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Final Examinations
Formal final examinations are held during an examination period at the end of the course term. The dates of the examination periods are listed at www.mcgill.ca/importantdates.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised not to
make travel plans prior to the release of the Final Exam Schedule. Vacation
plans do not constitute grounds for the deferral or re-scheduling of final
exams.
In some courses there is no final examination; your standing in these courses is determined by term work and class tests.
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Final Examinations: University Regulations Concerning Final Examinations
Final Examinations: University Regulations Concerning Final Examinations
Regulations
Regulations
- These regulations shall apply to undergraduate courses up to and including the 500 level that are evaluated by the use of written examinations. They shall not apply to clinical, field, laboratory, performance, and seminar courses, or to other courses that are evaluated solely by means of a design, paper, program, or project.
- Written examinations (including take-home examinations) shall not be held during the last two weeks of scheduled classes during the Fall and Winter terms, except where a pattern of continuous evaluation has been established, in which case the total value of examinations given in this period shall comprise no more than 10% of the final mark.
- If the written examinations in a course constitute 50% or more of the final mark, one of these shall be given as a final written examination; and it shall take place during the examination period after the last day of scheduled lectures in December or April.
- A final examination given during the examination period shall be worth at least 25% of the final mark.
- Students shall be informed of all course requirements by the end of the course change period. All term work shall be assigned early enough in the term for students to complete the assignment(s) by the last day of class.
- The due date for term work in courses to which these regulations apply shall be no later than the last day of classes.
- In courses that span the Fall and Winter terms (course pairs with numbers ending D1 and D2), instructors who wish to give a mid-year examination in December must schedule it in the formal examination period.
- The principles enunciated in these regulations shall be applied, appropriately modified, to courses given during the summer, to other courses of less than a 13-week duration, and to courses in the Faculties of Law, Medicine, Dentistry, and Education that do not follow the normal University Timetable.
- Individual faculties may propose variations in these regulations to the Academic Policy and Planning Committee in order to meet their special needs.
- These regulations, and any variations to them, shall be made known to students by each faculty.
Instructors are not permitted to grant any special treatment regarding examinations to any student. Students who believe there are circumstances which might justify making special examination arrangements for them or which might legitimately be taken into account in evaluating their performance should apply to the Associate Dean or Director of their faculty.
It is the responsibility of the student to confirm the date, time and place of the examination by checking examination schedules posted on notice boards on campus and at www.mcgill.ca/students. This information is not available by telephone. No student will be allowed to enter an examination later than one hour after it has started.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Final Examinations: Deferred Examinations
Final Examinations: Deferred Examinations
If, for serious reasons such as illness or family affliction, you have not written one or more examinations, you may receive the permission of your Faculty Student Affairs Office to defer the examination to the next supplemental examination period, except in the Faculty of Engineering (where students write the examination the next time the course is given); see Deferred Examinations: Faculty of Engineering. You should be aware that the University will only defer examinations for compelling reasons, verified and accepted by the Student Affairs Office. You must provide supporting evidence such as an appropriate medical report, and you must inform the Student Affairs Office as soon as possible to explain why you missed the examination.
If you are in one of the following faculties, you must apply for deferred examinations on Minerva: Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Arts, Education, Engineering, Religious Studies, Science, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, School of Social Work, and the Centre for Continuing Education. If you do not belong to one of the above faculties, consult your faculty for application procedures.
The final application deadline in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Arts, Science, Education, Engineering, Management and the Centre for Continuing Education for deferred examinations is January 18 (for Fall term courses), and May 15 (for Winter term courses and courses that span the Fall and Winter terms).
If your request is approved, an L will appear in place of a grade in those courses. The grade you obtain on the deferred examination will replace the grade of L on your official transcript.
If you receive a grade of D, F, J, or U in a course after a deferred examination, no supplemental examinations will be available. You must either re-register in the same course the following term or in an approved course substitute.
Note for the Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A. & Sc.): As of summer 2010, requests normally made at your Faculty Student Affairs Office will need to be made at the Service Point (see www.mcgill.ca/students). However, it is important that you also see a Faculty adviser in Dawson Hall to talk about your options and the effects that your request may have on your studies. For more information, see www.mcgill.ca/students/advising.
Note for Music Students: A Music student who has not cleared a grade of L by mid-May is ineligible for scholarships.
