Exams

All exams, whatever form they take, must take place during the official examination period. See the Important academic dates and deadlines page for examination period dates. You can also consult the exam schedule to check the time and place of your exams.

This doesn’t apply to the Faculty of Education, Undergraduate Medical Education and the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, which have different exam periods. For more information, please contact them.

If you are taking courses that extend the entire year, December exams must take place during the official examination period, unless otherwise authorized by the faculty, with the exception of practical laboratory examinations and project presentations.

Professors can’t give any test worth more than 10% of your final grade during the last week of classes of a term, except for practical laboratory examinations, project presentations and assignments that required several weeks of preparation.

Regulation 9.3

Yes. You must always be ready to show your student card at an exam.

You can’t use any electronic device or communication tool during an exam that has not been expressly authorized. You must turn off any device you have, put it away and out of reach. You are responsible to check which electronic devices or tools (e.g. calculators) you are allowed to use for each examination. If you violate this regulation, you may be accused of academic fraud.

Unless otherwise indicated in writing, the use of books, notes, mathematical tables, dictionaries or any other reference tool is not allowed. Also, you may not bring into or take away from the examination room any examination booklets.

You are responsible to check which materials you are allowed to use for each examination. If you violate this regulation, you may be accused of academic fraud.

If you arrive more than 30 minutes late, you will not be allowed to write the examination.

You may not leave the examination room until one hour after the examination has begun.

You must inform your professor or the faculty where you are enrolled if you’re sick and can’t attend your exam, or if you’re asking to hand in your work at a later date.

* We urge you to contact your faculty to check whether you have to inform your professor or the faculty that you will be absent or will be handing in your work late.

Your professor or the faculty may request a medical certificate from your physician indicating the dates of your absence and return to studies, the date of your appointment with the physician and the physician’s signature.

If your professor or the faculty questions the authenticity of the medical certificate, University of Ottawa Health Services may be asked to approve it.

If you become ill suddenly, you must inform your professor or your faculty that you will be absent and present a medical certificate dated on the day you are absent within five working days of the exam date or the deadline for handing in your work, except if extenuating circumstances prevent you from doing so for which these circumstances must be documented.

If you write an exam during the period when the medical certificate indicates that you are sick, you can’t use your illness or your health as a reason to appeal your grade.

If you can’t write your exam or if you’re asking to hand in your work at a later date because of psychological problems, you must inform your professor or the faculty where you are enrolled.

* We urge you to contact your faculty to check whether you have to inform your professor or the faculty that you will be absent or will be handing in your work late.

Your professor or the faculty may request a medical certificate from your physician or from a psychologist indicating the date of your absence and return to studies, the date of your appointment with the physician or psychologist and his signature, or a supporting letter from the University of Ottawa Counselling Services.

If your professor or the faculty questions the authenticity of the medical certificate, the Byward Family Health Team (previously known as the University of Ottawa Health Services) may be asked to approve it.

You must inform your professor or your faculty that you will be absent and present a medical certificate dated on the day you are absent within five working days of the exam date or the deadline for handing in your work, except if extenuating circumstances prevent you from doing so for which these circumstances must be documented.

If you write an exam during the period when the medical certificate indicates that you are sick, you can’t use your illness or your health as a reason to appeal your grade.

In exceptional life circumstances, (a serious accident, a death or serious accident involving a spouse or immediate family member, fire, etc.), you must justify being absent or handing in work late in writing within five working days of the exam or deadline to hand in your work. Your faculty may or may not accept the explanation you are giving. We don’t accept explanations such as travel, work or not reading the exam schedule correctly, except in exceptional, documented cases.

Course work for the year or the term (tests, term papers and other course work) carries a weight determined by the professor.

At the beginning of a course, professors shall inform you about course requirements, delivery and evaluation methods, and the nature and timing of assignments, projects and examinations. Professors may refuse to accept any assignment or examination that is not written legibly.

The final exam, or its equivalent, cannot count for more than 60% or less than 30% of the final grade.

Providing you with feedback on your academic work allows you to assess the progress you’ve made in a course. Your professors have to give, evaluate and return academic work that is worth at least 25% of the final course mark no later than one week prior to the deadline for withdrawal without academic penalty.

When feedback cannot be provided before this date, due to the nature of the course, this should be clearly indicated in the course syllabus.

Only the faculties of Medicine, Education, Law and Engineering offer supplemental examinations. Here’s how it works for each faculty:

Faculty of Medicine: If you are enrolled in a 1000-level ANP course and receive an “E” grade, you can write a supplemental examination. If you have failed a final exam during your undergraduate medical studies, you can write a supplemental examination.

Faculty of Education: You must either write a supplemental examination or submit an additional assignment. If you fail a course, you have the right to one supplemental examination. You must receive a grade of 60% or “S.” You have a maximum of 12 months to complete the course requirements.

Faculty of Law, Common Law Section: If you have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in courses taken in the last academic year, you can write a supplemental examination for each course failed that year. You must either write a supplemental examination or submit an additional assignment.

Faculties of Engineering: You may write a supplemental examination if you meet the following conditions:

1. You’re in your final year of studies.
2. You’ve only failed one course during your final year of studies.
3. The course you’ve failed is offered by the Faculty of Engineering.

If you want to write a supplemental exam on campus and are eligible to do so, you must check the supplemental exam schedule posted on the website of the Faculty that gives this course approximately one month before the exam and then show up at the right time. You will have to pay supplemental examination fees.

Yes, but this option is only available for supplemental exams taking place in the summer and the exam must be written at an institution within Canada. To register to write an exam off campus, fill out the "Registration for off-campus examination" form, which you can find on the Forms and Tools website under Exams.

Note that some Canadian institutions may not offer this service and that additional fees apply.

Only the grade obtained after the supplemental examination appears on your transcript and is used in the calculation of averages. Your transcript will indicate that this grade was obtained as a result of a supplemental exam.