McMaster Student Absence Form (MSAF)
The University recognizes that students may miss work due to illness or other personal reasons. While you may be able to catch up by using materials posted online or by communicating with your peers or with instructors, in other cases you may miss scheduled work and assessments, for example assignment due dates and test dates. The current McMaster policy for the Relief of Missed Work is available here.
There are two pathways for reporting missed work.
Online McMaster Student Absence Form (MSAF)
This is an online self-report tool available on Mosaic. It must be completed as soon as you return to academic work. It may be used for missed academic work worth less than 25% of the final grade, resulting from medical or personal situations lasting up to three (3) calendar days, covering work missed during that period.
You are responsible for:
- Completing the online self-report (MSAF) that is available through Mosaic as soon as you return to academic work
- Ensuring you include all work missed during your absence (e.g., if you missed assessments in 3 separate courses during your absence, include all missed work on the MSAF request).
- Contacting the instructor for each course with missed work as soon as you complete the online MSAF, to find out from the instructor what relief will be provided.
- Completing the required missed work for all course(s) promptly, as determined by the instructor(s).
Documentation is not required.
You cannot submit an online MSAF in advance of the date of the missed work.
MSAF Report through your Academic Advising Office
A student must contact the Office of the Associate Dean Academic, Faculty of Social Sciences (socscfac@mcmaster.ca or in KTH-129) for:
- medical or personal situations lasting more than three (3) calendar days; and/or
- missed academic work worth 25% or more of the final grade; and/or
- any request for relief in a term where the MSAF tool has been used previously in that term
You are responsible for:
- Contacting the Office of the Associate Dean Academic, Faculty of Social Sciences, at socscfac@mcmaster.ca or in KTH-129, as soon as you return to academic work.
- Submitting a Notification of Absence form to the Office of the Associate Dean Academic available at the bottom of this page.
- Contacting the instructor for each course with missed work as soon as you and the instructor(s) receive notice that the request has been processed, to find out from the instructor what relief will be provided.
- Completing the required missed work for all course(s) promptly, as determined by the instructor(s).
- Providing supporting documentation to the Office of the Associate Dean Academic, Faculty of Social Sciences, as appropriate.
The online MSAF or MSAF Report through your Academic Advising Office may not be used during any final examination period.
“Can I Use The Online MSAF?” – MSAF Checklist
If you can answer YES to ALL of the following criteria, you CAN use the MSAF online:
✔ You have been absent for 3 days or less (the instructor may include the "due date" of your missed work as 1 absent day).
✔ The course work you have missed is worth 24% or less of your grade.
✔ You have not previously submitted an MSAF during the current term.
✔ You have not attempted or completed the academic work. Attempting online work INCLUDES opening a test/quiz on Avenue to Learn or other platform.
You can access the McMaster Student Absence Form (MSAF) located in the MOSAIC Student Center.
It is every student’s responsibility to:
- Follow the MSAF instructions carefully and completely.
- Ensure that their McMaster email account is set up to send and receive messages.
- Ensure that the correct email address is used to notify instructors.
- Refer to the course outline to confirm the value of missed work.
- Contact their instructor immediately (within 2 working days) to discuss possible consideration.
IMPORTANT: Any consideration that may be provided for missed work is the decision of the instructor. Failure to follow these instructions may result in no consideration given for missed work.
All Social Sciences students who have missed academic work but who do NOT meet the criteria for using the MSAF online must contact the Office of the Associate Dean in the Social Sciences Faculty and follow the instructions below. One option is to contact us at socscfac@mcmaster.ca using your McMaster student email. Include a brief explanation as well as your full name and student number in your email to the socscfac@mcmaster.ca email address.
MSAF Exception Checklist:
If you can answer YES to ANY of the following criteria, you CANNOT use the MSAF online and must visit the Faculty office with appropriate documentation:
✔ You have been absent longer than 3 days (the instructor may include the "due date" of your missed work as 1 absent day).
✔ You missed course work valued at 25% or more of your grade.
✔ You have already submitted one MSAF during this term.
✔ You were experiencing technical difficulties at the time of the test (in this case you should contact your instructor immediately)
- A Notification of Absence Form (available in the Faculty office, KTH 129) must be completed and submitted to the Office of the Associate Dean. It is also available as "MSAF - Notification of Absence Form" under the "Procedures, Forms & Policies" section at the following link: Academic Advising
- Supporting documentation must be submitted to the Faculty office WITH the Notification of Absence Form. If the absence was for medical reasons, the documentation should have a start and end date (or expected duration) with a notation on the degree of impact the medical reason has had on a student's ability to participate in coursework. This can be any doctor's note, or it can be on a McMaster Student Health Certificate form completed by an appropriate physician. This form is available in the Faculty office or on the website.
The physician must indicate specific start and end dates (or duration) of the illness for it to be deemed complete. For non-medical absences, please submit supporting documentation as appropriate. You may be required to meet with an academic adviser to discuss your circumstances surrounding your missed work. PLEASE NOTE: Documentation for travel arrangements will no longer be accepted by the Faculty. - Following verification of the documentation and approval by an academic adviser (if appropriate), the Faculty office will send an automated MASF notification to the instructor (or in special cases an email). The student will also receive a copy of this notification. YOU must follow up directly (within 2 working days) with your instructor to discuss possible consideration for missed work.
It is every student’s responsibility to:
- Follow all instructions carefully and completely.
- Ensure that their McMaster email account is set up to send and receive messages.
- Ensure that the correct email address is used to notify instructors.
- Refer to the course outline to confirm the value of missed work.
- Contact their instructor promptly (within 2 working days) to discuss consideration.
IMPORTANT: Any consideration that may be provided for missed work is the decision of the instructor. Failure to follow these instructions may result in no consideration given for missed work.