If you are not granted deferred status, you will receive a grade of J in the course, which will count as a failure in the TGPA and CGPA. You may, however, be allowed to write a supplemental examination. Please note there are no supplemental exams in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences or Management courses. For the Faculty of Engineering, supplemental exams are exceptionally offered for some Science, Humanities and Social Sciences courses. For a list of these courses, see the Faculty of Engineering website (www.mcgill.ca/engineering).
For Summer term courses, check with your Student Affairs Office on the availability and restrictions on deferred and supplemental examinations.
If you have already written an examination, you cannot later request for the exam to be deferred. You should consult your Student Affairs Office regarding the availability of supplemental examinations.
Deferred Examinations: Faculty of Engineering
Deferred Examinations: Faculty of Engineering
A detailed letter in support of the application must be entered in the "reason(s) for deferral" section of the application on Minerva.
Medical certificate(s) covering the date of the missed examination and the nature of the illness must be submitted to the Student Affairs Office, Engineering Student Centre, by January 15 for Fall term courses and May 15 for Winter term courses.
You are required to frequently verify the status of your deferred application on Minerva to determine whether any additional information is required by the Student Affairs Office, Engineering Student Centre.
You will receive a confirmation email once a deferred examination application decision has been made.
Rules and regulations:
- Deferred exams for courses administered by the Faculty of Engineering are offered during the final examination period the next time the course is given. The final examination schedule is available at www.mcgill.ca/students.
- If taking the deferred exam will delay your graduation, you should indicate this by adding a comment in your deferral application on Minerva. The Student Affairs Office may approve an earlier deferral exam in such cases, and will notify you via your Â鶹AV email.
- For each deferred examination that is approved, an L (deferred) grade will appear on your record, but will not appear on official transcripts after the final grade has been determined. The grade you will receive in the deferred examination will replace the grade that you would have received in the original final exam. An L grade will be replaced by a J if you miss the NEXT deferred or regular examination in the course, whichever happens first.
- The format of the deferred examination will not necessarily be identical to original final examination of the same course. You are responsible for contacting the professor if you require information about the deferred examination format.
- If you have written your final examination, you may not request that the exam be deferred.
- You are not permitted to redo any portion of the coursework such as assignments, projects, labs, midterms, quizzes, etc. (i.e., all grades previously obtained will be calculated with the final grade of the deferred exam to determine the final grade).
- Once a deferred exam has been granted, you may write no more than six final examinations per term. This will give you sufficient time during the term and the examination period to properly prepare for your deferred examination(s).
- You may submit a written letter and supporting documentation in order to request a withdrawal from a deferral. Withdrawals from deferred examinations are granted only for compelling reasons, verified and accepted by the Student Affairs Office, Engineering Student Centre. If you are not granted a withdrawal or you are not able to write a deferred exam as scheduled, you will receive a final grade of J, which will calculate as a failure in both the TGPA and CGPA.
Non-Engineering Courses
Non-Engineering Courses
Deferred examinations for courses administered by the following faculties are offered during the supplemental/deferred examination period:
The supplemental/deferred examination schedule is available at www.mcgill.ca/students.
Continuing Education Courses
Continuing Education Courses
Deferred exams for courses administered by the Centre for Continuing Education are offered during the next term's final examination period. The final examination schedule for Continuing Education courses is available at www.mcgill.ca/conted/studentres/records/exams.
Summer Studies
Summer Studies
You must request deferred examinations for courses offered in the Summer term no later than four days after the date of the missed final examination and you must write the examination within two weeks of the date of the original examination date.
For courses administered by faculties outside Engineering: the date will be determined by Summer Studies and you will be notified via your Â鶹AV email. The final examination schedule for Summer Studies courses is available at www.mcgill.ca/summer/credit/exams.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Final Examinations: Reassessments and Rereads
Final Examinations: Reassessments and Rereads
In accordance with the Charter of Students' Rights, and subject to its stated conditions, you have the right to consult any written submission for which you have received a grade. You also have the right to discuss this submission with the examiner. If you want to have a formal final examination reread, you must apply in writing to your Student Affairs Office (the Associate Dean, Student Affairs, in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and in the Schulich School of Music). You should check with that office regarding application deadlines for formal rereads.
Reassessments and Rereads: Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A. & Sc.)
