Instructor Guide
- Mirko Vucicevich
Accessing Records
By logging in to absence.uwaterloo.ca (vif.uwaterloo.ca) instructors should automatically be able to access all records relevant to them for the last 2 terms displayed as a calendar:
Instructors who only see a You Shouldn’t Be Here message upon logging into the website have no records for their courses within the last 2 terms!
If you’re aware of some absences that you’re not able to see, reach out to your undergraduate office to ensure your user ID is correctly tied to your courses in Quest
The line items in each calendar day indicate the number of students with an approved absence for a given section they teach.
To browse records for a specific day, instructors can either click on a day to view all absences that span that day, or click on a section to filter only records on that specific day for the specific record in question.
Note that if a students is in multiple sections that you teach, their absence will show up separately for each section.
Record Types
Records can currently be one of several different categories:
VIF - Verification of Illness Form: A formal Doctor’s note has been submitted and subsequently vetted and approved by unit administrators
EC - Extenuating Circumstance: A non-illness reason has been submitted with documentation, then vetted and approved by unit administrators
ST - Short Term: Undergraduate students are granted a once-per term self-declarable absence up to 2 days*
SD - Self Declared: This covers COVID and other self-declared Flu-like symptoms that the university honours*
RL - Religious/Creed: Absences due to religious or creed observances*
OTHER: A special case has been made for the absence. This is rarely used, but you may need to reach out to administrators if no details are given for a record.
More information on Short Term / Self-Declared / Religious absences can be found here: Undergraduate student short-term absences | The Centre | University of Waterloo. These records are automatically imported 3 times per day on weekdays.
Requesting Access to Records
Cases may arise where you need access to a record:
More than 2 terms back
For a course where you aren’t the “Instructor of Record”
That you should have access to but don’t
Contact the undergraduate office of your faculty or school to get assistance, as access policy may differ between units.
Requesting Continuing Access for Specific Courses
In some cases it may be necessary for access to be granted for all records in a specific set of courses for a term. For example:
A lab coordinator who isn’t the Instructor of Record for the lab
ISCs managing a group of courses
Admins within your undergraduate office can configure rules which will make the software treat a user as an additional instructor for a set of courses for the span of 1 term. Ensure you provide:
Your watiam username (eg. mvucicev)
Every course section that needs to be covered
The reason access is required
Administrators within your unit will follow unit policy when granting access.