Your First Year: Frequently Asked Questions

A: Sometimes, things don’t go as planned. If something unexpected and beyond your control prevents you from fulfilling your academic responsibilities, you can file a Petition for Term Work.

We continue to ask members of our community to please remain home if they are ill. Individuals can take the Provincial Self-Assessment to determine what to do next. If you are unable to attend class or complete an assessment due to an illness, you must report your absence through the Student Absence Declaration Tool on ACORN.

A: To pass an individual course, you need 50% in that course. However, at U of T Engineering we also review students’ weighted session average at the end of every semester, and this average should ideally be 60% or higher.

You can read the full promotion regulations in the Academic Calendar, and talk to your Academic Advisor if you have concerns. Learn more about how averages are calculated.

For more information you can also review the 2022-2023 Academic Regulations & the T-Program Information Sheet (PDF).

If you have any questions, please connect with the First Year Office.

A: If you receive a session average of less than 60%, you will be placed on academic probation. There are several different scenarios for students on probation, so your status will depend upon what your average is, and your previous status at the start of the term.

The full details about probation and the promotion regulations are contained in the Academic Calendar (under “Academic Regulations,” “Promotion Regulations”), and are also explained in the 2022-2023 Academic Regulations & the T-Program Information Sheet (PDF).

If you have questions about probation or your academic standing, please make an appointment with an academic advisor.

A: The T-Program, or Transition Program, allows first-year students who have struggled in the Fall term to repeat up to three fall courses during the Winter term and defer up to three courses to the Summer term in order to obtain credit for their fall courses and proceed to the second year on schedule with their classmates.

Students with a Fall term average between 50-60% and who have failed one or more courses are eligible for the T-Program. More information is in the 2022-2023 Academic Regulations & the T-Program Information Sheet (PDF).

A: If you obtain a mark of less than 50% in one of your courses, you need to retake the course when it is next offered. Usually, this means you will take the course in the summer F (May-June) session. If you are concerned that this might be the case for you, visit the First Year Office to meet with an Academic Advisor; often, there are resources and options that might make it possible to avoid such a situation.

A: There are a few ways to make an appointment with your advisor!

• Use our online booking system through the Engineering Student Portal.
• If you have any difficulty booking online, or you have an urgent inquiry and would like to see if a same-day appointment is available, you can also contact the First Year Office in person or by phone for assistance.

A: Many first-year courses are offered during the summer F (May-June) semester, so this might be a good option for you. Students can defer up to three courses to the summer term. Please make an appointment with your Academic Advisor to talk about your options.

The deadline to drop a course without academic penalty in the winter semester is March 19, 2023.

A: Summer courses carry their own per-course tuition charges on top of your fall/winter fees; summer tuition amounts will be posted to the Student Accounts website. Summer courses are generally offered in-person only. Please speak with the First Year Office if you have questions or concerns about summer courses.

A: Unfortunately, we are not able to change first-year students’ timetables to accommodate personal preferences, as we must ensure that all students fit into their required class sections.

It’s also our aim to spread out enrolment numbers over all the sections as much as possible. The timetables students receive are the result of this balance, which, unfortunately, does not allow for personal schedule preferences.

However, if you have a conflict of a medical, religious, Varsity athletic, or other important nature you may submit a timetable change request to the First Year Office; the deadline to do so was January 20, 2023; please speak to the First Year Office if you have questions or concerns about your timetable.

A: You can request a transfer to a different Core 8 engineering program at the end of your first year. In most cases, you will not have to take additional courses. However, those students who wish to switch from a Core 8 program into Electrical or Computer Engineering must take the APS105H1: Computer Fundamentals course (C Programming) instead of the regularly-scheduled APS106H1: Fundamentals of Computer Programming (Python) in the winter semester.

The deadline to request this programming course switch was November 25. If you missed this deadline, please contact the First Year Office right away.

Note that program transfers are not always guaranteed, and some programs may not be able to accommodate requests from students who do not have averages in the guaranteed ranges; please review the transfer information page for further details.

A: You can apply for an Internal U of T Transfer to be considered for admission to another Faculty/campus. However, deadlines for this type of transfer can be surprisingly early, and engineering grades may be taken into consideration when determining your eligibility; we recommend you meet with your academic advisor about this as soon as possible if you are considering this option.

The deadline to request internal transfer consideration for most U of T Faculties/campuses for September 2023 was January 12, 2023.

A: Please visit U of T Student Accounts website for detailed information. Tuition invoices are posted to your ACORN account.

In our experience, for students within Canada, the easiest way to pay is an online bank payment. Your account number with U of T is on your invoice in the "Financial Account" section of your ACORN account. U of T does not mail invoices.

A: For information regarding on and off-campus housing, please visit the U of T Housing Services website.

A: The University of Toronto’s Centre for International Experience (CIE) has some great resources on their website and also hold occasional “Winter 101” workshops. Check their website for more details.

You can also meet with your First Year Advisor, Intercultural Learning & Experience in the First Year Office, or an International Transition Advisor from the CIE to discuss challenges or questions you may have, including what to expect from your first Canadian winter.

A: The University’s Health & Wellness Centre has a medical clinic that is open by appointment to all U of T students and includes both general medical and mental health practitioners (Book an appointment by calling 416-978-8030). They also offer a range of wellness workshops and online information.

Full-time students have extended health coverage through the University of Toronto Student Union (UTSU) for prescriptions, dental care, psychological services, and other benefits. For international students, visit CIE’s web page on health coverage.

Students also have access to a range of mental health supports, including the 24/7, multi-lingual My SSP counselling service. More about mental health and wellness at U of T Engineering.

A: Yes, included in your tuition fees is health and dental coverage. For domestic students, visit the University of Toronto Student Union (UTSU) website for more details. For international students, visit CIE’s web page on health coverage.

A: Academic accommodations are provided when students experience disability-related barriers that prohibit demonstration of their knowledge and skills.

These accommodations are provided through Accessibility Services, which facilitates the inclusion of students with a wide range of disabilities into all aspects of university life.

If you are a student with a disability (including chronic or mental health conditions, sensory or physical disabilities, ADHD or ASD spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, concussion or brain injuries or temporary physical disabilities), and/or had academic accommodations in high school (e.g., extra test time, note-taking assistance, alternative-format textbooks), you may be eligible for similar support through this service.

We encourage you to register as early as possible with Accessibility Services to ensure you can access academic accommodations in a timely fashion if you need them.