic advisor to assess whether their schedule of lectures or labs is still viable. For example, some students cannot complete a lab course, no matter the circumstances, if multiple labs have been missed.
How to declare an absence due to short-term illness:
Students have the following three 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 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 Studio (STU), Laboratory (LAB), and Clinic (CLN) courses/class components (STU, LAB, and CLN courses/class components do not qualify for accommodation as a result of a self-declared short-term absence)
- Covid-19-related Absence - an absence of 10 days or less due to Covid-10 related illness, with some limitations (below).
- Submitting a Verification of Illness Form.
False claims constitute an academic offence that will result in disciplinary action under Policy 71 (Student Discipline).
For absences that are not COVID 19-related, or which do not otherwise fall in the categories above, obtain a Verification of Illness Form (VIF) for other conditions and follow the instructions below for submission of a VIF and/or supporting documentation.
Who should use this VIF submission process?
- Undergraduate students from the Faculty of Science who are taking courses
If you are an undergraduate student from the Faculty of Arts, Engineering, Environment, Health or Math, please refer to your home Faculty's process for VIF submissions.
Submitting a Verification of Illness Form (VIF) and/or other supporting documentation
Documentation must be uploaded and submitted by the student to the Verification of Illness or Extenuating Circumstances intake form. Documents cannot be emailed or delivered in person. You will need to be logged in to your UWaterloo account to access the form. You will receive a confirmation email after your submission has been received.
If a meeting is needed to discuss the situation, it must be held virtually via Microsoft Teams. If you have any questions, concerns, or issues with this online process, please email science.advisor@uwaterloo.ca.
After obtaining and submitting your VIF, the Science Undergraduate Office will review your submission. We will contact you to confirm whether or not we have processed your VIF, so please check your email often. In the event that we need to ask you for clarification on the details of your VIF, it is important that you respond promptly to avoid delays in your accommodation.
Following Policy 46, advisors in the SUO cannot engage in the detailed discussions that are required with anyone but the student.
Multiple VIFs submitted for a term could result in a meeting with the Science Student Success Officer to discuss and resolve barriers to academic success.
Considerations for 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 similarily to a VIF. 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.
2. Contact their instructor(s) notifying them of the situation, AND
3. Submit a PDF or high-quality photo of supporting documents to the Verification of Illness or Extenuating Circumstances web form, when able to do so. You will need to be logged in to your UWaterloo account 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.
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Incomplete (INC) grade process
The Incomplete (INC) grade process begins when students contact their course instructors to discuss an INC grade as a possibility. This discussion with the instructor addresses the student’s circumstances, supporting documentation, missed or unfinished course elements, and the student’s engagement in the course up to that point in the term.
Failure to write scheduled make-up tests or submit outstanding course work by the end of the instructor-specified lapse period will result in a final course grade being posted to Quest that is the earned grade, based on all completed course element(s). If the course outline specifies that the missing coursework is required to pass the course, the lesser of the earned grade or 4% less than the passing grade will be posted to Quest.
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Make-up exams
Make-up exams are considered formally scheduled events and must occur within one year of the official grade date for that course. If students experience a situation that caused them to miss a make-up exam, they may need to meet with the Student Success Officer or Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning, who will review the documentation. An alternate make-up exam may not be approved.
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