Temporary injuries and short-term illness

Students who, for medical reasons of a temporary nature, are absent during the term, and/or are unable to complete tests or other graded work, should normally discuss with their instructors how they can make up for missed work.

Students who experience a temporary injury or short-term illness and who require adjustments in their studies or academic concession are not eligible for services provided by the Disability Resource Centre.

Instructors and/or departments normally have established guidelines for addressing these types of circumstances. These guidelines are normally provided in writing to students at the start of the course; usually in the course syllabus. See Grading Practices in the Academic Calendar.

Some ways that missed work or tests may be addressed by instructors:

  • Provide an extension to the assignment;
  • Allow a student to write the missed test at a later date;
  • Re-distribute the grades from the missed assignment/test to other graded course work or tests;
  • Consider an alternative assignment or evaluative task that allows the student to equally demonstrate their knowledge or meets the same desired learning outcome demonstrated in a different manner.

If it does not seem plausible for the student to be able to complete the course assignments/tests/exams within the allotted timeframe of the academic term, Academic Concession could be considered. See Academic Concessions policy in UBC Okanagan Academic Calendar.

Instructors are not expected to assess the need for, or provide: assistive technology, scribing, or readers in the same way that the Disability Resource Centre accommodates students.

Why is there a different process for students with a temporary health issue than there is for students with a disability?

Policy LR7 is intended to implement the duty imposed by the BC Human Rights Code to protect people with disabilities. The concept of physical disability is defined by case law as generally indicating a physiological state that is involuntary, has some degree of permanence, and impairs the person’s ability, in some measure, to carry out the normal functions of life. The same standard is applied for mental disability.

UBC has defined temporary health issues to be any temporary medical impairment or injury that is unrelated to a disability and is likely to be substantially resolved in less than an academic term. Temporary injuries or other health issues are not considered to be disabilities under this definition given their lack of permanence and are therefore not covered by Policy LR7.

Students with temporary health issues would follow the Senate Regulation on Academic Concessions set out in the UBC Okanagan Academic Calendar.