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Academic advice

University is an exciting and rewarding journey that requires planning, adaptability, and a proactive approach. Success in your studies goes beyond attending lectures—it involves developing strong study habits, managing your time effectively, and seeking help when needed. Regularly reviewing course materials, engaging with instructors and classmates, and making use of campus resources can all contribute to a positive academic experience.

One of the resources available to you is academic advising. Your degree and program advisors can help you navigate university academics and address any challenges that may arise. The advising relationship is a partnership with shared responsibilities. Academic advisors provide guidance to students, helping them make informed academic choices in light of their learning, career, and life goals. Advisors assist with course selection, understanding degree and program requirements, interpreting university policies, and identifying available resources.

Students play an active role in this partnership. You are expected to engage with your advisors, take responsibility for understanding your requirements, and familiarize yourself with university regulations and deadlines. While advisors are here to help, you are ultimately responsible for making decisions about your academic path. Taking advantage of the information available through university offices, services, and websites will help you stay informed and prepared.

Making the most of your advising appointment

To ensure you get the best support from your advisors, consider the following:

  • Reach out to the right place – While advisors are happy to refer you if you’re unsure where to go, you’ll get answers faster if you contact the correct office directly. This webpage identifies the office to contact for various advising issues and services.
  • Plan ahead – Avoid waiting until the last minute before important deadlines (e.g., course add/drop, graduation review period) when advising demand is high.
  • Come prepared – Review your degree or program requirements and bring a list of questions.
  • Take notes – Write down key advice and next steps during your appointment to ensure you follow through on recommendations.
  • Be open and honest – Share any academic challenges or concerns so your advisor can provide relevant support and guidance.
  • Understand the role of advisors – Your advisors are here to support you with your academic planning and decisions. They are not trained mental health professionals. If personal or emotional challenges are affecting your studies, your advisor can help you understand your academic options and direct you to appropriate support services. Academic advising is not an emergency service. If you or someone else needs immediate help, please consult the this list of emergency support services.
  • Use university resources – Many questions can be answered through university websites and the Course Catalogue. Checking these in advance can make your advising session more productive.
  • Follow up – If you need additional clarification or encounter new challenges, don’t hesitate to reach out again or explore other support services.

Advisors are here to support you, but taking an active role in your academic planning will help you make informed decisions and get the most out of your university experience.

Academic Self-assessment

Self-assessment can help you understand what is affecting your academic performance and identify steps you can take to improve.

You can use this exercise at any time if you are experiencing academic difficulties. You may also be directed to it when preparing a formal request, such as a readmission application or a request for permission to take a course for a third time. The self-assessment itself does not need to be submitted. Instead, the questions can help you reflect on your experience and, where applicable, prepare your statement or request.

Understanding what affected your studies

Academic difficulties can result from many different factors, including health or personal circumstances, academic challenges, financial pressures, competing responsibilities, or a combination of factors.

Some circumstances may have been within your control, while others may have been entirely outside of your control. You are not responsible for preventing circumstances that were beyond your control. At the same time, part of being a university student is taking reasonable steps to manage your academic responsibilities when difficulties arise. This includes recognizing when you are struggling, asking questions or seeking advice when needed, and making timely academic decisions when continuing as planned is no longer realistic.

Think about the following:

  • What were the main factors affecting your academic performance?
  • How did they affect your ability to attend classes, keep up with coursework, study or complete assessments?
  • Was your course load realistic given your circumstances and other responsibilities?
  • Were your study habits, organization and time management effective?
  • Did you monitor your academic progress and recognize when you were beginning to struggle?
  • When you experienced difficulties, did you recognize the problem and take steps to address it, or did you continue hoping that your performance would improve?
  • Did you inform yourself about the academic rules, deadlines and options available to you, and seek advice when you were unsure what to do?
  • Were you relying on exceptional measures, such as deferred examinations or late withdrawals, to manage difficulties that were ongoing or predictable? Were there patterns in your academic habits or decision-making that contributed to your difficulties?
  • Looking back, what, if anything, could you reasonably have done differently?

Exceptional measures (like deferred exams or late withdrawals) are intended to unexpected circumstances that meet specific criteria. They should not be treated as ongoing accommodations or relied upon as a way to manage a course load or situation that has become unmanageable. If you have ongoing circumstances that affect your studies, consider what regular academic decisions, supports or approved accommodations may be appropriate.

Taking responsibility without assigning blame

Taking responsibility for your academic decisions does not mean blaming yourself for circumstances that were outside of your control.

For example, you may not have been able to prevent an illness, personal crisis or other serious circumstance. You can still reflect on how it affected your studies, whether you recognized when continuing became difficult, what options were available to you at the time, and what you would do if you experienced significant difficulties again.

In some situations, there may have been little or nothing you could reasonably have done differently. The important question is what you understand about your experience now and how that understanding can inform your decisions moving forward.

Planning for academic success

Once you have considered what affected your studies, think about what has already changed and what you have done to address the difficulties you experienced. If some challenges are ongoing or could happen again, consider what plans you now have in place to manage them.

