Faculty of Science: Deferred Examination Petitions FAQs

1. Under what circumstances would a student submit a deferred examination petition?

Students are expected to write the final examination for a course as scheduled by the
Examinations Office. A scheduled final examination represents a formal academic deadline for
learning and applying their knowledge of the course content within the term. Students are
expected to meet their academic responsibilities, even if they are not experiencing optimal
physical or mental wellness. Most students complete a degree without ever deferring a final
examination. Should a student: 1) not be available to write the examination at the scheduled time due to documentable extraordinary circumstances known in advance, or 2) miss a final examination due to documentable unforeseen extraordinary circumstances, the
student must appeal for deferred examination privileges.

Deferred examinations will be granted for legitimate, documentable extraordinary circumstances only, such as serious incapacitating illness or extraordinary personal or family circumstances (e.g., death of a close family member).

2. Will deferring a final examination influence my course registrations for the following term or my program progression?

A student who has not earned credit in a Faculty of Science course by end of the term due to
deferring the final examination may be de-registered from any course in the following term for
which the incomplete course is a pre-requisite. For example, a student who defers the final
examination in CP104, will be de-registered from CP164 in the following term.
Deferring a final examination may also delay a progression decision for continuing in your
program or graduation for a student in their last term of study.

3. To whom would a student submit a deferred examination petition?

Deferred examination petitions are submitted to the Faculty offering the course. Courses are
offered by the Faculty of Science on the Waterloo Campus, Brantford campus (BR sections)
and Milton Campus (MC, MV), including Virtual (VA, VH, VS) sections. Faculty of Science
offerings include the following course codes: AS, BI, CH, CP, CLIM, DATA, ES, GESC, GG,
GL, HE, HN, KP, MA, PARA, PC, *PS, SC, ST, UU150, WASC. Deferral petitions for courses
with these codes are submitted to the Faculty of Science Academic Advising Office through the
Faculty of Science Final Deferred Examination Appeal Form.
*Exception: Deferral petitions for Psychology (PS) courses offered at the Brantford campus
(BR sections). Deferral petitions for these PS courses are submitted to the Faculty of Human
and Social Sciences.

4. Is the Faculty of Science deferred examination petition available online?

The Faculty of Science Final Deferred Examination Appeal Form can be found online on the
https://students.wlu.ca/ website. Simply search for the phrase “deferred exams” or visit
https://students.wlu.ca/academics/exams/deferred-exams.html
A petition for a deferred examination (for unforeseen circumstances) must be submitted no later
than three business days after the scheduled date of the examination.

5. How would a student submit a deferred examination petition to another Waterloo campus Faculty (Arts, LSBE, Music)?

The online forms for courses offered by other Faculties are available on the deferred
examination webpage:
• Faculty of Arts Final Exam Deferral Petition Form
• Lazaridis School of Business and Economics Final Exam Petition form
• Faculty of Music Petition Form

6. I am a Waterloo campus student registered in a Brantford campus-based course (Faculty of Human and Social Sciences or Faculty of Liberal Arts). To whom would I submit a deferred examination petition?

A student submits a petition for a deferred examination to the Faculty offering the course.
The Faculty of Human and Social Sciences (Brantford Campus) manages multiple Waterloo
campus and virtual courses including those with the following codes: CC, HS, OL, PD. The
Faculty of Liberal Arts (Brantford Campus) manages multiple Waterloo campus and virtual
courses including those with the following codes: HR, ID, SOJE, UX, YC. Any course with a
“BR” section is also offered by a Brantford campus Faculty.
The petition forms for courses offered by Brantford campus Faculties are available online on the
Deferred Exams webpage:
• Faculty of Human and Social Sciences (Brantford) petition form
• Faculty of Liberal Arts petition form

7. I think that I may be unwell at the scheduled time of my upcoming examination. How soon in advance can I submit the deferral form?

Students are expected to meet their academic responsibilities, even if they are not experiencing
optimal physical or mental wellness. Deferral appeals based on medical grounds will not
be accepted prior to the scheduled time of the examination, as a student cannot be certain
that they will be medically incapacitated at the scheduled time of the examination. We are
unable to provide verbal or written assurances prior to the scheduled time of the examination
that your deferral appeal will be granted as the form will take multiple days to be processed. If
you are medically incapacitated at the time of the scheduled examination, not just
experiencing minor symptoms, it is presumed that you cannot attend the scheduled
examination. If an examination is missed due to medical grounds, the deferral appeal must be
submitted no later than three business days after the scheduled date of the examination.
Delayed filing may result in a denial of your appeal.

8. I have two examinations scheduled at the same time. How do I re-schedule one of these examinations?

If a student has a final examination scheduling conflict (i.e., two examinations scheduled at the
same time) the student must complete the appropriate campus-based form: the Waterloo Final
Exam Conflict Form or the Brantford Final Exam Conflict Form or the Milton Final Exam Conflict
Form) to have one of the examinations re-scheduled by the Examinations Office
(finalexams@wlu.ca).
If a student will be taking examinations administered by Accessible Learning (AL), the student
must contact AL directly to have examinations re-scheduled.

9. My examinations are scheduled close together. Is it possible to defer one, or more, to a later date?

Based on university regulations, students are not normally required to fully complete more than
two final examinations within a 24-hour period. To receive relief under this regulation, the third
"offending" examination must start and finish within 24 hours of the beginning of the first
examination. For example, you will not receive relief under this regulation when your
examinations begin at 3:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on one day, and 3:30 p.m. on the following day.

If the second course in the sequence of exams is a Faculty of Science course, submit a petition for a deferred exam through the Faculty of Science Final Examination Form.

Submit the form ideally prior to the start of the examination period, but no later than three business days before the first of the three final examinations is scheduled. No other examination scheduling / load concerns will be favourably considered by the Faculty of Science.

10. I am a Laurier student who is cross-registered for a course at UW and their course examination conflicts with one of my Laurier examinations. How do I re-schedule one of these examinations?

Examination scheduling conflicts involving cross-registered courses will be resolved at Laurier
(i.e., the home university). The student must contact the Examinations Office directly
(finalexams@wlu.ca) to have one of the examinations re-scheduled.

11. I am cross-registered for a course at UW and I need to appeal for a deferred examination for documentable extraordinary circumstances. How do I defer the examination?

Appeals for deferred examination privileges must be submitted to UW (i.e., the host university).

12. Is there a fee for a deferred examination?

The standard non-refundable deferred examination fee (approximately $70 will be charged to
your WLU student account for each deferred examination.