Exam Conflicts

A conflict is defined as two FINAL exams scheduled at the same time.

If you have two FINAL examinations scheduled in the same time slot (ie. two exams scheduled at 2:00pm on the same day), you will be receiving an e-mail to your Western or @uwo.ca account, which will provide details on how to proceed and appropriate people to contact.

Multiple Exam Situation

A multiple exam situation is defined as:

3 or more final or mid-year examinations in the December or April exam period scheduled within 3 consecutive periods or 23 hours,
4 or more final or mid-year examinations in the December or April exam period scheduled within 6 consecutive periods or 47 hours, or
5 or more final or mid-year examinations in the December or April exam period scheduled within 9 consecutive periods or 71 hours

A period refers to the morning, afternoon or evening slot on an exam day.

If you are in any of the above listed situations, you will be receiving an e-mail to your Western or @uwo.ca account in the middle of March, which will provide details on how to proceed.

By maintaining BOTH a Conflict and a Multiple Exam policy, it is Western University’s objective to provide students with a fair exam schedule. We remain committed to supporting all students during their studies here.

Examples:

A) Three exams in 23 hours or 3 exams in 3 consecutive periods could be exams scheduled as follows:

Exam Period	Day 1	Day 2
9:00AM		Exam 3
2:00PM	Exam 1
7:00PM	Exam 2

B) Four exams in 47 hours, or 4 exams in 6 consecutive periods could be exams scheduled as follows:

Exam Period	Day 1	Day 2
9:00AM	Exam 1
2:00PM		Exam 3
7:00PM	Exam 2	Exam 4

C) Five exams in 71 hours, or 5 exams in 9 consecutive periods could be exams scheduled as follows:

Exam Period	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
9:00AM	Exam 1		Exam 4
2:00PM		Exam 3	Exam 5
7:00PM	Exam 2

Missed Exams

Sleeping In, Misreading the Schedule, Flight Arrangements

Professors are not required to set a Special Examination for these reasons. If you are only half an hour late, you may be given permission to start the examination. Otherwise, submit a request to the Student Absence Portal immediately. You are expected to schedule vacations and flights that don't conflict with the examination schedule. Travel arrangements are NOT considered grounds for permission to write a Special Exam.

Illness or Compassionate Grounds

Students must provide a Student Medical Certificate completed by their medical practitioner. Click to download the new STUDENT MEDICAL CERTIFICATE (SMC).

If, on medical or compassionate grounds, you are unable to write final examinations you should contact the course instructor as soon as possible to let them know that you are unable to write the exam. You should then submit a request for Special Exam and your supporting documentation through the Student Absence Portal. You should understand that academic consideration will not be granted automatically on request. You must demonstrate that there are compelling medical or compassionate grounds that can be documented before academic consideration will be reviewed. In all cases, action must be taken at the earliest possible opportunity, preferably prior to the scheduled examination.

Instructions:

You require the permission of the Academic Advising Office, and the Instructor in question to write a special final examination.
If you are unable to write a final examination, submit a request through the Student Absence Portal immediately to request permission to write a special final examination. You should also contact your instructor via email to let them know.
Be prepared to provide supporting documentation with your Student Absence Portal request. Medical notes must specifically address the issue of your ability to sit your exam, e.g., "... medically unfit to write exam on such and such a date" rather than "was seen in clinic". It is also helpful to have an estimated recovery time noted.
The status of your request can be monitored through the Student Absence Portal homepage.