Booking exams

Once you have determined you’re ready to take your exam, booking your exam with AU is a 2-step process.

1. You must book your exam with your chosen AU-approved invigilator at least 10 days before the date you want to write your exam. Your chosen exam date must be before the end of your course contract.
2. Once your appointment with your invigilator is confirmed, request your exam through myAU at least 10 days before the date you want to write your exam. If you are unable to complete your exam request using the online form, a PDF exam request form is also available.

Now that you have all the information you need, please complete, and submit an Examination Request Form in your myAU account. Send the form as far in advance of your desired exam writing date as possible to ensure ample time for it to be processed. We encourage you to view our exam request deadlines, so you can be sure you are not too late to guarantee a smooth process.

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Booking exams with accommodations for students with disabilities

Are you registered for accessibility services and accommodations? We require you to request your exam at least 20 days before your write date. This way our staff has enough time to prepare for the examination. In some circumstances, these time limits may be extended for specific examinations.

When you are ready to request your exam and are using an invigilator in the AU-approved Invigilator network, submit the online Examination Request Form (also available through myAU) or open the online form.

In some situations, an Accessibility Services team member may ask you to complete and return the Accessibility Services Examination Request Form in PDF for your booking due to the nature of the arranged accommodation.

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Exam request deadlines to keep in mind

If you are requesting an exam through ProctorU or an established AU-approved invigilator, you must request your exam at least 10 days prior to your requested write date.

If you are requesting to write an exam with an invigilator not yet established as an AU-approved invigilator, your request must be received 60 days prior to your requested exam writing date.

Find more information about exam request deadlines in the Undergraduate Calendar.

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Can I reschedule an exam?

Exams will remain available with your invigilator for 5 days after the scheduled write date. The 5-day window is in place for technical issues, outages, or emergencies. You can write anytime in these 5 days–if the invigilator can supervise at the time–without the need to re-schedule with AU. If you cannot write your exam within 5 days, your original exam will be returned to AU unwritten. You will need to submit a new exam request through myAU.

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Can I appeal an exam policy or procedure?

Yes, you can. To do that, you’ll have to contact the Office of the Registrar using the Online Appeals Form. The appeals officer designated by the registrar has the final authority on all appeals and they will let you know in writing what their final decision is in your case.

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Are there pre-set dates for exams?

There are no pre-set exam dates; you must schedule an exam to write it. You can write your exam at any time within your course contract period. Course-specific information can be found in your course syllabus.

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Do oral exams follow the same process?

No, they do not. If you are registered in a course that has an oral exam, your exam may be conducted by phone, video conferencing, email, or other audio methods. It’ll be arranged directly between you and your tutor. You do not need a request form for this process. Look at the evaluation section of your course syllabus––that should tell you if the course has an oral quiz or examination, or not.

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What are supplemental exams and how can I request one?

If you are not satisfied with the grade you received on your exam mark (supplemental examinations do not apply to assignments, quizzes, or challenge courses) you have the option to ask for and write 1 supplemental exam for each midterm or final exam required in your course. The higher of the 2 marks will then be used to calculate your final course grade. Note: supplemental examinations do not apply to assignments, quizzes, or challenge courses.

Here’s how it works:

• Athabasca University charges a non-refundable fee for each supplemental exam. To avoid any delays, you should make sure that this fee accompanies the Examination Request Form as when you submit it.
• To request your supplemental exam, you need to complete and submit the Examination Request Form to the Office of the Registrar, so that the form will arrive no later than 90 calendar days after the date when you wrote your initial examination.
• As with any exam requests, we need to receive your supplemental exam request within the official exam request and completion deadlines.
• If you are unable to attend your supplemental exam, you cannot reschedule or re-request it.

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What if I am unable to write my exam on the date I booked it?

If, for some reason, you can’t attend your exam at the scheduled write date, your unwritten exam will remain with the invigilator for 5 days. If the 5 days passes and your exam is returned to Athabasca University, you may reschedule your exam by completing and submitting an Examination Request Form.

It is important that you make sure that your invigilator is available on the new write date. Your invigilator may consider a cancellation or rebooking fee if they cannot reschedule the new write date.

Supplemental examinations cannot be rescheduled and must be written as requested.

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How does AU handle late exam requests?

Late exam requests are no longer allowed. Students are now required to write their exam within their course contract period. If you’ve reached the end of your course contract and haven’t requested your exam, you must instead request an extension.

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Can I be asked to do an exam rewrite?

Yes, that’s possible. At AU, we may ask that you rewrite an exam under certain circumstances. Make sure you are familiar with our Student Academic Misconduct and Non-Academic Misconduct policies.

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Can I rewrite the exam if I’m not happy with my grade?

If you’re unhappy with your exam grade, you can write a supplemental exam (an exam rewrite). The higher mark will be used in calculating your final course grade. You request a supplemental exam using the regular exam request process, but you will have to pay the Supplemental Exam Fee. Note: If you are a visiting student, check with your school to ensure your course will still transfer if you write a supplemental exam.

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Can I bring items into the exam room?

Your course website, which you access through myAU, will have information about your exam, including the time you must complete it, whether you can bring anything with you, and the exam format.

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Relevant forms to book your exams at AU

Exam request online form:

When you are ready to request your exam, please complete and submit the online Examination Request Form (also available through myAU).

Open the form

Exam request pdf form:

If you are not able to complete and submit the online form, this PDF version is also available to you.

Download the form