WCL has a deferred exam policy in place to accommodate students who meet the approved grounds for deferral. Please read through the information below and submit the Exam Deferral Request form if you believe you meet the grounds for deferral – the form will be available here mid-semester. Students will receive exam deferral confirmations closer to the exam period and modifications will also appear on your personalized exam schedule. We recommend students request deferrals at their earliest convenience to ensure timely processing but we will continue to accept submissions throughout the exam period.

Please note the exam scheduling system introduced in Fall 2025 automatically defers an exam if your schedule meets one of three criteria: three examinations scheduled on three consecutive days (#3), two exams scheduled for the same calendar day (#4), or an exam scheduled in the morning at 9am following a 6pm examination the day before (#6). Accordingly, please wait until your personalized exam schedule is visible to you before submitting an exam deferral request as the change will likely already be reflected on your plan.

All students are required to take examinations as scheduled with the exception of the following six grounds only:

1. Physical inability to take the examination, including illness or medical situations*;
2. Personal necessity, which includes emergency situations* and religious observances;
3. Three examinations scheduled on three consecutive days, in which event one of the three may be deferred;
4. Two or more examinations scheduled on the same calendar day;
5. For part-time students with a work obligation on the days in question, two examinations scheduled on two consecutive days, in which event one of the two may be deferred;
6. An examination scheduled in the morning (9:00am) following an examination the evening before (6:00pm). Please note: there is no rule that states you must have 24 hours between exams. An evening exam followed by a 9:00am exam is the only circumstance that would create a reason for deferral based on this ground.

*Documentation is required for grounds 1 and 2 for emergency situations.

When an examination is deferred:

• it may only be moved to one of the next two available examination dates during the examination period (Spring 2026 is 4/27/26-5/9/26);
• it may only be moved to a date on which the rescheduled examination will not again be subject to deferral under the conditions outlined above;
• it may not be taken earlier than the originally scheduled exam date;
• it will be administered at 10am on the scheduled deferred exam date;
• it must be taken before the first day of the subsequent term – May 26, 2026

 

Travel plans will not be considered a personal necessity unless the original exam date was changed after the purchase of tickets. Participation/attendance at weddings and other commencement ceremonies is not considered a reason for exam deferral.

Examinations may be deferred only through the Office of the Registrar. Do not contact your instructor to reschedule an exam or ask for authorization to defer an exam. All questions should be directed to examsWCL@wcl.american.edu.