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Old 11-18-2010 at 12:01 PM   #1
Desda
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MSAF Help
If I plan on using the absent form as an excuse to skip my midterm tonight (), should I fill it out today or tomorrow? And also, what happens to the missed midterm? Does the weight of the midterm get transferred to the final or...?

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Old 11-21-2010 at 04:01 AM   #2
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In case anyone cares, here are the answers because I called the school and asked...

1. If you have any questions about the absence form, ask the associate dean of your faculty (ex. I just Googled "mcmaster socsci associate dean")

2. Fill in the form on the day that you are going to miss a certain midterm/assignment/etc.

3. You can only submit two per semester.

4. Make sure you know the weight of your midterm/assignment/etc. (ex. Midterm, 20%)

5. Make sure you know your prof's email (if it's not on the course syllabus, you can easily search it up on the mcmaster website by clicking "faculty and staff directory" at the top of the main page or just click here: http://telecom.mcmaster.ca/directory.cfm)

6. Talk to your prof about what happens to the missed work (ex. midterm weight is added to the final)
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Last edited by jhan523 : 11-21-2010 at 11:01 AM. Reason: Typo

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Old 11-21-2010 at 04:15 AM   #3
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Will they follow up on why you missed the assessment? (Like asking you for a medical note)
Old 11-21-2010 at 05:00 AM   #4
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Nope. They ask for documentation if you exceed two times. Then you gotta go to your associate dean's office.
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Old 11-21-2010 at 05:39 PM   #5
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So for the first 2 times you don't need to show any reason for not being at a midterm or something?
Old 11-21-2010 at 07:49 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waldo92 View Post
So for the first 2 times you don't need to show any reason for not being at a midterm or something?
Nope, this is basically an extension of the H1N1 form we had last year (which wasn't abused by students) that the school decided to try on a wider scale. If it gets abused we'll likely go back to the old system, but considering people were paying doctors for fake notes before it'll probably take a lot of abuse for us to go back.
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Old 11-22-2010 at 12:40 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tailsnake View Post
Nope, this is basically an extension of the H1N1 form we had last year (which wasn't abused by students) that the school decided to try on a wider scale. If it gets abused we'll likely go back to the old system, but considering people were paying doctors for fake notes before it'll probably take a lot of abuse for us to go back.
Whoa, students paid docs for fake notes? I'm more shocked by the fact that the docs actually issued these fake notes though.
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Old 11-22-2010 at 04:29 AM   #8
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Would it be "fishy" if i deferred a lab exam for a class in which i already deferred a midterm for?
Old 11-22-2010 at 04:03 PM   #9
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I guess I have to play the a**hole and just say it: Why can't people just get their work done and handed in when it is due?

I'm taking more than 100% course load in all essay and assignment based courses. I was up to my eyeballs in term papers all month but I didn't use the MSAF until today, after all but one of my papers are due, to defer my smallest by a couple of days because I have the flu and haven't finished it.

It's really frustrating that people are just too lazy or have poor time management skills and make a mockery of students who are actually sick.

I actually had to write to my prof "I'm sure this is one of 100 MSAF's you will be receiving today, but I REALLY am sick".

Trust me, I'd rather be turning in my paper tomorrow than writing fever induced rants on slackers from my bed.

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Old 02-19-2011 at 10:54 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desda View Post
Nope. They ask for documentation if you exceed two times. Then you gotta go to your associate dean's office.
Decided to bump this thread up since I am having a problem with this. I had a really bad flu and I didn't need to go to a clinic to tell me what it is. From what I understand people who go to the McMaster clinic get told to simply fill out the form. Now my problem is, I filled out the form, and the professor will not honor it. Says I have to personally prove to him it was a medical emergency. I would not have used the form and just took the mark hit, but so many students told me it works no questions asked. I guess profs can simply say no.

So...can anything be done at this point?
Old 02-19-2011 at 11:17 PM   #11
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Just to add on what desda posted, you get 2 5-day msaf forms a year. If you miss more than 5 days due to illness you can get a link to a super unlimited msaf through the office of the associate dean of your faculty.

And to make the point clear, the msaf is not an instant freebie to get out of work. It is a request to be excused from work and your profs can ask for a doctor's note. First year profs generally dont however, mainly since they deal with so many students. Upper years should never use an msaf to get out of assignments/exams because your profs are much more likely to ask for proof of illness.
Old 02-20-2011 at 01:44 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REPLEKIA/. View Post
you get 2 5-day msaf forms a year.

It is a request to be excused from work and your profs can ask for a doctor's note
First of all it's 2 a term.

Second of all, no the profs will not ask you for a doctor's note. The whole point of the MSAF is to bypass the doctor's note procedure, that's why you can only use it twice a term. It's the first and last note that you have to submit and they cannot ask you for anything else.

However, if you exceed two you have to go to the associate dean's office and they will most likely ask for a doctor's note.
Old 02-20-2011 at 09:16 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REPLEKIA/. View Post
Just to add on what desda posted, you get 2 5-day msaf forms a year. If you miss more than 5 days due to illness you can get a link to a super unlimited msaf through the office of the associate dean of your faculty.

And to make the point clear, the msaf is not an instant freebie to get out of work. It is a request to be excused from work and your profs can ask for a doctor's note. First year profs generally dont however, mainly since they deal with so many students. Upper years should never use an msaf to get out of assignments/exams because your profs are much more likely to ask for proof of illness.
It's 2 per term, so 4 total per year. Actually it is essentially a freebie because profs won't ask you for a doctor's note. I know people who've used it and it's the same thing in upper years. It's a new system that they have this year, after a similar H1N1 self-reporting tool system that we had last year. But anyway, profs won't ask you for a proof of illness, it's just the one form. If it's for an exam though, then profs will ask for a specific form to be filled out by a doctor.
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Old 02-20-2011 at 09:21 AM   #14
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Only used one because I finished an assignment while forgetting to actually hand it in.. shame on people who use it because they're too dumb to do the midterm..
Old 02-20-2011 at 02:57 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick.O View Post
First of all it's 2 a term.

Second of all, no the profs will not ask you for a doctor's note. The whole point of the MSAF is to bypass the doctor's note procedure, that's why you can only use it twice a term. It's the first and last note that you have to submit and they cannot ask you for anything else.

However, if you exceed two you have to go to the associate dean's office and they will most likely ask for a doctor's note.
My prof is demanding a doctor's note. Hoping something can be done by the faculty advisers when I see them on Tuesday, although I'm not too hopeful.



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