A16 – College-Initiated Aegrotat

Originator: Vice President, Academic
Approver: President’s Council
Effective: May 15, 2020
Replaces: New

Policy

RRC Polytech recognizes that there may be exceptional or catastrophic circumstances that preclude the College’s ability to deliver the final portion of a course or courses or program to a class of students during a semester in a program of academic study. At all times the College makes every effort to ensure that students succeed in a stimulating and supportive learning environment. Concomitantly, the College is charged with ensuring the academic integrity of its academic programs’ outcomes and credentials. Supporting students in exceptional circumstances balances academic integrity with student success.

This policy and procedure provides a framework for the consideration of the College’s request for course(s) credit to be granted in exceptional circumstances, when, beyond the College’s control, conclusion of all learning and / or assessment activities in a course or program of academic study is precluded by exceptional circumstances, and whereby a student may demonstrate satisfactory performance without being able to complete all course or program requirements due to extenuating circumstances.

It is in these circumstances that are considered exceptional, that Aegrotat standing may be awarded and a grade of “Credit” (CR) assigned in an incomplete course or courses on grounds reasoned exceptional or catastrophic by the College.

Principle

The exceptional or catastrophic circumstances from the College’s perspective and beyond its control that may trigger consideration of Aegrotat standing for cohorts or classes of students may include such events as, but are not limited to: a pandemic or epidemic that interferes with the College’s ability to deliver programming or causes disruption to the delivery method originally planned such that most students will not reasonably be able to return to complete their nearly completed course(s) or program; a fire that renders labs and shops unusable; a strike by the Union that precludes completion of the final part of course delivery; or an act of God that partially or fully closes the College for a period of time.

Procedures

Aegrotat Standing and Grades

Aegrotat standing may be awarded and a grade of Credit (CR) assigned to a student for an incomplete course or courses on grounds reasoned exceptional or catastrophic by the department Chair or Dean, who agree that a student or students have demonstrated the capacity to deal with the course material satisfactorily.

Where Aegrotat standing has been requested for an entire class or cohort, an assessment must be completed to verify that every student in the class meets the eligibility criteria (see below). Students not meeting the eligibility criteria will be awarded an Incomplete (INC) or alternatively may choose to Voluntarily Withdraw (VW) and will need to complete or retake some or all of the course at a later date.

Courses for which Aegrotat standing is awarded are not calculated into the cumulative grade point average (GPA), full course credit is assigned, and the grade is noted as CR on the transcript. Once a course(s) has been assigned Aegrotat standing, there are no further options for reassessment.

Pending the outcome of the Aegrotat standing consideration process, a student or students will continue to be enrolled in any upper level course(s), which have a prerequisite for which they are seeking Aegrotat standing.

Section 1. Aegrotat Eligibility Process

1. To be eligible for Aegrotat standing and a grade of CR for a course that was taken, a student shall have a least 75 percent of the course work completed (exclusive of a final exam), with a course average of at least 10 percent higher than the course pass mark on the completed course work.
2. To be eligible for Aegrotat standing, a student cannot have withdrawn from the course(s).
3. Eligibility for Aegrotat standing will only be considered once all other options to address the students’ situation have been exhausted.
4. In the case of work-integrated learning (WIL) courses—co-op education, practicum, work experience, for example—where student placements in the workplace were not available (employers were not able to take on students) due to the exceptional circumstances, the College may decide (subject to point 5 following) to remove that WIL course from the program’s graduate audit and the students’ transcript (see also 3.4 below).
5. Not all courses may be eligible for an Aegrotat standing due to factors including, but not limited to, external accreditation, collaborative programming, apprenticeship training, skills-based coursework and clinical or practicum placement. The decision over which courses are not eligible for Aegrotat standing rests with the Dean of the school offering the course(s) and program and is final.

Section 2. College-Initiated Aegrotat Application, Assessment and Documentation Process

1. Request to Consider Aegrotat Standing for Students
   1. A request in writing to consider applying the principles and eligibility process of Aegrotat standing for their students in light of exceptional or catastrophic circumstances that the College is experiencing will be initiated by an Instructor in consultation with the program Chair and presented to the program Dean.
   2. The Dean will confer with the program Chair and Instructors to assess the feasibility of the request to consider Aegrotat standing according to the principles and eligibility process on a course by course (see Note below) and program by program basis.
2. Determining Aegrotat Standing for Students
   1. From the list of eligible programs and courses, the Instructor(s) will review and assess each student’s performance to date in an Aegrotat-eligible course and document those students who meet the Aegrotat standing eligibility requirements and those who do not meet the eligibility requirements. (Students deemed ineligible for Aegrotat standing will be given a INC and need to complete the course at another time or they may choose to VW and will have to retake the entire course at another time.)
   2. The documentation of Aegrotat-eligible and non-eligible students in the course will then be forwarded by the Instructor to the program Chair, who will review and forward to the Dean.
   3. The Dean will then complete a final review and assessment. The decision to grant Aegrotat or deny it, as determined by the Dean, is final.
   4. The Dean will notify the Chair of the decision and provide a written decision to the studentswithin ten (10) business days of the review and assessment of the application to award Aegrotat standing or not.
   5. The Chair will notify the Instructor of the Dean’s decision.
3. Documenting Aegrotat Standing
   1. The Dean will document the Aegrotat Standing decision on the Aegrotat Standing form and send the completed form along with the class roster to the Registrar’s Office for final processing.
   2. If the students’ assessment for Aegrotat standing is approved, the Instructor will enter a CR, INC or VW grade in the online grading tool and the Student Records Officer (SRO) will attach Aegrotat status and attach Aegrotat credit comment and verify CR final grade.
   3. If the student’s assessment for Aegrotat standing is denied:
      1. The Instructor will enter an INC for the course in the online grading tool.
      2. The Instructor will notify the student that they will need to complete a course graded INC at another time, or repeat an entire course graded VW. The Instructor will notify students that they need to submit a Course Withdrawal form where a VW will be assigned.
      3. The SRO will withdraw the student and enter a VW grade when the Course Withdrawal form is received.
      4. The SRO will verify the grade.
      5. The SRO will review the student’s current enrolment and de-register the student from any course where they were unsuccessful in a pre-requisite course.
      6. The SRO will notify the student that their timetable has been changed.
      7. The Registrar’s Office will retain the submitted documentation in each student’s record file.
   4. In the case where a work-integrated learning course has not been delivered due to exceptional circumstances (workplaces have been closed), and the Dean is satisfied that there is no reasonable way to deliver the course and find work placements for students in a timely way, the Registrar’s Office will remove that course from the program’s graduate audit and student transcript. A notation will be placed on students’ transcripts indicating that the WIL course has been removed from the program on a one-time basis due to exceptional or catastrophic circumstances. (Eligibility criteria outlined in Section 1 do not apply to this circumstance.)