Students in individualized study have up to 6 months to complete a 3-credit course and up to 12 months to complete a 6-credit course.  Students in grouped study or those receiving financial assistance have shortened course contracts.

If you are thinking about completing a course in under three months, you should consider how your progress will affect or be affected by the following factors:

• Requests for the next month's course contract start date must be received and processed before the 10th of the previous month.  Depending on where you live, course materials can take up to 2 weeks to arrive.
• Students cannot contact their tutor or book exams until the official course contract start date.
• There is a 5 business day turnaround time for marking assignments. The 5-day period begins on the day the marker receives the assignment, not the day it was sent.
• After an exam is written, it is returned to the University by the Invigilator. It is then forwarded on to the marker. Once received, there is a 5 business day turnaround time for the exam to be marked. The mark is then forwarded to the Administrative Course Assistant, who issues a final grade report, which is sent to the Office of the Registrar. None of the above includes mailing time.
• The Office of the Registrar enters the final grade into the student information system in the order final grades are received (typically, a 2 to 5 business day turnaround time).
• Final or course composite grades cannot be computed until all course requirements have been completed and marked.
• If a transcript is required, students can request their transcript be sent by courier, rather than regular mail, at their own expense.
• We recommended that exams be written and assignments submitted 4 to 6 weeks before the date for which the final grade is required.

To learn more, contact the Information Centre or the Office of the Registrar.