WEIA School Policies

WE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY

WEIA STUDENT ATTENDANCE POLICY for ONLINE COURSES

Developed by: A. Phillips, February 2019
Revised by: A. Phillips, April 2019

Regular and consistent attendance is important to ensure success. Studies have shown that students who attend class regularly and punctually achieve higher marks. Further, each Ontario course with a credit value of 1 is designed to have 110 hours of in-class instructional time.

Responsibilities
At WEIA, everyone has a responsibility to help students attend class on time every day.

Students have a responsibility to
  • log on on time and participate in all weekly instructional hours that take place in real time (synchronous classes), unless excused due to illness or for another serious with the permission of the Principal in consultation with the teacher
  • log on and participate in all weekly instructional hours that take place independently on the student’s own time (asynchronous time), unless excused due to illness or for another serious reason with the permission of the Principal in consultation with the teacher
  • give their best effort to participate fully in each learning activity, as this is directly correlated with student achievement and preparedness for post-secondary studies
Teachers have a responsibility to
  • keep an accurate record of lates and absences for each real-time online session, including notation of the reason
  • carefully monitor and track each student’s weekly log-on independent learning activity time
  • talk with students about the importance of regular daily attendance
  • counsel students with attendance issues about the repercussions of attendance issues and solutions to improve attendance
  • refer students with ongoing attendance problems to the Principal
The Principal has a responsibility to
  • support teachers to ensure that students understand the consequences of unexcused lates and absences
  • offer information and strategies to help students attend regularly
  • advise the student that his/her credit is in jeopardy due to lack of regular attendance
  • counsel the student to withdraw from a course due to chronic attendance issues
  • communicate with parents when there are concerns for the student’s health and well-being
Types of support available to students
  • information on health and nutrition from the Guidance Office
  • discussion of issues with the teacher, guidance counsellor and Principal
  • communication with parents and guardians

Recording of Absences and Lates

ONLINE instructional hours take place in REAL TIME (synchronous) and also INDEPENDENTLY (asynchronous).

Absences
  • Real-time class absences are recorded by the teacher.
  • Independent instructional hours are monitored by the teacher. Students will record their learning time in two ways: 1) a Learning Activity Tracking form for the entire course – completed weekly and submitted every Monday – that shows the name of each learning activity; the date, time and number of hours spent on completing the learning activity; and date submitted, and 2) a Learning Activity Reflection Log completed four times during the course that serves as a reflection on their learning at key points in the course.
  • Each unexcused absence from 1 hour of instructional hour is recorded as 1 class absence.
  • Note: A student is marked absent if he/she logs on to the real time class after 14 minutes of the first hour of the scheduled start time before the 5-minute break, and again after 14 minutes of the second hour of the scheduled start time following the 5-minute break.
Lates
  • Real time class lates are recorded by the teacher.
  • A student is marked late when he/she logs on between 1 and 14 minutes of the scheduled group online meeting time.
  • There are no lates recorded for independent learning activity time, as this is the student’s choice about when to log on.
  • See note above re: when a late becomes a recorded absence.
Action for students with UNEXCUSED absences, i.e. absences without a valid reason
  • Students with1 real-time class absence/2 hourswill be invited to discuss their absenteeism and suggestions for improvement with their subject teacher. [Teacher to arrange meeting and document.]
  • Students who have2 real-time class absences/4 hourswill be invited to discuss the reasons for their absenteeism and strategies for improvement with the Principal. The class absences will be reviewed and the student will be advised that the course credit is in danger due to lack of regular attendance. [Principal to arrange meeting, document and notify the Guidance Counsellor. The Principal will contact the student’s parents and will report back to the teacher and the home school principal on the nature of the discussion at the student meeting.]
  • At3 real-time class absences/6 hours, the student will be warned in writing that he/she will be withdrawn from the course on the next unexcused absence.
  • At4 real-time class absences/8 hours, the student will be withdrawn from the course and will lose the opportunity to earn the credit.
Action for students with EXCUSED absences, i.e. due to illness, medical, bereavement or other documented reasons
  • Students with individual valid reasons for an absence will provide documentation to the teacher and Principal.
  • The Principal will contact and involve the student’s parent(s) as necessary.
Please note the Government of Canada regulations regarding study permits for foreign students: As of June 1, 2014, all secondary schools and post-secondary institutions in Canada will be required to report students who “misuse the [study] program” to the Canada Border Service Agency. “Students must enroll … and … pursue studies in Canada. Failure to do so could lead to removal from Canada.”

