Academic concession

At UBC, we care about your wellbeing and are committed to supporting you in your academic pursuits. We recognize that sometimes unanticipated events or circumstances can affect your ability to complete your academic responsibilities.

What is Academic concession?

An academic concession acknowledges the circumstances a student faces that are outside of their control or expectation and grants them eligibility for adjustments to help them complete their studies.

These adjustments often consist of a later deadline for an assignment, an opportunity to complete a make-up test or quiz, a late withdraw (with a W standing), or a Deferred Standing (known as SD) for coursework and exams. Students should anticipate being asked to submit their assignment/coursework within reasonable time of their circumstances being resolved.

UBC’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) can assist students with a request for academic concessions if the situation is related to an experience of sexual assault.

Note: An academic concession is not the same as an academic accommodation. If you are already registered with the Centre for Accessibility (CFA) and your disability or ongoing medical condition informs the grounds for academic concession, you may submit your request for academic concessions to the Undergraduate Office (UGO) or CFA.

If you missed in-term coursework: In-term academic concession

If you missed final exams or end-of-term assignments: Standing Deferred

If an academic concession is approved for a final exam, the student will receive a Deferred Standing (known as SD) for that course. You will be required to complete your final exam at a later date, most likely during the SD exam period (late July to early August for winter session courses, or mid-November for summer session courses) or you may agree to make alternate arrangements with the course instructors to write your missed exam at a different time before the SD deadline.

Be aware that a Deferred Standing in a course(s) may also impact:

Your academic standing evaluation and registration/graduation
We may not be able to determine your eligibility to continue in our program or to be promoted to the next year level until you have completed all coursework, and a final grade(s) has been posted.

Where possible, we will use interim grades (grades achieved to-date in courses with an SD, assuming zeroes for uncompleted coursework) to calculate your average. If you do not meet continuation/promotion requirements based on interim grades, your overall sessional average will be reassessed once your final grade(s) has been posted on your record; this may delay your registration and promotion for the next Winter Session or your eligibility to graduate.
Your eligibility for UBC resources
These may include UBC Housing, athletics, visa/study permits, funding (e.g., student loans, awards, scholarships), medical insurance, and other resources with minimum credit requirements.

We strongly recommend that you reach out to the UBC Department that oversees the supports and resources that have credit requirements. If you don’t know who to contact, reach out to the UGO for assistance in navigating UBC.

Other considerations:

While it may be possible to write an SD exam off-campus, it requires you to make your own invigilation arrangements with a UBC approved invigilator that would be expected to follow UBC Invigilation Guidelines and Procedures. This may result and additional costs or travel to the writing location.
SD exam may be scheduled several months after the course ends. This may result in having a heavier course load in a future term as you will have to prepare to write your SD exam while registered in other courses.
Course material may not be available after the course ends. This may include copyright material, content removed from the Canvas shell, etc. Students are responsible for the course content and materials needed to prepare for an exam.

Before you apply

There are several steps you need to take before you apply for academic concession. The UGO receives many concession requests throughout the school year; therefore, these steps are crucial in ensuring a more efficient process. Please follow the steps below to ensure we can process your request as quickly as possible:

1. Review UBC’s Academic Concession Policy

UBC Academic Concession Policy

2. Check if you are eligible for academic concessions

You may be eligible for an academic concession if:

You missed an evaluated component in a course,
You have been attending classes regularly,
You have been regularly completing coursework,
Your request covers a short period of time,
You are able to meet the learning outcomes of the course.

Please note that once an exam has started, the grade earned will stand and there will be no additional opportunity to increase the mark.
Your academic concession request is based on grounds supported by the UBC Academic Concessions policy:

Conflicting responsibilities
This may include family care, paid employment in some circumstances, religious practices, or military duty that conflict with academic requirements and are beyond your control.
Medical circumstances
This can cover a mental or physical health issue that emerges or recurs during a term.
Compassionate grounds
A concession may be granted when a student experiences a traumatic event, sexual assault, or death in the family or of a close friend.

Conflicting travel plans or feeling unprepared will not merit academic concession.
Use your own judgment to determine if your circumstances match any of these cases before you apply for academic concession.

If you're submitting a concession request, be prepared to show supporting documentation and/or have a discussion with an academic advisor. Be aware that falsifying information for an academic concession is considered academic misconduct.

3. Refer to your course syllabus

Every course is different, and each will have its specific instructions or information on requesting concession for the specific course.

Your course syllabus will outline which circumstances will require you to submit a request for academic concession and how concession will be applied if your request is approved.

4. Inform your instructor

Follow the instructions in your course outline and let your instructor know as soon as possible about any missed lectures or coursework and confirm your understanding of what a concession may entail and how the work will be completed.

