Final Exam Petitions
Final exam petitions are formal requests for an exception to a Faculty or University rule, regulation, or deadline related to final exams or final assessments scheduled during the final exam period.
Students are expected to attend and write their final exams. If an extenuating circumstance occurs during the final exam period, students may submit a petition for consideration. Final exam petitions must be submitted within 7 days of the missed exam, accompanied by timely documentation.
Petitions that arise from a failure to prioritize academic responsibilities, as well as petitions without timely submission and proper documentation, will not be considered. The Faculty's rules and regulations are published in the Academic Calendar.
Important Notes:
- Final exam petitions must be submitted with documentation within seven days of the missed exam.
- Petitions require timely supporting documentation. The Verification of Illness form must be submitted for medical circumstances and acquired during the time of illness.
- New Deferred Exam Policy: Final exam petition accommodations are now, by default, deferred exams. Review further information about final exam petition decisions and deferred exams.
Types of Extenuating Circumstances
Students are expected to make every effort to complete term work and final exams. However, the university understands that sometimes, things do not go as planned.
Some examples of reasons you may consider submitting a petition:
- Medical circumstances (severe personal illness or injury)
- Illness or death of a close family member
- Personal or family emergency
Academic Advising
- Academic Advisors support students by clarifying the Faculty's rules and regulations. Students should reach out at the first sign of a problem that could impact their studies.
- If you are having difficulty with a course, you are encouraged to speak with your instructor. However, if your difficulties continue or if it's outside the scope of what your professor can assist with, please reach out to your Academic Advisor.
- Academic Advisors can also refer students to services that may assist with academic, personal or financial difficulties.
How to Submit a Final Exam Petition
Step 1. Acquire Documentation
Students must acquire documentation in a timely manner and submit it within seven days of the impacted exam.
Medical Documentation:
- U of T Verification of Illness or Injury (VOI) Form is the only official method to document and verify an illness or injury. The VOI form informs the Faculty on how this affected a student’s ability to fulfill their academic obligations and the time involved. The Faculty takes the severity, duration and date of the illness into consideration when making a decision regarding a petition.
- The VOI form must be completed by a medical practitioner: physician, surgeon, nurse, dentist, pharmacist, psychotherapist, psychologist or social worker. Practitioners must be licensed in Ontario or hold an equivalent license in another Canadian province or territory. The Faculty may verify the form with the medical practitioner.
- If you are experiencing a medical circumstance, it is important to see a licensed health care practitioner as soon as possible. Students must have the form completed during the time of illness or injury. Forms completed afterward, including those in which a student informs a medical practitioner after the fact, are typically insufficient. VOIs signed after the impact of an acute illness will not be accepted.
- The Faculty does not accept “doctor’s notes”; students must submit the VOI form. Except in rare cases (such as becoming ill while out of the country), it is expected that the VOI be signed by a medical professional in Canada.
- It is inappropriate to upload photographs of injury or illness or to describe symptoms in an explicit manner to support a petition. Students are not permitted to upload these personal images, and doing so may result in the denial of the petition due to inappropriate or insufficient documentation.
Non-Medical Documentation:
- For non-medical emergencies, students may submit documentation with the writer’s official letterhead, including contact information and an official stamp (if available).
- Some examples include:
- A death certificate or funeral notice
- A police accident report
- A letter from an academic lead or employer
- A travel ticket, itinerary and/or email confirming the date of booking (only essential travel is eligible)
Step 2. Submit the Petition Within 7 Days of the Exam
Final examination petitions are submitted through the Engineering Portal.
- Submit within seven days of the impacted exam.
- Include proper supporting documentation. Documentation must be acquired during the time of impact.
- Late submissions and submissions without proper documentation will not be considered.
Non-Engineering Exams
Petitions go through the Faculty that you are registered in. Engineering students who wish to petition an Arts & Science final exam, must submit this through the Engineering Portal. All final exam petitions have a deadline of seven days from the missed exam and must include supporting documentation.
Engineering students should reach out to the U of T Engineering Registrar's Office for any concerns.
Assessed Mark
Assessed final exam marks are determined based on a faculty-approved formula that considers a student's closely supervised term work (e.g., midterms, in-person tests, etc.) and the class average in the course. The assessed mark is used to calculate the student's final course grade.
Assessed final exam marks are not the default remedy for final exam petitions. They may be granted when all the following conditions are met:
- The instructor has indicated that an assessed mark is acceptable in the course syllabus.
- The student has not previously received assessed marks in a maximum of two terms with a maximum of two courses assessed in each of the two terms during the entire duration of their undergraduate studies. Student may only receive a maximum of four assessed grades over the entire duration of their studies.
- The student has completed at least 85% of closely supervised term work. This is to ensure that the student has achieved sufficient mastery of almost the entire course material during the semester.
- The student has achieved a grade of at least 60% in the closely supervised term work.
- The closely supervised component of the term work is worth at least 30% of the final grade.
Aegrotat Standing (AEG)
Aegrotat standing (AEG) is granted in very rare cases based on a review of the student’s term work and the reason for the petition. On approval of a student's petition, the UAC may grant aegrotat standing, which carries credit for the course, but is not considered for averaging purposes. Aegrotat standing is a substitute for assigning an assessed mark; it is considered when three or more final examinations were missed or extraordinarily impacted, and the student was clearly passing the course.
Appeals
If your petition is denied, you have thirty days to submit an appeal to the Faculty. Appeals should include additional documentation and/or information that was not submitted with the original petition.
If you are considering appealing a petition decision, speak to your Academic Advisor and review the appeal process. Appeals take up to 90 business days from appeal submission to be resolved.