Last semester, the University of Alberta waived the need for students to provide a doctor’s note to justify illness-related absences from assignments and exams due to the H1N1 crisis. Now, the U of A has permanently suspended the policy, meaning sick students, or students otherwise skipping class, no longer need to go to a doctor’s office to have deadlines deferred.
University of Alberta registrar Gerry Kendal said the new policy was enacted temporarily in October, but the university “didn’t really see or feel that there was a major problem continuing [it] on permanently.”
He also said he feels the change is relatively minor.
“Students have always self-declared a medical situation if it impacts assignment dates, exam schedules, etc. If they feel an illness precludes writing an exam, they need to request consideration for a deferred exam. . . . The only change is not having the doctor’s signature as part of the process,” he said.
According to Kendal, the requirement for sick notes puts an unnecessary burden on doctors, both in Edmonton and at University Health Services. He said he believes the change will relieve this burden as well as keep doctors out of ethical dilemmas.
“Having a doctor sign a form a form saying that, ‘A student presented themselves to me, the student is in good health now . . . [but] described symptoms that are consistent with the flu, to use as an example; I would suggest that the student had the flu’ and sign their name to that, is a very difficult position to put a physician into,” Kendal said.
As for the concern that the lack of these notes will lead to students taking advantage of the system, Kendal said the university trusts its students will do the right thing.
“We have no intention at this point in time of doing major policing or anything beyond the normal process,” he said. “We count fairly heavily on student integrity and we have a general trust [in] our students. These are adults and these are people who are very, very serious about their studies.”
Katherine Evans, a second-year University of Alberta engineering student, said the university is right to trust its students, but she still thinks people will try to take advantage of the system.
“For students that are actually sick, it’s great to not have them come into school and get a doctor’s note, especially with the H1N1 pandemic,” she said. “But at the same time, I know that there are some students who are going to abuse the system, and it’s going to be tough to catch them.”
Rebecca Darling, a second-year graphic design student at Algonquin College, said she thinks it would be tempting to abuse the policy, but agrees it would reduce strain on the medical system.
“Everybody would be tempted, but it depends on your morals I guess. I would be tempted, but I can’t see myself ever using it,” she said. “If you call the doctor’s office, sometimes there’s as much as a two-week wait, even if you have pneumonia or something. If you figure there are people who have to wait that long for stuff like that . . . I think it would reduce stress to a point.”
Kendal said the U of A has been discussing the change for years and that he wouldn’t be surprised to see other universities enact similar policies because the issue has been problematic for a number of institutions over the years.