Policies, Procedures and Forms

Request for Relief from Missed Academic Work

MSAF - TYPE A 
Submit this request through your Mosaic account if you have missed or will miss an evaluation that is worth 24% or less of your final grade in a course.
MSAF is now available in MOSAIC Student Center (in the drop down menu under OTHER ACADEMICS).

MSAF - TYPE B
​Submit this request if you have been or will be absent for more than three consecutive days, the evaluation/academic work you will be missing is worth 25% or more. Please contact your Academic Advisor for assistance with this request.

McMaster Student Health Certificate
Use this form at medical appointments in order to obtain all required information needed to validate absences. 

RISO Request
Submit this request if you will be missing academic work during the term due to religious, indigenous, or spiritual observance(s). If you will be missing an exam during the final exam period for religious, indigenous, or spiritual observance(s) please complete the RISO form and submit to the Registrar's Office at exams@mcmaster.ca at least 10 working days before the ​start of the examination period.

Professional Practice Placement (Clinical Hours) Absence
Students cannot submit an MSAF to report missed clinical hours.

These absences are managed in discussion with the Course Lead/Coordinator. As per BScN Handbook, all professional hours are mandatory. The program will review hours completed to determine if any hours will need to be made up. 

When you have been or will be absent from a class/shift for any of the above courses, you must immediately notify your tutor for the course using contact information found in the course outline. In addition, notify your preceptor and/or Placement Agency according to the procedure ​the Agency has outlined.

Consult Instructor of Course(s) regarding formal Accommodations 
If you have formal accommodations through Student Accessibility Services (McMaster), Accessible Learning Services (Mohawk), or Accessibility Services (Conestoga) it is important that you communicate this as soon as possible to your instructor(s) in order to determine how you will be accommodated throughout the course. 

As per the accommodation policy, the learner is responsible for discussing academic accommodations early in the course. This should be done with the Course Lead/Coordinator. Professional Practice Accommodations are more complex and will involve the Accessibility office also reaching out to BScN Leadership and the Placement Agency for review.  

Contact Athletics Services Coordinator
Please select the site at which you play on a Varsity Team for correct contact information:
McMaster site
Mohawk site -Contact Matthew Schnarr, Supervisor
Conestoga site

Request for Deferred Final Exam (Form B)
Please see the Petition for Special Consideration (Form B) for details of this request.

Students wishing to submit a Petition for Special Consideration (Form A) are strongly encouraged to consult with an Academic Advisor prior to submission.

The School of Nursing has the responsibility to ensure that degree, program and course requirements are met in a manner that is equitable to all students. While the School adheres strictly to all deadlines and academic regulations as stated in the University Calendar, it does wish to assist students with legitimate difficulties. Students who seek special consideration or who wish to request that the application of a particular University or Faculty/School regulation be waived because of compelling medical, personal or family reasons, may submit a Petition for Special Consideration to the Office of the Assistant Dean. Supporting documentation will be required but will not ensure approval of the petition. The authority to grant petitions lies with the School of Nursing Assistant Dean’s office and is discretionary. Students are responsible to submit Petitions for Special Consideration in a prompt and timely manner. Following receipt of the appropriate form, the Assistant Dean shall submit the petition to the appropriate individual or committee in the School of Nursing and shall secure a final decision from the individual or committee. The student will be notified in writing (by email) of the decision on his/her petition.

It is imperative that students make every effort to meet the originally-scheduled course requirements and it is a student’s responsibility to complete all course work (including final examinations and clinical hours) as scheduled.

Supporting documentation is required but will not ensure approval of the petition. Please note that supporting documentation which is intended to speak to character will not be taken into consideration of a decision.

Petition for Special Consideration decisions are final. In accordance with the Student Appeal Procedures, decisions made on Petitions for Special Consideration cannot be appealed to the Senate Board for Student Appeals. If a student feels their human rights have been violated, the student may contact the McMaster Equity and Inclusion Office in Room 212 of the McMaster University Student Centre, to initiate a complaint.

