Attendance and class requirements

This unit has minimum attendance requirements that include on-campus mandatory classes, placement attendance and self-directed learning. Attendance records may be taken for mandatory classes and attendance at placement reported. Students are required to maintain an accurate log of their attendance for all categories of activity in Sonia timesheets according to the guidelines provided on the WIL Canvas site Occupational Therapy page. Failure to meet and accurately log minimum attendance requirements will prevent students satisfactorily completing the unit of study (grade of RI or AF).

Mandatory classes: Preparation and debriefing sessions

Attendance at preparation for placement briefing classes, and placement debriefing classes is mandatory. Students are responsible for following up appropriate actions when absence is absolutely unavoidable to ensure that minimum requirements to complete the unit of study are met.  

Note: These are interactive workshop and tutorial classes. Flexible attendance rules do not apply to these classes and due to the interactive and sometimes confidential nature of fieldwork-related discussions, recordings of an acceptable quality will not always be made.

Placement Attendance (40 hours/week for 8 weeks = 320 hours)

Students must attend placement every working day, five days per week, from the start date to the finish date of the placement notified in Sonia. Attendance is not required on public holidays.

Students are not entitled to accrue days off (i.e., ADO/RDO/SDO) or other time off when their supervisor is absent. Students must not arrange alternate placement dates without approval of their placement academic, including that students must notify their academic if working on a weekend day in lieu of a weekday.

Sites will advise students of the expected daily start and finish times, and students are to attend as requested, up to 40 working hours spread across five days per week (i.e., excluding breaks). Students attending slightly less than 40 working hours per week (e.g., a 35-hour working week) need to complete placement-related self-directed learning to attain the minimum hours, noting that with the permission of the site students are able to attend different (more) hours than their supervisors. Students with any concerns regarding their working roster should contact their placement academic.

Students are responsible for timely follow-up of appropriate actions when absences are absolutely unavoidable in order to ensure that minimum requirements to complete the unit of study are met.

Self-directed learning (including required, site-specific, preparation for placement)

It is expected that students will complete self-directed learning in specific preparation for the placement they have been allocated, which may or may not be directed by the site. Further guidelines for what is suggested and should be entered in this category in timesheets are noted in the timesheet guidelines on the WIL Canvas site Occupational Therapy page.

Missed hours, special arrangements and special considerations

·       ALL absences must be notified to the unit of study coordinator (classes and placement) and supervisor (placement only). Notification must be timely and should include the nature of the leave and the expected return. Students may be required to undertake alternative learning tasks within specific timeframes to demonstrate the attainment of learning outcomes.

·       Absences greater than 8 hours cumulative (including classes and placement) across the duration of the subject must be notified to the unit of study coordinator and accompanied by supporting documentation.

·       Absences greater than 24 hours cumulative (including classes and placement) across the duration of the subject must be notified to the unit of study coordinator AND accompanied by supporting documentation in an application for special arrangements (contact the unit of study coordinator for details).

·       Absences of greater than 40 hours cumulative (including classes and placement) across the duration of the subject will require a formal application for special consideration. Applications for special consideration for missed hours must be entered as “In-class assessment; Attendance”. The nature of fieldwork means that such circumstances are likely to require withdrawal from the subject to complete the entire subject at another time.