Academic concessions

What is an academic concession?

An academic concession may be granted for a student when an unexpected situation or circumstance prevents them from completing graded work or exams.

Academic concessions may include:

For complete details on academic concessions, please visit the UBC Academic Calendar.

If you have a disability or ongoing medical condition that affects your studies for more than one term, you may request an academic accommodation.

Eligibility for academic concessions

You may request an academic concession for:

  • Unanticipated changes in personal responsibilities that create a conflict
    These may include family care, paid employment, 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.

Registration times are listed in the Pacific Time Zone. If you're registering from a different time zone, make sure you know when registration starts in your location.

Requesting a concession

Requests should be made as early as reasonably possible. We understand that some issues may make it impossible for you to report until you've received medical attention or support for a traumatic event.

Depending on the situation, your advising office or course instructor will manage your request.

Read the course syllabus

First, check the course syllabus to determine the options you have for making up missed work in your course.

If the work you missed is optional (e.g., it's one of several quizzes and two can be missed without penalty), you may not need to make up for the missed work.

Check with your advising office

Find information from your faculty about requesting an academic concession:

If you don’t see your faculty in the list above, contact your faculty’s academic advising office.

You can also contact your faculty’s academic advising if the following applies to you:

  • You’re unsure whether you’re eligible for an academic concession.
  • Your circumstance or situation lasts more than a few days.
  • You continue to face difficult life events repeatedly.

Submitting documentation

In some cases, submitting a “self-declaration of absence” to your faculty’s academic advising office or your instructor may be enough.

Example cases include, but are not limited to:

  • A sudden illness that keeps you from attending an exam
  • Arm injury the week a paper is due
  • Death in the family 
  • Mental health crisis

Talk to your academic advisor about your specific situation and to find out your options.

Tuition adjustment or refund

If you’ve received an academic concession, or withdrawn from a course under extenuating circumstances, you may be eligible for a tuition adjustment or refund. 

If you have questions

Talk to your academic advisor for questions related to academic concessions and next steps.

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