Petitions should be submitted in a prompt and timely manner for the relevant term, but no later than:

• July 31 immediately following the Fall/Winter terms
  
• November 15 immediately following the Spring/Summer term

This form must be fully completed by the student and must be accompanied by supporting  documentation. Please submit the form and documentation to the appropriate site:

• McMaster site students – via email to bscnadvisemac@mcmaster.ca
• Mohawk site students – via email to bscnadvisemohawk@mcmaster.ca
• Conestoga site students – via email to bscnadvising@conestogac.on.ca

Please review the information provided in the General Academic Regulations section of the Undergraduate Calendar. 

McMaster Student Health Certificate​

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Request for Deferred Final Exam (Form B)

Once a student has completed an examination, no special consideration will be granted.

A student who misses an examination because of compelling medical or personal reasons may submit a Petition for Special Consideration: Request for Deferred Examination (Form B) to the School of Nursing, within five working days of the missed examination. Approval of the requests is not guaranteed.

If the reason is medical, the approved McMaster Student Health Certificate must be used. The student must be seen by a doctor at the earliest possible date, normally on or before the date of the missed exam and the doctor must verify the duration of the illness. Relief will not be available for minor illnesses. If the reason is non-medical, appropriate documentation with verifiable origin covering the relevant dates must be submitted, normally within 5 working days.

 If the deferred examination is granted, the student will be informed officially by means of the notation DEF which will appear against the relevant course on the student’s academic record.

Deferred examinations are written during the next official University deferred examination period. Deferred examinations (with the exception of certain professional practice courses) must be written during the deferred examination period as follows. Exact dates can be found in the McMaster University Undergraduate Calendar under Sessional Dates.

• December exams (for Fall term courses) will be written during Winter term break in February
• April exams (for Winter term course) will be written in late June
• Spring/Summer exams will be written during the Fall term break in October

Deferred exams for the following professional practice courses may be scheduled outside of the deferred exam period as these exams are arranged individually for each student. The Level Lead/Coordinator will arrange the deferred exam and notify the student of the new schedule.

• Basic (A) stream: NURSING 1I02, NURSING 1J02     
• Accelerated (F) stream: NURSING 2U04

Students who have been granted more than one deferred examination may be required by the School of Nursing to reduce their course load during the term in which the deferred examinations are being written. The decision on a reduced load will be made and communicated with the decision on the request for deferred examinations.

At the discretion of the School of Nursing students who have been granted one or more deferred examinations, may not be allowed to enroll in a subsequent term until all deferred examinations have been completed and the Academic Standing calculated. Students will be notified of this decision by the Program Office.

Students who will be living more than 160 kilometers from Hamilton during the deferred examination period and wish to write their approved deferred examination at an institution other than McMaster must submit a Request to Write Deferred Examination Off-campus Form at least 15 working days prior to the deferred examination period.

The authority to grant any petitions lies with the School of Nursing and is discretionary. It is imperative that students make every effort to meet the originally-scheduled course requirements and it is a student’s responsibility to write examinations as scheduled. Approval of the requests is not guaranteed.

Petition for Special Consideration decisions are final. In accordance with the Student Appeal Procedures, decisions made on Petitions for Special Consideration cannot be appealed to the Senate Board for Student Appeals. If a student feels their human rights have been violated, the student may contact the McMaster Equity and Inclusion Office in Room 212 of the McMaster University Student Centre, to initiate a complaint.

This form must be fully completed by the student and must be accompanied by supporting  documentation. Please submit the form and documentation to the appropriate site:

• McMaster site students – via email to bscnadvisemac@mcmaster.ca
• Mohawk site students – via email to bscnadvisemohawk@mcmaster.ca
• Conestoga site students – via email to bscnadvising@conestogac.on.ca​

Letter of Permission (LOP)
Use this link to learn how to submit a request to take a course at another institution and use it towards your program requirements for your BScN program. Nursing students should submit their LOP application through Mosaic at least 4-6 weeks before the start date of the course they wish to enroll in elsewhere.

To search course equivalencies click HERE.

External Transfer Credit Request
Submit this request if you have previously completed University-level course work at another Institution ​​and would like it reviewed in order to to receive transfer credit towards requirements of the BScN program. 

McMaster Course Exemption Request
Submit this request if you have previously completed or would like to complete courses at McMaster which you would like reviewed in order to receive course exemption towards requirements of the BScN Program.