Authorized Absence
Authorized Absence Requests
The course withdrawal deadlines are September 19th for the fall semester and February 14th for the winter semester. Courses deleted before the semester’s withdrawal deadline do not appear on your transcript. The final course drop deadline varies from semester to semester and depends on the exact start date of the semester; please see the Academic Calendar for specifics. Courses dropped after the withdrawal deadline and by the official course drop deadline for the semester will appear on your transcript with an AE notation.
ONLY after the course drop deadline, an Authorized Absence may be requested for serious medical reasons which prevented the student from attending school for more than three weeks. Supporting documentation from an independent medical professional is required. Other requests will be considered in exceptional cases for grave and serious reasons. Students must submit their requests before the end of the semester concerned.
Complete the request form and attach original, signed medical documents.
Submit your completed request either:
- (best option) by scanning the documents clearly and attaching them to an email to authorizedabsence@dawsoncollege.qc.ca or;
- in person at the Registrar’s reception counter in 2D.6 – please note that requests received on paper will take longer to process, as they must be scanned by staff and sent to the authorized absence email
Authorized Absence FAQ
An authorized absence, or a permanent incomplete, means that although a course will still appear on your transcript, there will be no grade. Instead, there will be a notation of IN (for incomplete). The course will therefore not count towards your R-score and – in the case of DEC students – must be repeated or replaced by another course of the same category.
An authorized absence, or permanent incomplete, is not a course withdrawal. If the request is granted, you will remain registered in your course(s) and will still be considered a student at Dawson College. You will still be entitled to use all College services for the duration of the semester, and you will not be entitled to a refund. Your full-time/part-time status will remain the same as before.
A student who has failed or will fail a course or courses due to serious circumstances beyond their control which have prevented them from attending/participating for over three weeks during the semester (or over 20% of a summer, AEC or intensive course), may request an authorized absence providing they have appropriate supporting documentation.
Normally the form must be signed by a physician (a doctor who is a member of the The Collège des médecins du Québec) or psychologist/psychotherapist (a member of the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec). A registered physiotherapist may provide the supporting documentation ONLY for requests regarding physical education courses – they may not provide documentation for requests regarding other courses. Depending on your situation, it may be possible to accept documentation from other professionals. Please contact authorizedabsence@dawsoncollege.qc.ca for more details.
You must withdraw from the course(s) in question if the withdrawal deadline has not passed. If your condition is affecting all of your classes, you must complete a college withdrawal through Omnivox, and then you will have to re-apply to Dawson College by the application deadline if you wish to return in a future semester.
The end of the semester, which is defined by the final grade deadline (please see the Academic Calendar for this information). After the semester ends, you may submit a request for up to one year providing you have a valid explanation for the lateness of your request. Please note that submitting your form late may adversely affect your ability to register for classes and/or your standing at Dawson College.
This process is kept strictly confidential. Your authorized absence request is kept separate from your student file, and is not shared with your teachers, the Admissions committee or any other service unless you explicitly ask us to. It will be reviewed by the Dean of Academic Systems and their assistant, and in exceptional circumstances may be reviewed by the Academic Dean if necessary.
You should make an effort to see the appropriate healthcare professional as soon as possible to receive appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Dawson College offers counselling services as well as health services, but you may also choose to visit a walk-in clinic, an emergency room or a private clinic as appropriate for your situation. Please be aware that many, if not most, healthcare professionals will not “back date” a medical note (i.e. they will not attest to your illness if they were not treating you at the time). It is important to see someone promptly if you are unwell.
If you have not missed three consecutive weeks of the course, you should speak with your teacher to establish whether it is possible to make up the missed work/exam, because you are not eligible for an authorized absence.
Yes. You must obtain supporting documentation that clearly indicates that your condition has affected or will affect you for over three consecutive weeks during the semester. We are not asking when your illness will be resolved, but rather for how long this has affected/will affect your ability to attend/participate in class. If they believe you are unable to continue for the entire semester, they may indicate the last day of classes.
Please send the request and supporting documentation to authorizedabsence@dawsoncollege.qc.ca. Attach the documents as a PDF or JPEG and ensure that the images are clear and large enough to read. Do not submit links to cloud storage – the document must be an actual attachment. You may also drop off a request at 2D.6 when the office is open.
It is possible to request an authorized absence for other reasons, providing the situation meets the criteria outlined above and in ISEP. For example, a death in the immediate family (e.g. a parent or child) can be documented using a death certificate alone. Please note that if a request is being made due to the death of a non-immediate family member (e.g. grandparent, cousin) or friend, the request must be accompanied by a medical note from a doctor or psychologist explaining the particularly serious effect this has had on the student.
Without written authorization from the student, we cannot discuss the student’s file with anyone. If the student is under 18, parents may contact us on the student’s behalf. General questions, however, including policies, rules and procedures can be discussed. Please contact the Assistant to the Dean of Academic Systems by writing to authorizedabsence@dawsoncollege.qc.ca.
You should discuss your progression with your Program Coordinator or an Academic Advisor. If you are unable to advance in the following semester, you will be “floating” and taking general education courses only. If, however, you have no general education courses left to take you will have to take a semester off and then re-apply. It is very important that you discuss this with your Program Coordinator or an Academic Advisor, however, because each situation is unique and many different factors can affect your standing at the college depending on program, semester and your particular history.
Yes, you may request a meeting with the Assistant to the Dean of Academic Systems by coming to 2D.6 during office hours, or calling 514-931-8731 ext. 1161. You may always send your questions to authorizedabsence@dawsoncollege.qc.ca.
