Oh no! You’ve missed your final exam or project for one reason or another, and now you need to write a standing deferred exam instead. What is the process and what should you know about this? I wrote this page to help economics students, in Arts, navigate the process. If you’re not in Arts, it’s pretty similar; just replace “Arts” with your home advising office.
What is an SD standing?
At UBC, a “standing deferred” refers to a special kind of grade that UBC uses to show when a student has outstanding work in a course. The UBC Calendar explains more about them in detail. Basically, it is a placeholder grade while you complete the work:
- On your transcript and Workday, you will see the status “SD” instead of a grade (like A, or D) when you check your marks.
- You will also not see any credits awarded and systems will not show you meeting requirements that depend on the course.
⚠️ Important Note ⚠️ there is often a mismatch in timing between when you apply for an SD, when your professor posts your term grades, and when advising applies the SD status to your records. If Advising has given you a standing deferred (or you are waiting) but see a low grade and no SD status on your records, don’t panic. This just means your professor has submitted grades but Advising hasn’t updated your standing yet.
A course with an SD status does not count towards your sessional average or GPA until you complete it or the SD expires. This includes for continuation, graduation, and academic award purposes.
Once you complete the outstanding requirements, enrolment services will replace the SD status with your actual, final, grade.
Getting approval for a standing deferred exam (SD)
Getting approval for a standing deferred can be a little confusing, but the process is fairly straightforward. Let’s start by imagining you’ve missed a final exam, or other major project.
- First, make sure you have a case for an academic concession as outlined in the Calendar, such as being sick or having something bad happen to you or a loved one.
- Not all situations are grounds for a concessions: for instance, missing the bus or oversleeping is not a valid reason.
- You can’t get approval if you wrote a final exam.
- Second, contact Arts Advising as soon as possible to request your concession. You may need to provide documentation, but apply sooner rather than wait for documents.
- Advising will consider your application, and make a decision. Before they approve, they may contact your instructor for more information.
- You often need to show that you have been making progress to passing the course, and do not have a great deal of outstanding material.
- Finally, they will contact you to approve or deny your request.
This usually takes a week or two, especially during busy times like exams.
What if my request gets denied?
There are two types of denials:
- A flat denial. In this case, you’re out of luck. This is the end of the road. 😢
- A late withdrawal. In this case, advising will withdraw you from the course, and will give you a “W” grade instead.
Usually, a late withdrawal is appropriate when a student meets concession requirements but has too much outstanding work, or hasn’t been making enough progress. This is the “good” outcome for a denied application.
After approval: writing the exam
This is a very important part of the process! You still have more work to do: you must apply to make up the work.
- If the outstanding work is a project or something that’s not an exam, you should email your professor to discuss.
- If the outstanding work is an exam, you need to apply to write a make-up.
Read this page very carefully: UBC rules for SD exams
- There is a deadline to apply, usually in April/May to apply. If you miss the application deadline, that’s it!
- You have options for where to write your exam, and the deadlines vary.
You can make-up the exam either at UBC, or elsewhere, but there are rules and timelines.
Check when and where you’ll write your exam
If you’re making up an exam, you need to check the schedule. This is not managed by your professor but by enrolment services. You can find instructions for checking your exam schedule on the exams site.
- You can also see a schedule of all exams on the faculty SD exams site.
- This is usually updated shortly after the application deadline closes.
If you’re not sure, contact enrolment services for more information – not your professor! They usually don’t know more than you do.
Writing a standing deferred exam when not at UBC
Students can write their exams even if they’re not on campus. You can read about the rules for off-campus exams here.
- Enrolment services charges a small fee for choosing this option.
- You can write at a partner exam center or you can apply to write elsewhere, with an invigilator.
- In North America, university professors or library staff are one common option.
- Overseas, you can write at a Canadian Embassy or Consulate, or the British Council.
You still need to apply for this option, and have it approved.
Writing the standing deferred exam and wrapping up
When you write your exam, it should be very similar to the original exam environment. Be aware that the invigilator will probably not be able to answer questions about your exam.
- If you encounter a doubt about what a question is asking, or think there’s a typo, make a note of the issue on the exam and explain your logic.
After the exam is finished, it will be sent to your professor for marking. They will then update your final grade, and the SD status will be removed by enrolment services.
Questions and other problems?
- If you have any questions, you can contact our Advising for economics students.
- You can also ask Arts Advising or Enrolment services for scheduling issues or other parts of the process.
(Last updated: 2024-05-03)