Speak to your academic advisor if you fail a core course (earn a grade of less than 50%) to ensure you are taking the appropriate steps to clear the failure. In some cases, you may be granted an opportunity to clear the failure by writing a supplemental exam. This page outlines the practice for supplemental exams in Systems Design Engineering (SYDE) and Biomedical Engineering (BME).
The Process
- The SYDE-BME undergraduate office will ask the course instructor if a supplemental exam is appropriate for the course.
- If a supplemental exam is an option, the course instructor will then determine based on individual student performance in all course deliverables if it is the best interest of the student to write the exam the next time the course is offered. Alternatively, the instructor may advise the student to repeat the course to gain a better understanding of the content.
If you are granted a supplemental exam
- "SUPP A" will appear on your Quest transcript once term grades become official beside the failed course mark.
- You will receive an email from the Registrar’s Office with a Supplemental Exam Registration form attached for you to complete and submit for processing.
- You will be eligible to write the final exam with the next class when the course is offered.
- You have one year to write the supplemental exam. After the deadline, the opportunity expires.
- If you pass the supplemental exam, you will clear the failure. SUPP S will appear on Quest however your original grade does not change.
- If you fail the supplemental exam, you will need to retake the course to clear the failure. This second failure will also be counted. If you have three failures on your academic record, you may be required to withdraw from Waterloo Engineering.
- If you are granted a supplemental exam, you have the final decision to write it. If you decide not to write the exam, discuss the option to repeat the course or an approved equivalent with your academic advisor.
If you are not granted a supplemental exam
- To clear the failure, you will need to retake the course or an approved equivalent to clear the failure before you can graduate.
Additional information
- SYDE-BME is not part of the First-Year Engineering Office so their promotion rules and supplemental exam process do not apply.
- There is no specific grade cut-off to grant a supplemental exam.
- Supplemental exams are only granted for core course failures, not electives.
- If the course does not have a final exam, a supplemental exam is not an option.
- The same instructor doesn’t always teach the same course from year to year so be aware if you decide to write a supplemental exam with a new course instructor, the course content may vary.