Attendance Policy

This is a skill development program in which your attendance and participation is necessary for your success in the program. There is a strong correlation between students who attend classes, clinics, and off-sites, and their grades in both their academic and skill courses. Those who attend and participate tend to do better in the program and are successful in its completion, as originally scheduled.

A student should not be of the opinion, that because a course fee has been paid, that the student has an option of attending classes or completing assignments.

The Academy must strive to maintain student equity for its issued policies and the absence from class in a skill development program is not conducive to the evolution of that skill to the necessary standard.

All scheduled class or on-site/off-site hours and all supervised clinic hours must be attended as scheduled. Attendance will be recorded for each class, clinic, on-site or off-site, and submitted to the Academy Administration Office for recording

It is the expectation that the student will actively participate and complete his/her responsibilities to attend the full program as presented and as such the Academy encourages its students to attend 100% of the scheduled program.

Attendance may be taken at anytime during the class or off-site activity and may be taken more than once if the class or event exceeds 2 hours.

If a student misses 28 consecutive calendar days they will automatically be withdrawn from the massage therapy/acupuncture program and can only be readmitted to the following program of study.

In the case of OSAP students, the NSLSC will be advised of the withdrawal.

If you are absent for any classes, speak with the Faculty member so that you can learn firsthand what was taught during that class. If you miss more than 2 days, please speak to the Program Director for remedial guidance.

What happens if I miss a class?

For 22-24 hour academic subjects the participation grade reduction will be:

for each subject hour missed –

• A 1% deduction from the student’s final semester grade to a maximum of 6%.

Example:

Additionally, as explained further along in the policy, if you miss more than the allowable hours for a subject without a medical note presented upon return to the Academy) you will not be able to write the semester examination.

What happens if I arrive late or leave early?

Students will also be marked “Late” or “Left Early”

Late/Left Early (L/LE): The participation grade will not cause a student to fail, but it can reduce the grade achieved, to become the benchmark passing grade of 70%.

The following mark reductions to the final semester grade are as follows:

The L/E occurrences are accumulative for a subject in the same semester.

• Every 3 L/LE when it is less than 0.5 hour  =  1 % deduction                  
• Each L/LE from 0.5 to less than 2.0 hours at anytime = 1 % deduction    
• L/LE from 2.0 to less than 4.0 hours at anytime = 3 % deduction
• Leaving a class during its presentation for more than 5 minutes, will be recorded towards your missed hours.

• A student may not always be granted entry to a class by the teacher, if they are late. Faculty have the right to lock the classroom door in order not to disrupt the flow of teaching to the class. The student may enter at the next class break. This also applies to returning to a class after a break period.

Is there a difference between Academic Subjects and Events/Clinics involving the public?

Yes.

Student Public Wellness Clinics and Community/Sports Off-sites/Treatments Off-sites
Missing hours and personal commitments made for public wellness clinic participation, treatment class off-sites, community events or sports related off-sites, impacts the public and a student’s peers.

 In the event a student does not make prior arrangements for a replacement or does not advise the Program Director of a pending absence within a reasonable time to locate a replacement student, then for each clinic on-site or off-site event, a 10% reduction in the final grade will be applied. These grades cannot be earned back.

Not showing up to a committed off-site or public clinic is treated seriously, as such, an occurrence is an indication that the student does not realize the needed commitment to their professional responsibility for their future clients. It remains the situation that complaints are made by the public, to the CMTO, because the practitioner did not show up for the appointment or did not notify the client of a cancellation.

The student must still make up the missed public clinic/event hours on the basis set out by the Program Director, without exception, prior to the end of the last month of the program and prior to the final Oral Practical examination and written finals.

• The designated hours for hands-on ‘on-site or off-site’ clinical/activities cannot be reduced but may be exceeded by the student.
• This is a skill development program, so it is a student’s best interest for their future career and their ability to treat their clients, to the best of their ability. Developing this skill requires a committed practice of your skills, as this is the foundation of your future career.

A student must have completed 100% of supervised public wellness clinical hours in to order to undertake the final oral practical examination conducted at the end of the program. There is no exception to this policy.

• If the student does not undertake the final OP as scheduled, the format of the OP will be changed and the student will be assessed a $160. fee, at the time they take the OP
• If a student is required to redo or re-take an oral practical test during the semester there is an admin fee of $35. per OP…they are not rewrites. Retakes of a formal oral practical examination are $50 per station up to a maximum of 3 stations.

Supervised Skill Application Hours-Minimum Requirement for Recommendation to the CMTO

• A student must participate in a minimum of 414 hours of clinical practice, out-reach/off-site public days, and scheduled on-site practice, in order to be recommended for the Academy’s final examinations and for the CMTO Provincial examinations. If the hands-on skill hours are not completed the Academy cannot recommend the student to the CMTO.

Best Guidance: Respect your Client, Respect your peers and Meet your commitments.

How does missing classes affect my ability to take semester, comprehensive and final program examinations?

• Important: Examination Eligibility
• It may prevent you from undertaking the examination.

What happens if I miss a number of classes in the same subject?

As stated in the Student Agreement, there is a maximum number of hours a student can miss before he/she is ineligible to write the semester examination.

A student will become ineligible to write academic or oral practical, semester or final, examinations for a subject, if he/she has missed the following number of hours for the subject/clinic.

What does this mean in real terms?

e.g. If a student misses 6.5 hours of a subject such as, Pharmacology (a 24 hr. 1 credit subject), he/she is not eligible to undertake the semester examination and must retake the subject, the next time it is offered. This may mean a 6-month delay in graduation for that student.

This may also impact your relations and conditions with funding by 3^rd parties such as OSAP.

Let’s say I have missed 8 hours in a 22-24 hour subject? Under this policy I would not be allowed to write the semester final, is this correct?

Yes. You would score ‘0” on your semester final examination since you would be ineligible to write it.

• A student cannot exceed the maximum number of missed hours. Note – medical documentation for an extended absence or repetitive absences has to be approved by the Education Committee. Medical notes must be provided within 2 days of returning to the Academy or they will not be accepted.
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What happens if I am ill and miss a class?

If a student is ill and provides a medical note or if there is a bereavement in the family, or if the student has tested COVID positive, then the Academy does not apply the loss of hours to the student but it would expect the student to contact the appropriate faculty member, to ensure they have explored what was taught in the class. A student should identify the 5 principal learning points in the missed class and read their class notes and textbook.

Short absences within this category will not cause a student to become ineligible to undertake the semester examinations. Absences due to being quarantined or taking COVID tests are counted as Medical absences. Proof of a negative test is required to re-enter.

Academic/ Theory Class Exceptions: It is acknowledged that a student may miss hours due to unforeseen occurrences. Any combined absence longer than 5 days in a semester will require the review and approval of the Education Committee to provide a remedial plan and to assess the student’s eligibility for writing the semester examinations. Requests for absence due to vacation will not be entertained.

• Doctor’s Certificate

A Doctor’s certificate is required for more than 2 days of absence.

• Bereavement-up to 3 days

In either of the foregoing situations, the student will need to meet with the RMT Program Director and receive assignments related to the material missed, for completion and subsequent signoff by the Program Director.

Can I not just do recorded personal study at the Academy to make up missed hours?

• Make-up of hours by recorded personal study is reserved for exceptional situations which may arise such as medical, bereavement, unplanned family issues or advanced standing students.
• Such a plan requires the prior approval of the Program Director.
• On-site recorded personal study hours are intended to be used for your participation in the exemplary participation award program.