Reassessments and Rereads: Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A .& Sc.)
There are two recognized types of impartial reviews, i.e., reassessments or rereads:
- reassessment of coursework (term papers, mid-terms, assignments, quizzes, etc.);
- reread of a final exam.
In both cases, rather than recorrect the work and then grade it as they would have done themselves, reviewers assess the appropriateness of the original grade based, for example, on the application of the grading key to the student's work. If a grade is deemed unfair, it is changed, whether the new grade is higher or lower than the original, i.e., the reviewer's grade takes precedence over the original grade.
Reassessment of Coursework
Reassessment of Coursework
These reassessments are administered and conducted solely by the units involved according to procedures specified by the units and made available to staff and students. Requests for such reassessments must be made within 10 working days after the graded material(s) has been made available for students to view. Reassessments should normally be completed within 20 working days of the request.
Rereads of Final Examinations
Rereads of Final Examinations
These rereads are administered by your Faculty, but conducted by the units involved. You must apply in writing by March 31 for courses in the Fall term and by September 30 for courses in the Winter or Summer terms (these deadlines are strictly enforced and no requests will be accepted past them). You are assessed a fee of $35 for such rereads. It is strongly recommended, but not required, that you consult with the instructor of the course before requesting a reread of a final exam.
Reassessments and rereads in courses not in the Faculties of Arts and Science are subject to the deadlines, rules, and regulations of the relevant faculty.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Rereads: Faculty of Engineering
Rereads: Faculty of Engineering
You can request a formal reread of a final examination once you have discussed it with your instructor. You must complete a Request for a Reread of a Final Exam form and submit it to the Student Affairs Office, Engineering Student Centre.
The following regulations apply:
- You may request rereads for only one course per term, unless you obtain permission from the Student Affairs Office, Engineering Student Centre.
- Grades may be either raised or lowered as the result of a reread.
- A $35 fee for each reread will be assessed directly to your Â鶹AV account if the result remains the same or is lowered. If the grade is raised, there is no charge.
Reread application deadlines:
Non-Engineering courses: Rereads in courses not in the Faculty of Engineering are subject to the deadlines, rules and regulations of the relevant faculty.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Additional Work: Faculty of Science (including B.A. & Sc.)
Additional Work: Faculty of Science (including B.A. & Sc.)
Instructors of courses that include graded written term work may choose to provide the option of additional work to eligible students. The following conditions apply:
- if there is an option for additional work, it must be announced in the course outline at the beginning of the course;
- additional work involves revising one or more previously submitted papers or submitting new written work to replace the original work;
- you must be in satisfactory or probationary standing;
- you must have received a final grade of D, J, F, or U in the course;
- the weight of the additional work will be equal to the weight given the work revised or replaced when the original grade was submitted;
- the grade resulting from the revised or additional work will be recorded as a supplemental grade;
- the supplemental result will not replace the grade originally obtained, which is used in calculating the GPA; both the original grade and the supplemental grade will count in calculating the CGPA;
- in courses in which both a supplemental examination and additional work are available, you may choose the additional work or the examination or both; where both are written, only one supplemental grade will be submitted, reflecting grades for both the supplemental examination and the additional work;
- additional work in courses outside the Faculty of Science (including B.A. & Sc.) is subject to the deadlines, rules, and regulations of the relevant faculty.
Additional work applications are available in the SOUSA Office. The deadline for submission of applications is March 7 for Fall courses and July 30 for Winter courses and courses spanning Fall/Winter. A non-refundable fee is payable for each course at the time of application. You should consult the SOUSA Office for further information.
Note for the Faculty of Science (including B.A. & Sc.): As of summer 2010, requests normally made at your Faculty Student Affairs Office will need to be made at the Service Point (see www.mcgill.ca/students). However, it is important that you also see a Faculty adviser in Dawson Hall to talk about your options and the effects that your request may have on your studies. For more information, see www.mcgill.ca/students/advising.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Supplemental Examinations
Supplemental Examinations
The Supplemental Examination regulations are specific to your faculty. To apply for a supplemental exam, you must submit an application on Minerva (www.mcgill.ca/minerva).