  • What have you learned from your experience?
  • What circumstances have changed or become more manageable?
  • What steps have you taken to address the factors that affected your academic performance?
  • If some challenges are ongoing, what strategies, supports or accommodations do you now have in place to manage them alongside your studies?
  • What changes have you made, or are you prepared to make, to your course load, academic plan, study habits, time commitments or other responsibilities?
  • If you begin struggling again, how will you recognize it early and what will you do differently?

A realistic plan for academic success should be based on more than an intention to work harder or achieve better grades. Consider what has already changed, the steps you have taken to prepare for academic success, and the specific strategies or supports you will use to manage future difficulties.

If you are completing this exercise to help prepare a formal request, use your reflection to explain what affected your academic performance, what you have done to address those difficulties, what has changed, and what plans you have in place to support your academic success.

If you have questions about your academic planning, you may consult your degree or program advisor. For support related to health, personal, financial or other circumstances, consult the appropriate support services.

Failing a course

If you fail a course, you may wish to consult with a degree or program advisor to discuss your options. Depending on the type of course (required or elective course), the grade ("D", a conditional pass, or "F"), your performance in your other courses, and the circumstances for the failure, there are three options:

  1. Repeat the course;
  2. Substitute another course for the one you took;
  3. Apply to write a supplemental examination.

If you fail a required course, you should consult an advisor about modifying your course choice. You should expect that taking Calculus II when you have failed Calculus I, for example, will only result in another failure.

Regardless of whether a course is a required, complementary or an elective course, a grade of "D" is a conditional pass and will only earn you credit as an elective course. Program requirements or prerequisite courses - including basic science courses in the Science Foundation program, or the core courses in the Arts Foundation program - must be passed with a "C" or better. Before proceeding to the next level, you must repeat required or prerequisite courses in which you received a grade of less than "C", or you may choose to take a supplemental examination. You can generally replace complementary courses with other optional courses. If you fail an elective course, you replace it with a different elective course.

If you repeat a course for which you have already earned a grade of "D", you will receive credits for the course only once.

Supplemental exam aren’t always appropriate to your academic situation, and in some instances may actually hinder your degree progression. You should apply for a supplemental examination only under the following conditions: your GPA is 2.50 or better; you have reduced your course load for the winter-term, or do not have a heavy summer schedule; you know the material well and will have little trouble studying for the supplemental on your own.

Review the information on the Exams website, and meet with a degree advisor if you wish to discuss your options. Note that there are no Supplemental Exams offered for Summer courses.

Illness during a course or exam

Missed assignments

If, due to illness, you have missed assignments or mid-term examinations, contact your professor to see if alternative arrangements are possible. At the start of the term, you were provided with a course outline for each of your courses, which should be available to you on myCourses. The course outline provides you with the method of assessment for the course, information on how to contact your course instructor as well as information on late submissions and/or acceptable circumstances for extensions. You should be prepared to provide medical documentation if you are requesting special accommodations. Examinations for multi-term ("D1/D2" courses) courses during the Fall semester final examination period in December are treated as mid-terms and alternative arrangements must be made with the professor.

If you have fallen too far behind to catch up in a course, you should meet with a degree advisor to discuss your options. Depending on your situation, you may be able to request a late course withdrawal, an exam deferral or an extension on your coursework. An advisor can help you go through all the possibilities, find the best solution based on your circumstances and figure out what the steps involved would be. As a B.Sc. or B.A. & Sc. student, all requests for late course withdrawals and deferred exams are handled by Service Point.

Missed final exam

If you have missed a final examination (one that is on the Final Exam Schedule and held during the final exam period), you can request permission from Service Point to write a deferred exam. Service Point reviews and makes decisions on deferred exam requests; degree and program advisors have no authority over these decisions. Depending on the circumstances, medical documentation may be required to support your request. Here you can find details on the deferred exam policy. If the missed final examination is a take-home exam that appears on the Final Exam Schedule, you will need to apply for a deferred exam on Minerva. If it is approved, you must contact the professor to agree on a time frame and deadline to submit the take-home exam.

Illness during an exam

It is assumed that upon entering the exam room, it is your intent to complete the exam. It is your personal responsibility to judge your own state of health before entering the exam room to assess whether you are able to undertake the exam. If you attend your exam, you are no longer eligible to defer it, except under some exceptional cases of unforeseeable medical emergencies. In most cases, once you have started a final exam, no accommodations for an alternate exam will be provided. Note that requests based on minor illnesses (e.g., nausea, headache, dizziness, etc.) will not be approved.

If you unexpectedly become ill during your final exam and cannot complete it, you must report this to the exam invigilator. The invigilator will file an incident report, and direct you to an onsite health practitioner for initial evaluation. You should also contact your degree advisor to inform them of this incident and they will advise you of your options, which may include requesting a deferred exam. Note that except in exceptional extenuating circumstances, once you have started a final exam, no accommodations for an alternate exam will be approved.

In cases of incidental illness (e.g., a cold, cramps, nausea, etc.) that affected your study time leading up to the exam, but where you recovered on the day of your exam, you are expected to write your exam, and a deferral will not be granted.

You can find details in the official Exam Regulations, under "Illness during examinations."

If you complete the examination normally or simply walk out of the examination without notifying anyone of your situation, the grade you receive will remain on your record and cannot be changed. You should not begin an exam if you are too ill to complete it.