Policy on Student Attendance in the D.M.D. Program
This Policy is intended to govern and guide decisions regarding Student Attendance in the
College of Dentistry, University of Manitoba.
1.0 Background
The University of Manitoba College of Dentistry has a social mandate to ensure that graduating
dentists are caring, skilled healthcare providers who are worthy of the public trust endowed upon
them. To fulfill this mandate, the College of Dentistry has developed comprehensive programs of
education and experience. Collectively, we refer to these programs as Dental School. Unlike
non-professional education programs, where students can pick and choose their education and
experiences based on personal preferences, Dental School requires students to attend and
participate actively in all components of the program.
While students are required to complete assignments and pass examinations, these are not
considered to be equivalent to attending Dental School. When the University confers the DMD
degree, it attests to society not only that the student has shown successful examination
performance, but that the student has participated in the entire educational experience defined by
the College of Dentistry and has thereby demonstrated an appropriate level of professional
learning and responsibility.
2.0 Statement of Policy
Students at the University of Manitoba, College of Dentistry, are required to attend, and be on
time for, all scheduled classes, seminars, examinations, small group sessions, laboratories, preclinical labs, and clinics. Students arriving more than 10-minutes late will be recorded as absent.
Students who do not comply with the Student Attendance Policy will face academic
consequences, including, but not limited to:
 Reduced course grades
 Debarment from class, pre-clinical lab, clinic, and/or from final examination(s)
 Debarment from receiving academic credit for the course
 Requirement to repeat a course or year in the program
3.0 Statement of Procedures
3.1
Attendance
While student attendance in all scheduled educational experiences is mandatory, monitoring of
student attendance in classes and pre-clinical labs is optional and left to the discretion of each
Course Coordinator. Academic consequences for non-attendance may apply in those courses that
track student attendance, as detailed in the respective Course Outline.
Tracking of student attendance in scheduled clinics will be performed by the Dean’s
Office through use of Axium ‘swipes.’ Information about student attendance in clinic will
be communicated regularly with Course Coordinators, who are responsible for followingup with individual students.
Tracking of student attendance in classes and preclinical labs will be performed by the
Course Coordinator in each course. Tracking mechanisms may include I-clicker
questions, D2L attendance questions, and/or paper sign-in sheets.
The University of Manitoba welcomes all faiths and beliefs. As such, the decision regarding
absence from class/labs/clinics on religious holidays is left to the individual. Absences due to
religious observance will not contribute to any academic consequence for the student. Each
student is responsible for notifying the College of religious observance dates. Failure to provide
notice will result in the student being classified as absent.
Similarly, special consideration will be given for situations of longer-term student absence due to
illness, medical care, or other unavoidable circumstances (see 3.3 below).
3.2
Consequences of Non-attendance
3.2.1 Ideal Attendance:
The target for all students is 100% attendance; the College will consider all students who have
achieved this target to have demonstrated an ideal level of professional commitment and
responsibility within the dentistry program, and within each course of the program.
3.2.2 Expected Attendance:
Students are allowed a few days absence, up to 5% of the scheduled course sessions, for illness
or other non-avoidable reasons, without incurring academic penalty. The College considers this
level of non-attendance to fully meet professional commitments and responsibility within the
dentistry program. For comparison, Manitoba Employment Standards allow 6 unpaid days (3% of
available work days) each year for illness, bereavement, and attending to family responsibilities.
3.2.3 Below Expected Attendance:
Student absenteeism beyond 5% of the scheduled course sessions represents what the College
will consider to be below expected levels of professional commitment and responsibility with
regard to attendance. Progressive academic consequences, in the form of reduced course grades,
will be applied to reflect the degree of non-attendance.
Clinic Attendance:
Students will lose 1% of the course mark for every 1% decrease in clinic attendance; to a
maximum of 10% of the course grade (see Table 1 below).
Class/Lab Attendance:
Monitoring of student attendance in class/lab is optional, and left to the discretion of the
Course Coordinator. For courses opting to monitor student attendance, the course-specific
academic consequences for non-attendance will be detailed in the Course Outline. The
maximum academic penalty for non-attendance is 10%.
3.2.4 Unacceptable Attendance:
The minimum acceptable level of attendance is 85% for each course in the dentistry program.
Course Coordinators or the Associate Dean (Academic) can initiate procedures to debar a student
from attending class, pre-clinical labs, clinics, or from final examinations, when the absences for
that student exceed 15% of the available academic time in a course. When notified of a course
attendance problem, the Associate Dean (Academic) will call, and give notice to the student, of a
Disciplinary Hearing to investigate the issue under the U of M Student Discipline Bylaw. If it is
determined that the student is in breach of this Student Attendance Policy, then debarment from
class, pre-clinical lab, clinic, and/or from final examination(s) is possible.