Supplemental Examinations: Faculty of Engineering
Supplemental Examinations: Faculty of Engineering
Courses administered by the Faculty of Engineering do not have supplemental examinations. However, Engineering students are eligible to write a supplemental examination in courses administered by the following faculties:
- Faculty of Arts
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Religious Studies
- Faculty of Science
- School of Social Work
Supplemental examination application deadlines:
It is your responsibility to confirm the date and time of the supplemental examination.
You are required to frequently verify on Minerva the status of your supplemental examination application to determine if there is any additional information required or provided by the Student Affairs Office, Engineering Student Centre.
You will receive a confirmation email once a supplemental examination application has been approved.
Rules and regulations concerning supplemental exams
Rules and regulations concerning supplemental exams
- You must be in satisfactory or probationary standing.
- You are permitted to write a supplemental for courses in which you have received a mark of D, F, J or U.
- You must write the supplemental exam during the next supplemental examination period.
- Only one supplemental examination is allowed in a course.
- The supplemental result may or may not include the same proportion of class work as did the original grade. The instructor will announce the arrangements to be used for the course by the end of the course change period.
- In courses in which both a supplemental examination and additional work are available, you may choose the additional work or the examination or both; where both are written, only one supplemental mark will be submitted, reflecting marks for both the supplemental examination and the additional work.
- The format of the supplemental examination (e.g., multiple-choice or essay questions) will not necessarily be the same as the format of the final examination, so you should consult the instructor about the format of the supplemental.
- The supplemental result will not erase the grade originally obtained; both the original mark and the supplemental result will be calculated in the CGPA.
- Additional credit will not be given for a supplemental exam where the original grade for the course was a D and you already received credit for the course.
- There are no supplemental examinations for Summer courses.
- No supplemental examinations are available if you fail to achieve a satisfactory grade in a course with a deferred examination.
- A $35 non-refundable fee for each supplemental exam application is assessed at the time of application and charged directly to your Â鶹AV account.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Supplemental Examinations: Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A. & Sc.)
Supplemental Examinations: Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A. & Sc.)
If you want to write supplemental examinations for certain courses, you must submit a request on Minerva (www.mcgill.ca/minerva) by going to Student Menu > Student Records Menu > Supplemental Exam Application. The following conditions apply:
- you must be in satisfactory or probationary standing;
- you must have received a final grade of D, F, J or U in the course;
- you must make yourself available at the time of the next supplemental examination period;
- special permission is required if you want to write supplementals totalling more than 8 credits;
- only one supplemental examination is allowed in a course;
- the supplemental result may count for 100% of the final grade or may include the same proportion of class work as did the original grade; the instructor will announce the arrangements to be used for the course by the end of the course change period;
- the format and content of the supplemental examination will not necessarily be the same as for the final examination, so you should consult the instructor;
- the supplemental result will not replace the grade originally obtained, which is used in calculating the GPA; both the original mark and the supplemental result will be calculated in the CGPA;
- in courses in which both a supplemental examination and additional work are available, you may choose the additional work or the examination or both; where both are written, only one supplemental mark will be submitted, reflecting marks for both the supplemental examination and the additional work;
- additional credit will not be given for a supplemental exam where the original grade for the course was a D and you already received credit for the course;
- supplemental examinations in courses outside your Faculty are subject to the deadlines, rules and regulations of the relevant faculty;
- no supplemental examinations are available if you fail to achieve satisfactory grades in deferred examinations.
For courses in the Faculties of Arts and of Science, the supplemental examination period for Fall courses is during the month of May; for Winter courses, and courses spanning Fall/ Winter, the supplemental examination period is during the last week of August.
The Supplemental Exam application is available on Minerva, as of
January 30, 2010. The deadline to submit an applications is:
A non-refundable fee for each supplemental exam is payable at the time of application. If you register for a supplemental examination and subsequently find yourself unprepared for it, you should not write it; except for the loss of the registration fee, there is no penalty for not writing a supplemental examination. You should consult your Student Affairs Office for further information.
Note for the Faculties of Arts and Science (including B.A. & Sc.): As of summer 2010, requests normally made at your Faculty Student Affairs Office will need to be made at the Service Point (see www.mcgill.ca/students). However, it is important that you also see a Faculty adviser in Dawson Hall to talk about your options and the effects that your request may have on your studies. For more information, see www.mcgill.ca/students/advising.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2010-2011 (last updated Apr. 22, 2010) (disclaimer)