Academic concessions are a privilege, not a right, and are granted only by the Dean or designate.
Among the academic concessions that may be granted are:
- permission to withdraw from or drop a course after the normal deadlines
- Aegrotat standing
- Deferred standing
- withdrawal from the university
For further information, see the University's statement on Academic Concession. Note the difference in that section between "conflicting responsibilities" and "unforseen events".
Students who are absent for short periods of time or are unable to complete tests or other graded work because of short-term illness, or for other reasons, should normally discuss with their instructors how they can make up for missed work, according to written guidelines given them at the start of the course (see Grading Practices).
Students who do not agree with an instructor's decision have the right to request academic concession through the Science Advising. Students whose academic performance or attendance is severely affected by medical, emotional, or other problems must consult the Science Advising as soon as possible, and certainly before the end of an academic term, if they wish to request academic concession. Students absent from formal end-of-term examinations have the responsibility to request academic concession from the Science Advising. Students may not make arrangements directly with the instructor without the involvement of the Science Advising. Failure to follow appropriate procedures will normally result in the refusal of the Dean to grant an academic concession.
Students should be aware that academic concession is not granted automatically even with supporting documentation. Further, permission to rewrite an examination is not granted as an academic concession so students who have on-going health or emotional problems should consult the Science Advising, Student Health Services, or Student Counselling as appropriate before deciding to write examinations. Any student who has once been granted an academic concession should not assume they will be granted another.
Deferred standing may be granted by the Dean if the student has been fulfilling course expectations during the term and obliges the student to write the next scheduled final examination. If the student did not write and pass examinations, hand in assignments, successfully complete laboratories, or is in other ways not in good academic standing in the course, in the term, or in the session as a whole, then Deferred standing will not be granted.
In order to request academic concession, a student who is absent from any term-end examination must report to the Science Advising within 48 hours of the end of the examination. This rule holds no matter which faculty offers the course if the student is registered in the B.Sc. or B.C.S. degree. Untimely notification will not normally be accepted. Students will be required to complete a "Request for Academic Concession" form and provide the necessary supporting documentation, but should not delay in making the initial request if appropriate documentation is not readily available.
For science courses, the deferred examination will take one of the following forms:
a) Some science courses offered in Term 1 of Winter Session that are prerequisite to courses in Term 2 have scheduled deferred examinations in January. A student with Deferred standing in one of those courses is expected to write the January examination.
b) Some other science courses are offered again in the next term of the same Winter Session or in the following Summer Session, and writing the scheduled final examination for that course offering is normally the required means of fulfilling Deferred standing. Students are responsible for consulting their instructor or the department involved for the date of the next appropriate scheduled examination and the arrangements for writing it.
c) Some departments may instead require students to write a deferred examination scheduled by Enrolment Services in late July to early August for deferred examinations from the previous Winter Session or in November for deferred examinations from Summer Session courses. Once the student determines that the department favours this option, arrangements for the examination requires direct communication between the student with Deferred standing and Enrolment Services. Students are responsible for checking the email account they have registered on Workday for messages from Enrolment Services. Failure to do so will result in loss of the opportunity to write the deferred examination and, normally, failure in the course.
For courses offered by other Faculties, the student is responsible for checking with the department or instructor to determine which of the options above applies.
Students with Deferred standing who are obliged to write examinations at the end of the next term or in the following session should count unfinished courses in their workload and should not expect further academic concession if they are not able to fulfill their obligations.
Students granted Deferred standing in Winter Session courses must complete all outstanding course requirements by the following August 17. Students may not ask for a special sitting of an examination but must sit the examination at its scheduled time during the deferred examination period.
Students granted Deferred standing in Summer Session courses must complete all outstanding coursework by writing either the deferred examination scheduled by Enrolment Services in November or the scheduled term-end examination in the course in December. Those dates are the latest allowed but do not replace the special arrangements for some science courses described above.
If an examination is not written according to the guidelines above, the student's partial grade will stand as the final grade. Students who do not fulfill their obligations by writing the required deferred examination may submit a written appeal to the Science Advising within five days of the date of the missed examination. Extension of deferred standing is not automatic; documentation from a medical or counselling professional or from the Centre for Accessibility, if appropriate, may be required to support an appeal.