Time Extension Requests

Revisions approved by Senate

About Time Extension requests

A Time Extension in a graduate program will be granted for exceptional circumstances on a per term basis up to a three-term limit. PhD students are eligible for a maximum of four Time Extensions.

To be considered for a Time Extension a student MUST BE A REGISTERED STUDENT at Lakehead University.

The request for a Time Extension must be submitted the term prior to the Extension. The Faculty of Graduate Studies Council does not meet during the Spring/Summer term, therefore requests for the Fall Term must normally be submitted by the previous May 1st.

Time Extensions are granted per-term and therefore start and end at the beginning and end of a term.

How Requests are Granted

Requests for Time Extensions will be considered on an individual basis on the recommendation of the student's academic unit to the Leave/Extension Committee, which will in turn make a recommendation to the Faculty of Graduate Studies Council. The decision to accept, vary, or reject a request lies solely at the discretion of the Faculty of Graduate Studies Council, without right of appeal.

The academic unit grants the First-Term Time Extension. The student's request is directed to the academic unit, which is charged with approving or denying this request and for submitting the approved request form to the Office of Graduate Studies.

Subsequent requests for a Time Extension must be made on the recommendation of the academic unit through the Faculty of Graduate Studies Council. The Leave/Extension Committee will consider Time Extension requests for a student up to a maximum of two (2) terms in addition to the First Term Time Extension approved by the academic unit, or three (3) additional terms for PhD students.

Conditions

The Supervisor and/or Graduate Coordinator MUST PROVIDE ADEQUATE DETAILS in support of the request. Requests will be returned to the academic unit if the information provided is insufficient.

A graduate student who does not complete all requirements within one of the prescribed Periods of Study and does not receive an approved Time Extension is considered to have failed the program.

All personal information in requests for Time Extensions and in all related communication will be held in strict confidence and disclosed only to University faculty, staff and agents who need the information to carry out their duties, or as required by law. 

Students on Time Extension are not eligible for university funding, including, but not limited to: bursaries, scholarships, and graduate assistantships.