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Reminder for Instructors: Student Declaration of Absence Form

Posted by Student Health & Wellness on December 9, 2022 in General Announcements

Instructors are reminded and encouraged to implement the Student Declaration of Absence Form for winter 2023 courses. 

Implementing the Student Declaration of Absence Form as part of a course is done through Brightspace. Simply log in to Brightspace, select "Student Declaration of Absence" from the drop-down menu, and choose the course(s) in which you would like to implement the Student Declaration of Absence Form.

The discretion to arrange alternate coursework, assignments and/or tests remains with the instructor.

Why should you implement the Student Declaration of Absence Form?

  • The Student Declaration of Absence Form and regulation allow you to easily track student absences in their courses in a standardized way. It also provides students with a standardized way to declare their absences across courses.

  • For instructors who implement the SDAF in Brightspace, Academic Technology Services compiles reports by course and by Faculty. These reports are sent to a Faculty designate as defined by your Dean. 

  • If you choose not to implement the Student Declaration of Absence Form in Brightspace, student declaration of absences in your course will not be included in these reports unless manually added.

  • Using these reports, each Faculty can identify students with multiple submissions across courses who may need additional support, advising, and/or accommodations, and encourage those students to reach out for help. 

  • In many situations of illness, injury or bereavement, students do not require the care of a health or counselling professional. The Student Declaration of Absence Form enables students to take responsibility for reporting their own absence due to illness and injury, without having to obtain a sick note from a health or medical professional. This relieves some of the stress put on our healthcare system, providing more appointments for students who do require the care of a health or medical professional. 

The Faculties of Engineering, Medicine, Law, Dentistry and the College of Pharmacy are exempt from this regulation and will not be using the Student Declaration of Absence Form. These faculties have separate regulations to cover short- and long-term absences.

Further details and resources are available on the Student Health & Wellness SharePoint site, including FAQs and information you can add to your course syllabi about the Student Declaration of Absence Form.