Faculty of Law to allow students one no-questions-asked deferral on an exam or paper due to pandemic-related mental health challenges
On Thursday, March 11, Associate Dean Christopher Essert announced that students will have the option to elect to defer one paper or exam during the upcoming exam session. The policy has few strings attached. Students must email records by Thursday, April 8 if they choose to defer. Neither reasons nor an explanation of the deferral decision are required, but this option is only available for one assignment or exam.
The Process
If students wish to participate in this process, they must email the Records Office on or before April 8. In that email, Associate Dean Essert instructed students to make the subject line either “elected exam deferral” or “elected paper extension” and confirm the class and professor for the deferral.
A deferral will not be notated on a student’s transcript. Deferrals are available for Supervised Upper Year Research Paper (SUYRP) and anonymous grading will still apply to all submitted assignments. However, professors will know which exams or papers are deferred and which ones were not, because they will receive the deferred submissions later.
The usual accommodation system remains in place for other deferrals. If a student requires more than one deferral, they can follow the traditional process of filling out an Accommodation Request form and supplying supporting documentation as “soon as reasonably practicable.”
The Rationale for the Deferral Option
According to Associate Dean Essert, student mental health was the “primary motivation for the policy” stating that he knew “this ha[d] been a challenging year” for law students, and that many students have been in touch about “mental health experiences over the course of the pandemic.”
In making the decision, Associate Dean Essert indicated that the administration considered “various options,” considering both “academic integrity” and “student mental health.” Ultimately, allowing students to defer a single paper or exam provided the “best balance of both of these goals.”
Student Reaction
Student reaction — according to Associate Dean Essert and the Students’ Law Society (SLS) — has been mostly positive. Willem Crispin-Frei (3L), Vice-President of the Student Affairs and Governance Committee and incoming SLS President, stated that the “SLS supports the effort from the Faculty to make additional supports for students during this difficult year, as we have consistently been requesting.” Crispin-Frei also said that SLS has “heard from students that the deferral is an appreciated and helpful option to have to alleviate end-of-term pressures.” SLS is continuing to encourage the administration “to additionally have flexibility with other requests through the normal accommodations policy during this exam period” and encourage “ students to be familiar with the Faculty’s academic policies and trust that they will proceed with the usual integrity and good judgement.”
More information about the policy is available here.