There are many people at WEIA to assist you in meeting the school’s and Ontario’s expectations for students. We care about you and want you to do well so that you can be prepared for post-secondary studies and life. Please let us know how we can help!

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY

WEIA takes very seriously academic integrity. Students’ understanding of expectations in this regard prepares them well for higher learning and life. WEIA expects students to work diligently and to give an honest effort to all assignments and assessment activities. The definitions below and consequences for plagiarism and cheating are explained carefully to all students by each teacher in every course. Further, each teacher takes time to thoroughly explain and provide examples of academic dishonesty that are particular to each course and curriculum area.

Plagiarism consists of, but is not limited to
  • misrepresenting another person’s or text’s work as your own,
  • having someone else complete the work for you,
  • using a text found on a Website or other source and cutting and pasting it in whole or in part into your assignment,
  • paraphrasing or summarizing information from a source without citation,
  • quoting sources without proper use of quotation marks,
  • translating works from other sources into English and submitting them as your own; and
  • using the intellectual property of another without acknowledging the source.
Course of Action for Incidents of Plagiarism
  • first offence: student/teacher discussion; a mark of zero will be recorded for the assignment
  • second offence: student/teacher discussion; a mark of zero will be recorded for the assignment; the principal will meet with the student; parents and the principal of the home school will be informed
  • third offence: the principal, in consultation with the teacher, may withdraw the student from the course, the principal of the home school and parent(s) will be informed
Cheating consists of, but is not limited to
  • making use of unauthorized notes, electronic or other aids during a test or exam;
  • copying from, or sharing information with another student during a test or exam;
  • giving unauthorized aid to another student such as allowing a peer to copy or use your test, exam, homework or paper; and
  • receiving extensive assistance with written assignments and presentations from a tutor, student, parent or other adult.
Course of Action for Incidents of Cheating
  • first offence on a test or assignment: student/teacher; a mark of zero will be recorded for the assessment piece
  • second offence on a test or assignment: student/teacher discussion; a mark of zero will be awarded; the principal will meet with the student; parents and the principal of the home school will be informed
  • third offence: the principal, in consultation with the teacher, may withdraw the student from the course; the principal of the home school and parent(s) will be informed
LATE ASSIGNMENT/MISSED ASSESSMENT POLICY

WEIA supports students in developing transferable skills that will serve them well in their high school and post-secondary school studies, and in the workplace. These include time management, project planning, the importance of meeting scheduled assignment timelines, and attendance at all scheduled assessment and evaluation activities. Teachers support students in this endeavour by clearly communicating expectations, publishing assessment dates and assignment due dates, and by providing check-in points along the way for major assignments and projects.

Late assignments: The teacher will first conference with the student to ascertain reasons for the past due assignment and with prior notice of the late assignment will negotiate with the student a new due date to take place within two days of the original due date. The teacher may, at his/her discretion, penalize the student 5% per day up to a maximum of 20% for the late assignment and/or prepare an alternate assignment for the student. After five days, the teacher may, at his/her discretion, refuse to accept the late assignment and record a mark of zero.

Missed tests and presentations: Students who miss a test or presentation with a valid reason will take the test or deliver the presentation during the first scheduled opportunity at their return to class. The teachers may, at his/her discretion prepare an alternate test. Students who are absent from a scheduled test or presentation without prior notice and/or without a valid reason will receive a mark of zero on the assessment piece.

Missed final evaluation: Students will miss a final oral or written evaluation will receive a mark of zero unless there is documentation on extenuating, valid medical or other circumstances that prevented the student from being in attendance at the scheduled time.

TESTIMONIALS

What Our Students Say