Deferred final exam policy

How to apply for an Economics Deferred Final Exam

If you have compelling and verifiable evidence that you are unable to write a final exam at the scheduled time, you must follow this procedure to apply for a deferred exam. 

1. Read this entire web page to understand the Economics deferred final exam policy.
2. Submit your documentation to the Verification of Illness or Extenuating Circumstances Portal
   • You will receive a confirmation email once your documentation has been processed. You do not need to wait for the notification to complete the remaining steps.
   • If you do not have documentation, you may skip to Step 3.
3. Download the deferred final exam request form (PDF) and rename the form per below:
   • ECON_LastName_FirstName_StudentID Deferred Exam Request.pdf
   • DO NOT USE OLD FORMS.
4. Fill in the form completely using Adobe and digitally sign the document.
5. Email the completed form to econdefexam@uwaterloo.ca within 2 business days of the missed final exam.
   • Email only the deferred exam form. DO NOT email any supporting documentation to econdefexam@uwaterloo.ca. For your privacy and consistency, all supporting documentation must be uploaded using the Verification of Illness or Extenuating Circumstances Portal
   • Use your @uwaterloo.ca email address only.

Important notes:

• If you miss more than one final exam in your economics courses, you must complete a separate request form. You may attach multiple request forms in one email. You only need to submit your documentation to the Verification of Illness or Extenuating Circumstances Portal once.
• You will be notified at your University of Waterloo e-mail address whether your request is approved or denied; it is your responsibility to ensure that your UW email account is working properly.
• If approved, you will be informed of a new date to write the exam. You must be available until the end of the final exam period.

This policy is consistent with the Registrar’s Office Accommodation Due to Illness policy.

Deferrals of final examinations are not automatic upon the presentation of suitable medical verification. We will use this documentation together with other information to determine whether accommodation is warranted.

By university policy, students are required to write their final examinations as scheduled. In extenuating circumstances, students may request a deferred final exam. However, the following are not considered legitimate reasons for requesting a deferred exam:

• Requesting more time to study.
• Travel arrangements during the final exam period.
• Illnesses that are not supported with proper documentation.
• Misreading the final exam schedule.
• Contradictory information (e.g. write one exam but not another on the same day without explanation).
  • Should this be the case, your request may be forwarded to the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Students for a potential Policy 71 violation.
• A full or busy final exam schedule (the policy on time conflicts and overlaps is outlined in the Registrar’s Office’s final exam relief information).

• You have not written any of the midterms for your course or your final exam is worth more than 90% of your course grade.
• You fail to provide supporting documentation explaining why you missed the final exam.
• You missed the Registrar’s Office deadline for final exam relief for a busy/conflicting exam schedule.
• Your deferred final exam request is excessively late.

How to fill out the form

Ensure you complete the entire form. You may add additional pages if needed. Please submit only one .pdf form per course.

Final Exam Schedule Section

Use this key to fill in your final exam chart:

Course: enter course and section number.

Final Exam Schedule: enter day of week, date, start and end time; enter “N/A” for a course with no final exam.

Status: Completed You have already written the final exam for this course.

• Request DFE You are requesting a deferred final exam for this course.
• To write You will write the final exam for this course (you do not need a deferred exam).
• No exam This course has no final exam.
• N/A Provide explanation if none of the above applies (attach additional pages if needed).

Here is an example of a completed chart:

Updated Winter 2024. This policy has been in effect since Fall 2013.