Final examination arrangements for online courses

Write on campus at no cost

All students will automatically be scheduled to write on campus in Waterloo. The Office of the Registrar's final examination schedule will be available on October 2, and your personal final examination schedule, including exact times, locations and rooms, will be posted in Odyssey in October.

If you are going to write your examinations on campus, no further action is required.

In-person final examination dates for online courses

• December 11–12
• December 18–19

Write externally at your own cost

If you are away from Waterloo, you can arrange to write your examination externally at a post-secondary test centre (preferred) or with an approved proctor, such as an employee of a public library or an accredited test centre that offers proctoring services.

If you choose to write your examinations externally, all of your scheduled examinations must be written with the same post-secondary education test centre or approved proctor.

Check the course outline in LEARN or contact your instructor to confirm whether your course has an in-person final examination.

Externally written final examination dates

If you are arranging to write your final examination externally, you must write your examination during the external examination period that corresponds to your on-campus examination date. You cannot choose which external examination period to use.

• If your examination is scheduled on campus for December 11 or 12, you must write it externally between December 11 and 14.
• If your examination is scheduled on campus for December 18 or 19, you must write it externally between December 18 and 21.

You and your post-secondary test centre or proctor will arrange the specific date and time for you to write within the applicable four-day period.

If you plan to write your examinations at a post-secondary education test centre or with a proctor, follow this timeline to make your arrangements before the examination arrangement form deadline.

September — Start planning

• Research examination centres or proctoring services in your area. Check their availability, fees, hours and discuss any accommodations you may need. Contact them early to make sure they can accommodate you. (see "Where can I find a test centre or proctor" below)

October 2 — Check your examination dates

• Review the Final Examination Schedule to find out when your final examinations are scheduled.

October 2–11 — Book your examinations

• Finalize your arrangements with your examination centre or proctor and submit the Final Examinations Arrangement Form.(see "How do I submit my arrangement" below).

October 11–16 — Finalize your arrangement

• Watch for an email confirming that your examination centre or proctor has been approved. If you have not received confirmation, contact your examination centre or proctor to make sure they have submitted all required information. (see "What happens after I submit my Final Examinations Arrangement form" below).

October 23 — Examination information due

• Your external examination arrangement may be cancelled if your examination centre or proctor has not provided all required information or documentation by this date.

October 31 — Final confirmation

• If you have not received an email confirming that your examination centre or proctor has been approved by this date, you will be expected to write on the main campus at University of Waterloo.

Post-secondary test centre

The University of Waterloo strongly recommends that students write their examinations at an accredited post-secondary institution test centre whenever possible. Post-secondary test centres provide a secure, professional, and reliable testing environment, with established procedures that support examination integrity, security, and consistent administration. While individual proctors may be permitted in limited circumstances, approved university and college test centres remain the University's preferred option for off-campus examination writing. Students should be aware that individual proctoring arrangements carry additional risk, as unforeseen circumstances may result in a proctor becoming unavailable on short notice. If this occurs close to the examination date, students may be unable to write their examination as scheduled if an alternate approved arrangement cannot be secured in time.

Post-secondary educational test centres in Canada

Below is a list of organizations in Canada offering proctoring services that have proctored for the University of Waterloo in the past. If you are located in Canada, we suggest you start your search here.

• Alberta
  • University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
  • Bow Valley College, Okotoks, AB
  • The Kings University, Edmonton, AB
• British Columbia
  • British Colombia Institute of Technology – Burnaby Campus
  • British Colombia Institute of Technology – Vancouver Campus
• Manitoba
  • Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, Winnipeg, MB
• New Brunswick
  • Crandall University, Moncton, MB
• Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Memorial University, St. John’s, NF
  • Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries, NF
• Northwest Territories
  • Aurora College, Yellowknife, NT
• Nova Scotia
  • Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS
• Ontario:
  • Algonquin College - Ottawa, ON
  • Centennial College, Scarborough - Toronto, ON (East)
  • Collège Boréal, Barrie - email: services.testing@collegeboreal.ca
  • Humber College, North Campus - Toronto, ON (West)
  • London - Fanshawe College, London, ON
  • Redeemer University - Hamilton/Ancaster, ON 
  • Toronto Metropolitan University -Toronto (Downtown)
• Prince Edward Island
  • Holland College – Charlottetown, PEI
• Quebec
  • Eastern Quebec Learning Centre, Quebec City, QC
• Saskatchewan
  • University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK

Other

• National College Testing Association sites - United States.
• Education USA Advising Centers (there are over 425 international student advising centres in 178 countries but not all centres offer proctoring services).

If you are located outside of Canada and are unable to make arrangements at an accredited test centre:

If you are located outside Canada, the quickest way to find a proctor in your area is to search online for “proctors near me.” Search results may include official testing centres at colleges, universities, libraries and learning centres. You can also contact local libraries or religious institutions to ask whether they offer proctoring services. 

Tip: Some local libraries offer proctoring services free of charge.

Write with a proctor

If you choose your own proctor, the University must review and approve them before they can supervise your examinations. Your proctor may be asked to provide additional information or documentation as part of this process. Check in with your proctor regularly to make sure they provide any requested information as soon as possible (they may need to check their spam/junk folder). Delays in providing the required information may delay approval of your proctor.