In addition to the above ‘course-level’ academic consequences, students found to be in breach of
this Student Attendance Policy, with absenteeism exceeding 15% of the available academic time
in a course, may be debarred from receiving academic credit for the course and be required to
repeat the course or year in the program.
Table 1: Academic consequences for clinical non-attendance
Attendance (of scheduled clinics)
95-100%
94%
93%
92%
91%
90%
89%
88%
87%
86%
85%
<85%
Academic Consequences
No penalty
1% penalty
2% penalty
3% penalty
4% penalty
5% penalty
6% penalty
7% penalty
8% penalty
9% penalty
10% penalty
Debarment
3.3
Special consideration for extended illness/medical care
Students are allowed a reasonable number of absences due to illness or for compassionate
reasons before incurring academic consequences (see 3.2 above). In cases of longer-term (greater
than 3 days) illness, or other extended or recurring absence, students can submit a formal written
request to the Associate Dean (Academic) detailing the reasons why special consideration should
be given for the student’s attendance. The Associate Dean (Academic) will decide whether or not
normal academic consequences should apply. These requests will normally require a signed
physician's certificate or other external documentation of the reason for non-attendance.
Academic consequences will normally be waived for extended absence for unavoidable,
documented illness, healthcare, and compassionate reasons.
3.4
Absence from Clinics with Booked Patients
The Dentistry Program includes some clinics where students book their own patients, and some
clinics where College staff book patients for the students. The latter includes the Pediatric
Dentistry, Orthodontic, 4th year General Practice, Urgent Care, Oral Surgery, Oral Sleep
Medicine, TMD, and Community Externship rotation clinics. The convenience of having patients
booked by College staff brings an additional professional responsibility regarding absence on
these clinic days. Absence without notification on these dates would result in harm to the patient
(abandonment, lost time from work), inconvenience to staff and fellow students, and harm to the
reputation of the College and University.
On days when a student will be absent from a clinic with booked patients, including days of
unexpected illness in the morning, the student is required to report the absence to the Faculty
prior to the scheduled patient appointment time.
For student convenience, all contact regarding absence should be directed to the Student
Services Office at (204) 480-1355 or by e-mail to absent@umanitoba.ca.
When notified that a student is absent without notice from a clinic with booked patients, the
Associate Dean (Academic) will call, and give notice to the student, of a Disciplinary Hearing to
investigate the issue under the Student Discipline Bylaw, or the Professional Unsuitability Bylaw
for repeated offenses. If it is determined that the student is in breach of this Student Attendance
Policy, then more serious academic consequences, including suspension or expulsion is possible.
For details of possible consequences see
http://umanitoba.ca/admin/governance/media/Student_Discipline_Bylaw_-_Table_2.pdf and
http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/dentistry/media/Dentistry_Professional_Unsuitability_Bylaw.pdf .
3.5
Examinations
Students are required to attend all scheduled examinations. A student who is prevented from
attending any regular examination, by reason of illness or other cause beyond his or her control,
must at once notify the College prior to the start of the examination, and give satisfactory
evidence of the cause of absence. Students failing to provide prior notice and satisfactory
evidence will receive a mark of zero (“0”) on the missed examination. If the absence was
necessary by reason of illness, then the student MUST provide a physician’s certificate to
avoid a mark of zero (“0”).
The College reserves the right to require the physician’s note to be from a University of
Manitoba Health Service Clinic, and to confirm the validity of any submitted physician’s
certificate.
3.5
Communication of the Policy
The Policy will be reviewed with students each year during the orientation period.
4.0 University and College Expectations
The above stated Policy and Procedures are designed to govern and guide decisions regarding
student attendance in the DMD program at the College of Dentistry, and are complementary and
supportive to the following University of Manitoba Policy on Attendance and Withdrawal
excerpted from the 2013-2014 Undergraduate Calendar, available at
http://crscalprod1.cc.umanitoba.ca/Catalog/ViewCatalog.aspx?pageid=viewcatalog&catalogid=240&chapterid=231
0&topicgroupid=14502
Attendance and Withdrawal
1. Attendance at Class and Debarment
Regular attendance is expected of all students in all courses.
An instructor may initiate procedures to debar a student from attending classes and from final
examinations and/or from receiving credit where unexcused absences exceed those permitted by
the faculty or school regulations.
A student may be debarred from class, laboratories, and examinations by action of the
dean/director for persistent non-attendance, failure to produce assignments to the satisfaction of
the instructor, and/or unsafe clinical practice or practicum. Students so debarred will have failed
that course.