Every year after fall final exams, U of T students refresh ACORN over and over to see how well they did on their courses. This year, some students were still waiting for final grades to be released as recently as January 15, two weeks after the university reopened. 

Most instructors are told not to display all assessment grades to students on Quercus until the official grades are on ACORN, since final grade processes often involve departmental review and approval before uploading. Professors release final grades to students on a rolling basis, and there is no hard deadline for final grades. Each division and academic unit has its own timeline for releasing grades. 

According to a spokesperson for U of T, “most divisions require instructors to submit grades within five to 10 business days from the date the exam was written.” Delays in releasing final grades are “not unusual,” the spokesperson continued, and illness and technical issues are the main factors for such delays. 

The timelines we know

In the UTSG Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Handbook for Instructors, “timelines for returning bundled marked in-person exams to the Office of the Faculty Registrar will be circulated to Undergraduate Administrators in a memo.” 

After Arts & Science instructors submit their final marks, the head of the academic unit reviews and approves the grades. Then, the Office of the Faculty Registrar does divisional review, approval on behalf of the Dean, and then uploads the final marks.

For Applied Science and Engineering final grades, the academic regulations read that final course marks are due by a “prescribed deadline” to the Undergraduate Assessment Committee, and the grade is only finalized after the committee’s approval. The engineering undergraduate guide for first years reads, “if you have not received all of your final grades by mid-January, please visit the First Year Office.”

The UTM academic policies handbook for 2025–2026 reads, “final grades are due five business days following the final examination or, for courses without a final exam, five days following the end of the Study Break for that session.” 

Grades are then reviewed by the Academic Unit and approved by the Chair, Director, or their designate. The UTM registrar website reads, “final grades will be posted on ACORN approximately two weeks after the end of each examination period.”

For UTSC students, the academic handbook states, “instructors must submit final grades to the Office of the Registrar via eMarks within 5 business days” after the exam or the last day of class. Final grades are posted once they are approved by the Chair or Director.

This year at UTSC, delays were related to “some scanning issues that were resolved before the holiday break, and some UTSC instructors were given more time to submit final grades,” according to a spokesperson for the university. 

Unlike most undergraduates, graduate students have a firm date for final grades to be released. According to the sessional dates calendar for the School of Graduate Studies, the fall final grades were available for graduate students on ACORN by January 14. 

Student reactions

Some students take to the r/UofT subreddit to ask when grades will be released. 

One user wrote that three of their graduate program applications “had to be submitted with missing grades. I’m still missing a class for an exam which was 80% multiple choice and taken over a month ago.”

Another user noted that a complete transcript from the fall 2025 semester is required before they can be considered for their programs, most of which consider applicants on a rolling basis.

One student wrote to The Varsity that the timeline for grades to be released is “completely reasonable,” but that the “timing and unpredictability of when they’re released creates real, unavoidable problems for students,” like waiting to hear whether or not they have passed a fall prerequisite course. 

They continued, “this isn’t about demanding that instructors work faster or give up their breaks; it’s about the need for clearer timelines, better coordination, and more transparency.”

According to a U of T spokesperson, students concerned with their winter timetable are advised to contact their faculty or program’s academic advisor, writing to The Varsity that, “most divisions have a course change period at the start of the term to allow for any necessary changes.”