Who can proctor:

• Active teachers/educational professionals above the preschool level. A teacher's certificate may be required.
• Administrative employees of a university, school, or college.
• Officials employed by a religious institution (e.g. priest, rabbi, pastor, minister, nun, monk, or imam)
• Library staff

The proctor may not:

• be related to you in any way (including by marriage or common-law),
• be a friend, neighbour or co-worker,
• live at the same address as you do,
• be currently enroled in a Waterloo course.

Book your arrangements with your test centre or proctor

Before submitting your Final Examinations Arrangement Form, contact your selected test centre or proctor to confirm that:

• They can print and scan the examination double-sided on A4 or Letter-size paper.
• They can supervise your examination for its entire duration.
• You can book your examinations within the external examination period:
  • December 11–14 for examinations scheduled on December 11–12
  • December 18–21 for examinations scheduled on December 18–19
• They can accommodate any academic accommodations you require, if applicable. If your post-secondary institution test centre or proctor or needs additional information from the University, contact aas-exam@uwaterloo.ca.
• The same post-secondary institution test centre or proctor can supervise all of your final examinations.
• You have the correct business email address for your proctor.

If your test centre or proctor asks for University contact information when you are booking your examinations, provide:

• First name: Examinations Services
• Last name: University of Waterloo
• Email: Examinations@uwaterloo.ca

Please do not provide your instructor's contact information.

Submit your arrangement form

Once you have completed the steps under the "book your arrangements" section, submit the Final Examinations Arrangement Form by no later than Friday, October 16. Late submissions will not be accepted.

You will need to provide your proctor's name and business email address. The University will contact your proctor directly to verify their employment and eligibility.

Proctor approval

The Office of the Registrar will contact your proctor to verify your eligibility for external examination arrangements, confirm their availability during the examination period, and gather any additional required information. Your proctor should respond within three business days of receiving the University's email.

You will receive an email when your proctor has been approved. Approval decisions are at the discretion of Examination Services. If your proctor does not meet the requirements, you will be contacted with further instructions.

Finalize your booking

Once your proctor has been approved, finalize your booking with the test centre or proctor, including paying any required deposits or fees.

You and your post-secondary institution test centre or proctor are responsible for arranging the location, day and time of your examination within the applicable external examination period. The date and time shown in Odyssey for a proctored final examination will not reflect the actual time you arrange with your proctor.

A digital copy of your final examination, along with instructions for administering and returning it, will be sent to your proctor in advance. Your proctor will print the examination double-sided and scan and return it digitally after you complete the examination.

You are responsible for paying any fees charged by your post-secondary institution test centre or proctor. The University does not reimburse these expenses.

Before your examination, review the pre-examination preparation and entry requirements and protocols.

External examination arrangements are only available for remote students who are unable to come to the main campus in Waterloo. Therefore, external examination arrangements, if approved, will apply to all of your examinations.

You can find information in the Write with a proctor section on this web page.

After you submit the information, the Examination Services office reaches out to the post-secondary institution test centre or the proctor for additional information that helps to ensure they meet the required criteria. It is helpful for you to remind your proctor to provide the requested information as soon as possible.

The speed at which the post-secondary institution test centre or proctor provides the information, and the quality of the information provided, both directly affect processing times.

If your post-secondary institution test centre or proctor does not meet the criteria, you will receive direct messaging from Waterloo’s Examination Services Office.

Students who are enrolled in one or more on-campus course are considered “on-campus students” and must write all in-person final examinations at the University of Waterloo. If you are unable to write your in-person final examination for your online course in Waterloo, you must follow the instructions provided in your course outline to notify your instructor and/or faculty. The Verification of Condition Form (VOC) and instructions are available on the Current student website. Review the Academic Considerations section in the current Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar for more details. 

If you are registered with AccessAbility Services, to make sure you receive your academic accommodations, you should make arrangements to write on-campus via your AccessAbility Services online account. If you are writing externally, be sure to discuss your academic accommodation needs while making your arrangements with the post-secondary institution test centre or proctor. If your test centre or proctor requires additional information about your accommodations, contact aas-exam@uwaterloo.ca for assistance.

Unfortunately, your final examinations are now scheduled in Waterloo and the option to write externally no longer exists. If you are not able to write as scheduled in Waterloo, you need to contact the instructor for other possible on-campus alternate arrangements, but they are not obligated to offer any.

If you need to write externally with a proctor, your responsibilities are as follows:

• Booking: To reach out to the post-secondary institution test centre or proctor to book a day and time to write each of your final examinations.
• Fees: To handle and pay any expenses incurred to write at the post-secondary institution test centre or with a proctor. Note: Some examination centres/proctors may also charge a fee if you cancel or reschedule your final examination. The University of Waterloo does not reimburse any incurred expenses.

You must follow the instructions provided in your course to notify your instructor and/or faculty. The Verification of Condition form (VOC) and instructions are on the Current student website. Review the Waterloo Academic Considerations section in the Undergraduate Academic Calendar for more details. Adjustment of due dates or deferrals of final examinations are not guaranteed. Your instructor will use the documentation you provide among all information available to them to determine whether an academic consideration is warranted, and will work with you to reschedule the final examination if necessary. Alternate arrangements may require the missed examination to be written on campus and not externally.

Students who are enrolled only in online courses are considered “remote students” and are eligible to write their final examinations externally.

We understand that additional costs can be challenging. However, due to ongoing budget constraints and in line with standard practices across the sector, students are now responsible for covering the fees associated with external proctors.