A deferred assessment is the opportunity to complete a final exam or final assignment after the end of a semester. A student may be eligible for a deferred assessment if they have experienced a medical, psychological or compassionate event that prevented them from completing the semester on time. A deferred assessment may be granted in the form of a deferred exam or a deferred condition.

A deferred condition may be a written test, an oral test, an assignment, a laboratory practical, or any other method of evaluation. 

A deferred exam is scheduled by Scheduling Services. Their office schedules and invigilates the deferred examinations which are two hours in length.

Review the University policy on Deferred Assessments. This can be found in Section VIII of the Undergraduate Calendar [1] and Section VIII of the Diploma Calendar [2].

You must submit a request for deferred assessment via email to your Academic Advisor from your @uoguelph.ca email address within five working days of the missed examination/course work deadline.

Your request must contain:

• A completed and signed Deferred Assessment Form (form for undergraduate/degree students [3]) or (form for Diploma in Turfgrass Management students [4]).
• A personal letter with a brief description of what was missed and a description of the circumstances that occurred. Attach your letter as a Word document, not in the body of the email.
• Supporting documentation (*medical documentation is not required at this time; all other reasons (i.e. psychological and compassionate) do require supporting documentation).

* Complex cases may require additional supporting documentation.

If you have any questions regarding providing supporting documentation or have trouble accessing the form, email your Academic Advisor directly or send your question to oac.pco@uoguelph.ca [5].

Please note: Effective September 1, 2024, a $200.00 administrative fee will be charged to your student account if your request for deferred assessment is approved and you do not show up for your scheduled in-person deferred exam. (Note: If you are scheduled for more than one in-person deferred exam, the fee will apply for each deferred exam that you do not show up for). If you have questions, please contact orsexams@uoguelph.ca [6].

Decisions are made by the Academic Review Committee after the exam period ends. Please note a deferred assessment is not guaranteed. 

If a deferred assessment is granted:

On WebAdvisor, the notation *DEF* will appear beside the course (in lieu of a numeric grade) if the assessment is granted.

If you are granted a deferred exam an email will be sent to your University of Guelph email account approximately three weeks into the following semester. The deferred exam schedule will be posted by Registrarial Services [7] and on WebAdvisor at least one week prior to the start of the scheduled deferred period.

If you are granted a deferred condition an email will be sent to your University of Guelph email account approximately three weeks into the following semester, with instructions to contact your professor immediately and set up a time to either write the necessary final exam and/or hand in a final assignment on or before the deadline date noted in the Registrar's email.

If you do not have the information one week prior to the start of the scheduled deferred period, contact your Academic Advisor. It is your responsibility to complete your deferred assessment on time.

Access to CourseLink will be granted to students who have a DEF recorded on their transcript. Access to course material through CourseLink may be temporarily interrupted at the end of a course, but access will be reinstated for those students granted deferred exams. Check access at least three weeks prior to the deferred exam date and report any access issues to CourseLink Support (courselink@uoguelph.ca) immediately.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Academic Advising Office [8].