Deadlines

You are expected to submit a request for academic concessions within 48 hours of the missed coursework, exam, or deadline.

Winter Session, Term 1 -- January 31
Winter Session, Term 2 -- May 31
Summer Session (both terms) – September 30

The deadlines for completing all SD course work as per UBC Calendar are:

August 23, for Winter Session
December 25, for Summer Session

Applying for an academic concession

After completing the previous steps, apply via the link below:

Apply for in-term concession

Apply for Deferred Standing

Providing documentation to support

While a self-declaration may suffice for a first incidence, for some circumstances, you may be required to submit supporting documentation along with, or following, your self-declaration.

We trust that the information you provide is accurate and truthful. The submission of false information to obtain academic concession is classified as academic misconduct and will be subject to investigation and the appropriate discipline action.

We also understand documentation is not always possible. Self-declaration of your circumstances may be sufficient for:

the first occurrence of an acute illness
a request on compassionate grounds
a conflicting responsibility for which there is no practicable way to provide a letter or other official document from an organization

Next steps after approval

Next steps for in-term concessions

Next steps for Deferred Standing

If your concession request for a final exam or final term coursework is approved, you will be granted a Deferred Standing (or Standing Deferred) and a notation of ‘SD’ will be added to the course on your academic record. Your course grade will remain incomplete until you have completed all coursework.

If your academic concession is approved and an “SD” has been added to your student record:

Review any information provided by the UGO and your course instructor (e.g., email, course outline, Canvas)
Monitor your email and follow the instructions provided. Review course exceptions for alternate exam dates that differ from the official deferred exam period.
Apply through the SSC to write your exam(s) in the application period outlined by Enrolment Services.
Write your deferred exam as scheduled by Enrolment Services unless otherwise indicated by your instructor and submit incomplete coursework as per your instructor’s directions.

Deferred exams for Winter Session courses are held the following July/August.
Deferred exams for Summer Session courses are held in November.

What happens after I’ve written my deferred exam?
After you’ve written your exam, your instructor will calculate and submit your final course grade. The SD notation will be removed when your final grade is posted.

Please note that once an exam has started, the grade earned will stand and there will be no additional opportunity to increase the mark.

What happens if I miss my deferred exam?
If you are unable to complete a deferred course due to extenuating circumstances, you may request additional academic concessions in the form of a late withdrawal (with a W standing). Your request for concession must be accompanied by supporting documentation.

More information on standing deferred deadlines can be found on Enrolment Services.

What options may be available if I am not eligible for a Deferred Standing?
When academic concessions cannot be processed in the form of an SD (due to the nature of the missed work or the duration of the academic concession), an Academic Advisor may explore the possibility of granting a late withdrawal (with a W standing) from the course.

If your request for academic concessions is denied

A request for academic concessions may be denied on the following grounds:

You have made repeated requests for academic concessions
You have already completed the coursework or wrote the exam
There is an investigation of academic misconduct in progress
You did not submit a request for academic concessions on a timely manner (within 48-hours) and were not prevented by extenuating circumstances from doing so
You were required to provide additional information/documentation to support your request and you failed to follow up accordingly.
Making up missed coursework is not feasible. An Academic Advisor or Accessibility Advisor may reach out to discuss alternatives that may be available for your case.
You have missed too many classes, as per the requirements set out in the course syllabus.

Statement of Professionalism and Code of Conduct

UBC Attendance Policy

If your request for academic concessions is denied, an Academic Advisor in the Undergraduate Office will inform you.

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Academic concession

At UBC, we care about your wellbeing and are committed to supporting you in your academic pursuits. We recognize that sometimes unanticipated events or circumstances can affect your ability to complete your academic responsibilities.

What is Academic concession?

Be aware that a Deferred Standing in a course(s) may also impact:

Other considerations:

Before you apply

1. Review UBC’s Academic Concession Policy

2. Check if you are eligible for academic concessions

3. Refer to your course syllabus

4. Inform your instructor

Deadlines

Office hours

Applying for an academic concession

Providing documentation to support

Next steps after approval

If your request for academic concessions is denied

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Academic concession

At UBC, we care about your wellbeing and are committed to supporting you in your academic pursuits. We recognize that sometimes unanticipated events or circumstances can affect your ability to complete your academic responsibilities.

What is Academic concession?

Be aware that a Deferred Standing in a course(s) may also impact:

Other considerations:

Before you apply

1. Review UBC’s Academic Concession Policy

2. Check if you are eligible for academic concessions

3. Refer to your course syllabus

4. Inform your instructor

Deadlines

Applying for an academic concession

Providing documentation to support

Next steps after approval

If your request for academic concessions is denied

Explore myBCom