Links to Trent University important information and policies
Lists dates for fee payment, course start and end dates, exam dates, withdrawal dates, and holidays
Academic integrity is defined by the basic principles of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. These values serve as the foundation for the development and acquisition of knowledge and all members of the University community are expected to uphold them. For students, adherence to these fundamental values is essential for earning academic credit in all courses, whether offered on- or off-campus, online, or as placements, practicums or internships.
The Financial Aid Office administers the many financial aid programs available at Trent and provides assistance and advice to students seeking financial aid.
Academic advisors help students clarify their academic goals, decide which courses to take, understand academic regulations, connect with the services they need and, ultimately, take charge of their own education.
Academic Skills instructors teach writing and study skills to undergraduate and graduate students through individual and group instruction. In-person and online appointments give students the opportunity to discuss academic work in progress or to learn valuable skills such as critical reading and thinking, time management, clear writing and grammar, oral presentation strategies, research and citation, listening and note-taking, essay and lab writing, exam preparation techniques, and mathematics.
*The following information is subject to change - students should consult the current Academic Calendar for up to date information.*
Missed Examinations
Students who are unable to write their final exam during its designated time period must contact their instructor in advance to request permission to write a deferred exam. The instructor will consider student requests in light of existing university policy and either approve or deny the request. If the instructor denies the deferred exam request, students must write their exam at the regularly scheduled time or request aegrotat standing, should their situation meet that standing’s requirements as stipulated in the Academic Calendar.
If the student’s request for a deferred exam is approved, the student must present themselves to write the exam on the departmental deferred exam day, typically the inclement weather day of the exam period or on an alternative date provided by the instructor.
Unsatisfactory Examination Results
There are no supplemental examinations. The only options available to students who are dissatisfied with the result of an examination are to appeal the final grade in the course or to repeat the course.
Student Access to Graded Examination Papers
Graded examination papers are the property of the University and are not intended to be available to students. They may be seen by students only if a formal appeal of a final grade has been unsuccessful. Requests to see an examination paper must be made in writing to the Office of the Registrar. There is a fee for each request.
Auditing Courses
A student may register to audit certain courses at Trent University. Permission of the instructor is required; it is the student’s responsibility to obtain permission from the course instructor to audit. Not all courses can be audited. Courses taken for audit will not count for credit towards the student’s degree program, nor will the student be allowed to write final examinations or receive grades for courses which are audited. Courses which are audited will be recorded on the student’s transcript and the term “AUD” will appear in lieu of a grade. Audit courses are not considered in calculating full-time or part-time status; audit courses will be considered for overload criteria.
Grading Criteria
The final grade in a course is based on at least some of the following criteria: in-term oral and written work, in-term or mid-year tests or examinations, final examinations, practica, and community-based projects. Normally, at least 25% of the grade in an undergraduate half-credit course offered in the Fall/Winter academic session must be determined and made available by the final date for withdrawal. For full-year undergraduate courses, at least 25% of the grade must normally be determined and made available before the mid-year review in January.
No final examination is worth more than 50% of the final grade. Instructors are encouraged not to base final grades entirely on tests and examinations.
Course Repeats
Students may repeat a course twice (three completions in total when the original attempt is included). This includes course equivalents attempted on a Letter of Permission at another institution. All attempts will appear on the students’ academic records, but no more than one attempt will be assigned credit. The attempt with the highest grade will be used to determine the cumulative average.
Official Final Grades
Final grades are official 30 days after they have been released by the Office of the Registrar. If errors in the calculation or recording of grades come to light after the grades have been released, all affected grades may be recalculated and raised or lowered with the approval of the appropriate dean. This process must be completed, and corrected transcripts must be issued, however, before the 30-day period has passed. Instructors and/or departments are not permitted to release final grades. Final examination marks can be released to students only after final grades have been released by the Office of the Registrar. There is no time limit to reopen a grade in a case of academic dishonesty.
