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: Effective September 1, 2024, the deadline to submit a deferred exam petition and supporting documents is three business days after the date of the exam. Check the Academic Dates & Deadlines page for other petition deadlines. 

UTM and UTSC courses: Effective September 1, 2024, the deadline to submit a deferred exam petition and supporting documentation for courses at UTM is 72 hours, and UTSC is three business days after the date of the missed exam. Please review relevant divisional websites for more information.

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 $73.50 per course (effective May 1, 2024), up to a maximum of $147 (effective May 1, 2024) 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. To pay your fees, follow the instructions noted in the petition decision letter you receive.

Important reminders:

• You will 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 planning to graduate during Fall or Spring Convocation and you submit a petition within four months prior to the graduation ceremony, you should be aware that while the Faculty of Arts & Science makes every effort to process and implement petitions and appeals to allow you to graduate as planned, delays may occur. Students submitting a petition within this four-month timeframe should be prepared to postpone graduation to the next Convocation period if their petition or appeal cannot be resolved before the final deadline for the Office of the Faculty Registrar to confirm students' eligibility to graduate. 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 are also waived for religious accommodations.