Office of the Registrar
University Regulations (2015/2016)
6.8 Examinations
6.8.1 Scheduling of Examinations
  1. No laboratory examinations totalling more than one laboratory period in length shall be given in any laboratory course in any week during a lecturing period in any semester or session. Such examinations shall be administered in the laboratory time period assigned for that course section. The application of this clause in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and the Faculty of Medicine is subject to interpretation by the appropriate committee on undergraduate studies. The Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies may grant a waiver of this clause for laboratory examinations in individual courses in a given term upon recommendation of the appropriate committee on undergraduate studies. Such waivers will be considered only if it can be shown that such laboratory examinations do not conflict with regularly scheduled sessions of another course for any student involved.

  2. Any other examinations shall not extend beyond the class period assigned to that course section in any week during a lecturing period in any semester or session. The application of this clause in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and the Faculty of Medicine is subject to interpretation by the appropriate committee on undergraduate studies. The Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies may grant a waiver of this clause for examinations in individual courses in a given term upon recommendation of the appropriate committee on undergraduate studies. Such waivers will be considered only if it can be shown that such examinations do not conflict with regularly scheduled sessions of another course for any student involved.

  3. During the last two weeks of the lecturing period in any semester or the last week of the lecturing period in any session, no examinations or assignments, whether in-class or take home, shall be administered or assigned. However, assignments of which students have been notified under Evaluation may be submitted and oral and laboratory examinations may be administered. The appropriate faculty or school undergraduate studies committee may, upon the recommendation of the head of an academic unit, grant a waiver of this clause with the proviso that the total value of all examinations or assignments thereby permitted in a course shall not exceed 20% of the final mark in that course. Such waivers will be considered only in exceptional circumstances or in the case of particular courses where it can be shown that the nature of the course determines the need for evaluation during the normally prohibited period. In the latter case, students must be notified of the method of evaluation in accordance with Evaluation. At the end of each semester, the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies must be notified of waivers granted. Courses taught outside the regular time-frame are exempt from the application of this regulation.

  4. No examinations of any nature shall be held between the last day of lectures and the start of the formal examination period in any semester or session. The application of this clause to the Faculty of Education (with respect to accelerated courses), the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation (with respect to accelerated courses and courses offered outside the normal time frame during the Spring semester) and the School of Nursing is subject to interpretation by the appropriate committee on undergraduate studies.

  5. In the event of an officially declared emergency which results in the cancellation or interruption of in-class examinations or tests previously scheduled and notified to be held in the final class period of the third last week of lectures of a semester or the second last week of lectures of a session, teaching units may reschedule such examinations or tests in the next regularly scheduled class or as early as possible in the second last week of lectures of a semester or the last week of lectures of a session. In no circumstances can the rescheduled examinations or tests be held in the last week of lectures of a semester.

6.8.2 Scheduling of Final Examinations
  1. Final examinations, if any, whether of the normal two-hour duration or longer, shall be held in each course at the end of the semester during which it was given in accordance with the schedule of examinations published by the Office of the Registrar. The application of this clause to the Bachelor of Education (Intermediate/Secondary) and all degree programs offered by the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation is subject to interpretation by the appropriate committee on undergraduate studies.

  2. Normally, course sections offered during the day will have their final examinations, if any, scheduled in the day, and course sections offered in the evening will have their final examinations, if any, scheduled in the evening. When a student is unable for good reason to write a final examination scheduled outside the provisions of this clause, the student will be entitled to write a deferred examination. For further information refer to Exemptions From Final Examinations and Procedures for Applying to Write Deferred Examinations.

  3. When an academic unit determines that there will be a common final examination for day and evening sections of a course, students must be so informed in the explanation of the method of evaluation for the course and prior to the end of the registration period.

  4. Where possible, academic units should inform the Office of the Registrar when they submit their class schedules if it is anticipated that a common final examination will be required for day and evening sections of a course, so that this information can be publicized in the class schedule for the appropriate semester. Academic units should indicate whether the examination is to be held during the day or the evening.

6.8.3 Exemptions From Final Examinations and Procedures for Applying to Write Deferred Examinations
  1. A student who is prevented from writing a final examination by illness or bereavement or other acceptable cause, duly authenticated in writing, may apply, with supporting documents, to have the course graded or have the final examination deferred. This application must be made within one week of the original date of the examination to the head of the appropriate academic unit.

  2. The decision regarding the request of the student to have a course graded or have the final examination deferred, including information on the appeals route open to the student in the case of a negative decision, must be communicated in writing to the student and to the Registrar within one week of the receipt of the student's complete application. For further information refer to Appeal of Decisions.

  3. In those cases where the academic unit accepts the extenuating circumstances the student may be permitted to write a deferred examination or, with the consent of both the academic unit and the student, the grade submitted may be based on term work alone. An interim grade of ABS will be assigned by the academic unit in the case of a student granted a deferred examination. This grade will be replaced by the final grade which must be received by the Registrar within one week following the start of classes in the next academic semester or session. In the event that a numeric grade has not been received by the Registrar by this deadline the ABS shall be changed to the letter grade F with a numeric grade 0%.

  4. A student who is prevented from writing a deferred examination by illness, bereavement, or other acceptable cause, duly authenticated in writing, may apply, with supporting documents, to the head of the appropriate academic unit to have the deferred examination further deferred. This application must be submitted within one week of the scheduled date of the deferred examination. The examination will be postponed to a time not later than the last date for examinations in the semester following that in which the student was enrolled in the course. In the event that a numeric grade has not been received by the Registrar by this new deadline the ABS shall be changed to the letter grade F with a numeric grade 0%.

6.8.4 Access to Final Examination Scripts
  1. A student has a right to see his or her final examination script. However, the script is the property of the University and the University retains full possession and control of the script at all times. This regulation upholds the authority and judgement of the examiner in evaluation.

  2. To access a final examination script, a student must make a written request to the head of the academic unit in which a course is offered. This request is subject to the following conditions:

    • Any such request must be made following release of examination results for the semester in which the course was taken and within one month of the official release of grades by the University.

    • The final examination script must be viewed in the presence of the course instructor or other person delegated by the head of the academic unit. Both the instructor and the student have the right to be accompanied by a registered student or a member of the faculty or staff of the University.

    • The final examination script must not be taken away or tampered with in any way.

6.8.5 Rereading of Final Examination Scripts
  1. A student may apply to have a final examination script reread whether or not he or she has obtained a passing grade in that course.

  2. A student who wishes to have a final examination script reread must make application in writing to the Office of the Registrar within one month of the official release of grades by the University. When a rereading is requested, the University will make every reasonable attempt to have the rereading conducted by a faculty member(s) other than the original marker(s). Students are advised to refer to relevant academic units for policies and procedures governing re-reads of examinations.

  3. An appropriate fee per course must be paid at the time of application. For further information refer to Fees and Charges - Reread of Final Examination Fee. If the final numeric grade is raised after rereading, the fee is refunded. If the final numeric grade is unchanged or lowered, the fee is forfeited.