Transcripts
Copies of official grade transcripts will be issued only at the written request of the student. In accordance with the Access to Student Record Policy, the student’s signature is required for the release of records. Transcripts may be ordered in person at the Office of the Registrar, by mail, or online through either myTrent or the Office of the Registrar website. A fee must be paid for each copy of a transcript. Transcripts will not be released for students who have an outstanding financial obligation to the University.
If someone other than the student is required to pick up the transcript, the student must give that person a signed authorization identifying the person and indicating that the person is authorized to pick up the transcript. Photo identification will be required.
Difficulties with Completion of Coursework
There are three options available to students who have difficulties with the completion of their coursework for reasons beyond their control: (1) if they cannot complete their coursework before the end of the academic session, they may request incomplete standing; (2) if they cannot write the final examination in the course, and arranging an alternate exam is not a reasonable option, they may request aegrotat standing; (3) if they wish to withdraw from the course altogether, but have missed the deadline for withdrawal without academic penalty, they may petition for late withdrawal. These three options are described in detail below.
Incomplete Standing
Incomplete standing permits students to prearrange with their instructor to submit any remaining work in a course by a specified date after the end of the academic session. Failure by students to organize their workload is not considered adequate grounds for incomplete standing. A petition for incomplete standing must be made to the instructor and approved by the chair before the department or program deadline (if there is one), but in any case before submission of final grades to the Office of the Registrar.
The instructor specifies the deadline for submission of outstanding work and the grade which will be assigned if the deadline is not met.
Aegrotat Standing
Students may, if eligible, be exempt from writing the final examination in a course. A request for aegrotat standing must be made to the instructor as soon as the relevant circumstances are known and normally before the scheduled examination time. Supporting documentation must be provided. An aegrotat standing is granted only if the student has completed the required term work with a passing average. Aegrotat standing marks are determined using a calculated final examination mark for the student in question. The examination mark is calculated by adding to the student’s term mark the class final examination average minus the class term-work average.
Late Withdrawal
Late withdrawal may be granted to students who have missed the final date for withdrawal from courses but, for reasons judged to be compelling, have been unable to complete their coursework. A petition for late withdrawal is made to the Committee on Undergraduate Petitions through an academic advisor as soon as possible. The petition may be submitted up until the final deadline for late withdrawal 60 days after the start of the following academic term (which includes the summer term). If the petition is granted, the course will remain on the student’s transcript with a grade of WD (meaning withdrawn).
Academic Petitions and Appeals
Students may appeal grades which they have received, regulations which have caused them undue hardship, the penalty of academic suspension, and penalties for academic dishonesty. As a last resort, students may appeal the results of previous petitions or appeals through a special appeal.
Appeals of Grades on Term Work
Appeals of grades on term assignments and tests are made to the course instructor and subsequently, if necessary, to the chair of the department or program. Students are advised to familiarize themselves with the appeals policy of the department or program involved.
Appeals of Final Grades
Appeals of final grades are made in writing to the Office of the Registrar. There is a fee for each appeal, which is refunded if the grade is raised. The grade of a student who is making an appeal cannot be lowered as a result of that appeal.
Only the following work may be reassessed in appeals of final grades:
- term-work not returned to students before the submission of final grades to the Office of the Registrar; and
- final examinations.
The deadline to submit appeals of final grades is 60 days after the start of the following academic term. Students are informed of the results of appeals of final grades as soon as possible but, in any case, before the beginning of the next academic session after the appeal deadline.
Appeal for Academic Renewal
Academic renewal may be granted to students who are not eligible for late withdrawal, but for reasons judged to be compelling, are requesting to replace their grades in all courses (including those courses which were passed) in one or more academic terms with WD (meaning withdrawn). No exceptions will be made. Students may not petition for academic renewal for any term in which there is an academic dishonesty transcript notation. For more details about the removal of transcript notations for academic dishonesty, see the Academic Integrity Policy. To be eligible for academic renewal, students must have subsequently completed at least 4.0 Trent credits with a cumulative average of at least 60% in these courses.
