Petition Type: Deferred Exams

Deferred Exams

If you are not able to write your final exam (in person or online) at the scheduled time or if you miss a final exam for reasons outside your control, you may submit a deferred exam petition, which is a request to write your exam at a later time. 

You can submit this petition in advance of the final exam if you know you will have to miss the exam, or soon after the final exam. It is important that your request to defer your final exam is due to reasons outside of your control, as not all situations are valid reasons to miss a final exam. For example, personal travel plans are not a valid reason, and you should take care to book any travel outside of the scheduled exam period. However, if you know in advance that you will be unavailable for a particular exam due to a scheduled surgery, you can submit the petition in advance of your exam. 

When a deferred exam petition is granted, your academic record in ACORN will show a standing deferred (SDF) notation for that course until your exam marks have been uploaded. 

Deadline to Submit a Deferred Exam Petition

Arts & Science courses: The deadline to submit a deferred exam petition is usually five business days after the end of the final exam period. Check the Academic Dates & Deadlines page for other petition deadlines. 

UTM and UTSC courses: The deadline to submit a deferred exam petition and supporting documentation for courses at UTM is 72 hours, and UTSC is 5 business days after the missed exam. Please review relevant divisional websites for more information.

The deadline to submit any supporting documentation is three weeks from when you initiate your petition with your College Registrar’s office.

You are encouraged to submit your petition and supporting documentation as soon as possible without delay. 

Personal Statement for Deferred Exam Petitions

In addition to the recommendations listed in Preparing a Petition, your personal statement should explain what circumstances caused you to miss or will cause you to miss the final exam. It should describe what happened to prevent you from writing the exam or it should clearly explain what unavoidable situation you have planned.

Try to answer these questions in your deferred exam statement:

• Did you seek help from your advisor or another staff member regarding the circumstances you experienced or are experiencing around the time of the exam? If not, why not? If so, what happened?
• If the date of the supporting documentation does not match up with the time of absence, explain why. For example, if you are seeking to defer an exam in August but your Verification of Illness or Injury (VOI) form shows that you were absent in July, explain why you do not have documentation dated in August.

Deferred Exam Fees

The fee to defer an exam is $70 per course, up to a maximum of $140 per session (for two or more courses). You should pay the fee as soon as possible, as you will not be allowed to write your deferred exam until you have paid the deferred exam fee.

Important reminders:

• You may not be able to write your deferred exam if you miss the payment by the deadline listed below.
• Failure to meet a payment deadline is not considered a valid reason to re-defer an exam. 
• If you are graduating in the Fall or Spring, please make your payment as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please contact your College Registrar’s Office.
• If you are deferring an exam due to a disability and are registered with Accessibility Services, your fee may be waived. The deferred exam fees is also waived for religious accommodations.