It’s 2 a.m. and I’ve been throwing up for hours. There’s no way I can write my final exam later today. What do I do?
A step-by-step guide for requesting a deferred exam.
*updated August 10, 2021 with updated hyperlinks and Arts USS Office hours
You’re in the thick of exam season — studying, cramming your head full of all the dates, names, and important info that you’ll need to recall and articulate.
Then the unexpected and improbable actually happens. You get t-boned on your drive to campus. Or a pipe bursts and your apartment is flooding. Or you’re puking your guts out because you finally caught that stomach bug that’s been going around.
Panic sets in as you face the reality of not being able to write your exam.
What does it mean to defer your exam?
Basically when you ask to have your exam deferred it means that you can’t write your exam at its scheduled day and time (for good reason) and you want to be able to write it at a later date.
What’s “a good reason”?
What constitutes a good reason? An incapacitating mental and/or physical illness, severe domestic affliction, or for circumstances as described in the U of A’s Discrimination, Harassment and Duty to Accommodate Policy (including religious belief). This blog post really focuses on the first two reasons — something has happened that makes you truly unable to write your exam.
What does “incapacitating” mean? Well, if you broke your big toe a day before the exam and you’re hobbling around with an air cast… sorry, no deferral granted.
However, if you’re actually sick there’s a good chance your deferral request will be granted.
Okay you’ve got a “good reason”… now what?
Step 1 — Take care of yourself! Get medical assistance if you need it, and stay home until you are well enough to resume normal activities. Don’t come to the office in person — that’s what email is for!
Step 2 — Contact the Faculty of Arts USS (Undergraduate Student Services) office as soon as possible, but NO LATER than 2 business days after the missed exam.
Go online to our website and access the Application for Deferred Final Exam (ualberta.ca/arts/student-services → Forms and Information for Students → Forms for Students → Request for Deferred Final Exam (PDF)). Print it, fill it out, scan it/take a picture of it, and submit it (email or in person).
If you can’t print it out, send an email with all the information that is on the form. Here’s our email: arts.undergrad@ualberta.ca.
Step 3— Contact your prof to keep them in the loop. Pro tip: forward the email you sent to USS to your prof and add in any additional information or correspondence you want to have (this demonstrates to the prof that you’re on it, and following the correct procedure).
Step 4 — Wait to find out if the exam deferral has been granted. This could mean waiting only a few minutes or up to 2 business days. While you’re waiting, keep preparing for your exam. (If you’ve already missed the exam, then just hang tough.)
My request was refused. Now what do I do?
The bad news is, there are instances where requests to defer an exam are NOT granted. If this is the case for you, then you gotta go write your exam and just do the best you can.
If you’ve already missed the exam completely, then you’ll get a zero, and your final grade for the course will be calculated using this mark. Sometimes students manage to pass a course even if they get a zero on the final exam. Other times it means getting an F for the course.
My request was approved. Now what do I do?
Step 1 — YOU need to follow up with your prof to schedule a new date/time for your exam. Note: the later date is usually in January for fall term exams (but they MUST be written by end of Reading Week) and for really large classes there is sometimes a deferred exam date already scheduled. If this is the case you are obligated to write the exam at this time.
Okay… but what happens if I’m writing my exam and I realize I’m not able to complete the exam.
Let’s say you get a call 10 minutes before your exam informing you that a family member has passed away. Fast forward 20 minutes into the exam and you are a crying mess and absolutely cannot focus. Take your exam up to your prof or proctor and EXPLICITLY tell them “I want to cancel my exam”. Do NOT just hand in your exam and walk away. Follow the steps to request a deferral.
This is really important: you have a maximum of 30 minutes from the start of the exam to cancel, and then request a deferral. You can’t write the exam for an hour and half and then decide you should have walked away earlier. And remember, a request for a deferral is just that — a request, not a guarantee.
A deferral is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card because you got the exam date wrong, haven’t done any studying yet and a classmate confirmed the exam is actually in two hours. Deferrals are there for when things get really, seriously bad and you truly aren’t able to write your exam(s).
But if you’re feeling pretty bummed about how things are looking and you’re even kind of hoping to have a good enough reason to request a deferral — this should make you feel better: statistics show that students who do get deferrals usually don’t end up doing that great anyway. You’re often better off just writing it.
So… take a deep breath. Get down to business and do the best you can to prepare. Write the exam and then enjoy your break between classes to the fullest. (You didn’t want to spend your break studying anyway.)
But, if you really, really need to, you can request a deferral. In that case —
Remember:
- Getting a deferral is NOT guaranteed.
- Contact Arts USS within 2 business days
- If it is granted, it’s on YOU to make arrangements with your prof.
Contact Arts Undergraduate Student Services at arts.undergrad@ualberta.ca or at 780.492–4295. Starting August 16, 2021 come by 1–17 Humanities Centre to speak to an advisor in person.
The Arts USS office is open for in-person assistance:
- Mon-Fri (except Wednesdays) from 9 a.m. — 12 noon & 1 p.m. — 3:30 p.m. (closed 12–1 p.m.)
- Wednesdays from 10 a.m. — 12 noon & 1 p.m. — 3:30 p.m.