A petition for academic renewal is made to the Committee on Undergraduate Petitions through an academic advisor. If the petition is granted, all courses will remain on the student’s transcript with a grade of WD, and an academic renewal notation will be added to the transcript for that term. Courses with a grade of WD carry no credit weight and will not be included in the calculation of cumulative average. These courses cannot be used as prerequisites or to fulfil program and/or university degree requirements. Students are only eligible for academic renewal once.
Appeals of Academic Regulations
Students who believe that specific academic regulations have imposed undue hardship on them may petition the application of the regulations to the Committee on Undergraduate Petitions through an academic advisor.
Special Appeals
If all other levels of appeals or petitions have been exhausted and have been unsuccessful, students may make an appeal to the Special Appeals Committee through the secretary of the committee. Such appeals must be made within four weeks of receipt of the previous ruling and must be in writing on the appropriate forms available from the Special Appeals website. All decisions of the Special Appeals Committee are final and take effect when issued.
Letters of Permission
Students registered in an undergraduate degree program at Trent University may, with certain conditions, be permitted to take undergraduate courses at other universities as credits towards their Trent University degree. Students must obtain a Letter of Permission from the Office of the Registrar prior to registering in courses at another university.
Only courses completed on a Letter of Permission with a minimum grade of 60% will receive credit at Trent University and will be recorded as a “Pass” on the student’s record. Courses completed with a grade between 50% and 59% will appear as “Pass - No Credit Granted (NCR)” on the student’s record and will carry a credit weight of zero. A failing grade (0%–49%) earned on a Letter of Permission course will appear as a “Fail” on the student’s record. Grades from courses completed on a Letter of Permission will not be included in the session or cumulative average. Courses taken on a Letter of Permission will count toward cumulative credit attempts.
To obtain a Letter of Permission, students must be in good academic standing and have an average of at least 60% on a minimum of 3.0 credits completed at Trent. Deadlines for Letter of Permission requests are listed in the Important Dates section
Restrictions
- Students taking Summer courses at another post-secondary institution on a Letter of Permission may not attempt more than 2.0 credits. Students may take a maximum of 2.0 credits in a Summer session, including courses at another university on a Letter of Permission.
- No more than 5.0 credits may be completed on a Letter of Permission. (For transfer students this number may be lower, depending on how many transfer credits they have received.)
- The total number of non-Trent credits in an Honours program may not exceed 10.0. The total number of non-Trent credits in a General program may not exceed 7.5.
- 5.0 of the last 7.0 credits obtained by a candidate for a Trent University degree must be completed at Trent.
Notes
- Students who obtain a Letter of Permission should register at the host university as a Visiting Student rather than as a student in a degree program. Students who register in a degree program will jeopardize their registration status at Trent and will need to apply for readmission. A Letter of Permission issued to a student who subsequently transfers to another post-secondary institution will be considered invalid.
- Students who are granted a Letter of Permission to complete the final course(s) of their program at another university during the Fall/Winter session and intend to graduate in the spring convocation must provide grades to the Office of the Registrar in the form of an official transcript by May 1 in order to ensure that their names appear in the convocation program and that their diplomas are printed for the day of the ceremony. Students who are granted a Letter of Permission to complete the final course(s) of their program at another university during the Summer session and intend to graduate in the Fall must submit an official transcript to the Office of the Registrar as soon as possible after completion of the course for inclusion in the next Convocation Roll to Senate.
Results of Letter of Permission
Courses approved for a Letter of Permission will appear on a student’s Trent University transcript with a status of INP (In Progress) at the time the Letter of Permission is issued. Students are required to make arrangements to have an official transcript forwarded to the Office of the Registrar upon completion of the course. Once the official transcript is received, the student’s record will be updated with the completed course(s) and grade(s).
- If an official transcript, or evidence of non-enrolment, is not forwarded to the Office of the Registrar within 60 calendar days of the end of the session specified in the Letter of Permission, a grade of Fail will be assigned.
- Transcripts forwarded in support of Admissions or Financial Aid will not be considered official for Letter of Permission completion.