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 Final Examination.

A Verification of Illness (also known as a “doctor’s note”) is temporarily not required.

Students who are absent from academic participation for any reason (e.g., COVID-19, cold, flu and other illness or injury, family situation) and require consideration for missed academic work should report their absence through the online absence declaration. The declaration is available in ACORN under the Profile and Settings menu.

See the next question below for more on what to do if you are not feeling well.

A: Everyone with symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, difficulty breathing, etc.) should stay home, not work, self-isolate and complete a self-assessment using the UCheck web portal.

A number of dedicated assessment centres have been established across the Greater Toronto Region to facilitate assessment and testing. Information on locations is available on local public health websites, including Toronto and Peel Region. If you live in other regions you can find your local health unit online.

If you are advised by a public health authority that you have tested positive for COVID-19, please contact ehs.occhealth@utoronto.ca immediately.

The University’s Health & Wellness Centre has a medical clinic that is open to all U of T students and includes both general medical and mental health practitioners. 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.

A: The Faculty Committee on Examinations will review petitions in mid-January, and you’ll be alerted by email when your petition decision is ready to view online.

If you have not received that email alert, your petition has not yet been reviewed. Please keep this in mind when looking at grades on ACORN – there may be changes to your academic history depending on your petition outcome.

(For information regarding petitions for exams that were originally scheduled from December 16-21, please monitor your email and the Undergraduate FAQs.)

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 be 60% or higher to be in Clear academic standing. To figure out where you stand, use a Grades Assessment Chart (PDF) (or use the spreadsheet found in the First Year Hub). Learn more about how averages are calculated.

You can review this 2021-2022 Academic Regulations & the T-Program Information Sheet (PDF) for details on what to expect if your grades fall below the minimum requirements.

The Faculty's full promotion regulations are in the Academic Calendar, and we encourage you to talk to your Academic Advisor if you have concerns.

A: Final marks for fall session first-year courses will be posted on ACORN as they become available. The latest that grades are likely to be posted is January 7, however we hope that they will be available earlier than that date.

A: Unless otherwise informed by your instructor through Quercus, all meetings (lectures, tutorials and practicals) will start the week of January 10.

Repeat versions of Fall Term courses (APS164 [online APS110 equivalent], CIV100, MAT186, MAT188) will start the week of January 17.

As announced on December 15, 2021, Winter Term 2022 classes will start remotely, and undergraduate and graduate courses will plan to resume in-person classes on January 31, 2022.

We will continue to follow public health guidance closely in order to protect the health and safety of all members of the University community. Please check the Undergraduate FAQs for further information.

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 notice any problems with your timetable (e.g. a conflict with religious observances, Varsity athletics, an unmanageable stretch of classes in a row, or if you think you are missing a course, etc.) please complete a Timetable Change Request form. We will also consider timetable change requests from students who will normally be commuting one hour or more each way to campus.

Please submit your timetable change requests by January 12, 2022.

As announced on December 15, 2021, Winter Term 2022 classes will start remotely, and undergraduate and graduate courses will plan to resume in-person classes on January 31, 2022.

We will continue to follow public health guidance closely in order to protect the health and safety of all members of the University community. Please check the Undergraduate FAQs for further information.

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 through Live Chat or by phone for assistance.
• Or, you can email your advisor directly with your availability.

*All appointments will be held through MS Teams or by phone until further notice. 

A: If you receive an average of less than 60% for the fall term (note: APS100: Orientation to Engineering does not factor in to your average), 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 whether you have failed any courses (and if so, how many).

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 2021-2022 Academic Regulations & T-Program Information Sheet (PDF).

If your fall term average is less than 60%, you will need make an appointment with an academic advisor as soon as you have your grades in January to discuss your options.

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 session average between 50-60% and who have failed one or more courses are eligible for the T-Program. More information is in the 2021-2022 T-Program Information Sheet (PDF).

A: If you obtained 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 right away in January, and move one of your winter term courses to the summer. If this is the case for you, contact the First Year Office to have your timetable adjusted as soon as you have all of your fall grades.

Repeat versions of fall term courses (also called T-Program courses) will start the week of January 17 for those who need to repeat courses or who dropped a course during the fall term.

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 was November 25 to switch this course. If you missed the request form deadline, please email your Academic Advisor right away.

A: You can apply for an Internal U of T Transfer to be considered for admission to another Faculty/campus for September 2022. The deadline for the Faculty of Arts & Science is January 13, 2022 and we recommend you meet with your academic advisor about this as soon as possible.

A: Please visit U of T Student Accounts 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 an International Transition Advisor about any transition challenges or questions you might have, including what to expect from your first Canadian winter.

The First Year Advisor, Intercultural Learning & Experience, is also available to assist you with any academic and transition questions or concerns you may have.

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 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.