Special Examination

A Special Examination is any examination other than the regular or supplemental examination schedules and may be offered only with approval of the Academic Advising Office of the faculty in which the student is registered. This approval must be in consultation with both the course instructor and the department chair.

Permission to write a Special Examination may be given on the basis of compassionate or medical grounds with appropriate supporting documentation, or for religious grounds provided sufficient written notice is submitted.

For information about examination conflicts (such as two exams scheduled concurrently, or three exams within any 23-hour period), please refer to the . 

If the Academic Advising Office recommends a Special Examination to be given to a student, both the student and instructor should be aware of the following:

  • A Special Examination must be written no later than 30 days after the end of the examination period. Only under exceptional circumstances, and with prior approval from the Academic Advising Office, may this period be extended.
  • A student may be required to write for up to two Special Examinations in a single day.
  • If a student fails to write a scheduled Special Examination, permission to write another Special Examination will be granted only with the approval from the Academic Advising Office and with appropriate supporting documentation. In such cases, the rescheduled examination date will normally be scheduled for the next time the final exam is offered. Please note the student’s maximum course load for that term may be reduced by the number of outstanding special exams they have in that same term.
  • Students should be aware that if a mark of Special Exam Privileges (SPC) appears on an academic record for a course that is a prerequisite to further courses(s), registration in the subsequent courses(s) will require special permission from both the course instructor and the Academic Advising Office until the SPC grade is replaced with a satisfactory grade. Students may also be restricted to the number of courses they can take if they have outstanding SPC’s from a previous term.
  • If the majority of courses taken in a given year show grades of SPC, registration in any further courses(s) will be subject to the approval of the Academic Advising Office until all the SPC grades are replaced by satisfactory grades.
  • With appropriate supporting documentation, students registered in the Faculty of Science, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry (including Neuroscience) are allowed a maximum of three missed Special Examination opportunities in the same course. After missing the original final exam and the three SPC exams, the student will either receive a grade of zero for the final exam or, if documentation justifies the absences, may be granted a late withdrawal (WDN) from the course.
    • Example:
      • Miss Original Exam with documentation – allowed a make-up
      • Miss Make-Up Exam with documentation – allowed a make-up
      • Miss 2nd Make-Up Exam with documentation – allowed a make-up
      • Miss 3rd Make-Up Exam with documentation - WDN (or Zero for the final exam without supporting documentation)