A Letter of Permission is formal authorization for a student to take a course at another accredited postsecondary institution for credit towards their Lakehead University degree or diploma. 

 How to Apply for a Letter of Permission

1. Review the Letter of Permission University regulations. Not all requests will be approved. If you have questions, please contact Student Central prior to submitting your request.
2. Fill out the Letter of Permission request form and submit to Student Central. 
3. The Letter of Permission fee will be charged to your student account upon submission. Pricing information can be found in the "Fees" section of the Academic Calendar under "Schedule of Miscellaneous Fees".  
4. Course description and/or teaching outline must accompany the request. 
5. If you are requesting to take a course at more than one institution, you must complete a separate request for each new institution.  Incomplete requests will not be assessed.
6. Equivalencies must be "signed-off" by the Chair/Director of the course subject you are expecting to get as an equivalency. This must be completed prior to request submission.

International Exchange Students
Please make sure you have already spoken with Lakehead International about your exchange.  Upon submission of a request for Letter of Permission, submit the completed "Lakehead University International Exchange Program Department Information Sheet" in addition to your request.

Explore Program Candidates
Be sure to include your institution "choices" as well as the approval of the Chair of Languages.

Important Facts About Letters of Permission

• • Students must currently be pursuing a Lakehead University degree or diploma and must be in good academic standing in order to be considered for a Letter of Permission.
  • The course to be taken may not be a duplication of material already covered.
  • Equivalent courses offered at Lakehead University at either campus or online will not be considered for a Letter of Permission.
  • A Letter of Permission may potentially be granted if the student has taken or plans on taking no more than 5 full course equivalents at another institution (for transfer students, this number may be lower, depending upon the number of courses transferred upon admission to the university).
  • Students wishing to take a course on a Letter of Permission in their final year of study must have approval from their Department Chair and their Faculty Dean. Faculty Dean approval must include a written statement as to how/why the program could not be completed at Lakehead University.
  • Letters of Permission take a minimum processing time of three weeks during regular periods. During peak office periods of April-June and August-October, processing time will increase.
  • Letter of Permission final decisions will be emailed to your Lakehead University email account.  It is the student's responsibility to apply to and register for the approved course at the external institution. Some institutions require a Letter of Permission for admission purposes, so make sure to submit your request well in advance of when it is needed.
  • Immediately following completion of the approved external course, it is the student's responsibility to ensure an official transcript is sent directly from the host institution to Enrolment Services. Mailing information is included in the document.
  • Deadlines for transcripts to be received for graduation purposes are: May 1st for spring graduation, October 1st for fall graduation.
  • Credit will be granted for a course successfully completed with an equivalent grade of 60% or above as indicated on the document.
  • Transfer credit will be annotated with "TCR" for the equivalent Lakehead University course.
  • Transfer credit has no numeric value and will not be included in average calculations for academic purposes except in the calculation of First Class Standing.
  • Converted transfer credit grades will be used in the calculation of the weighted average for entrance scholarship renewal purposes.
  • Students are expected to complete the approved course during the term specified in the letter.  Any extensions and/or changes to a Letter of Permission will require submission of a new request and new payment.
  • Students will not be considered for a Letter of Permission if they already have one on file that is outstanding.

The privilege of writing special examinations is limited to any undergraduate student who has:
(i) Failed the course but attained a grade of at least 40% in each course for which a special examination is requested OR
(ii) Passed the course but failed to attain the minimum grade required in the course or
(iii) Passed the course but failed to attain the required cumulative average to carry on with his/her program.

Review more information about special examinations in the University Regulations section of the course calendar under VII Special Examinations.

Students who submit an Application to Write a Special Examination must select an examination location of Thunder Bay or Orillia. If a student cannot write the special examination at either campus, one of the following approved Canadian examination locations below may be chosen as an alternate location:

To apply for a Special Exam, complete the Special Exam Request Form and return it to studentcentral@lakeheadu.ca on or before the deadline. Please ensure you are adhering to the deadline dates to ensure you will be considered.

If your legal name changes, use this form to have your official student record reflect your new name.  Note that official government documentation is required.

This form should be used when setting up a reading course or special topic course for an individual student. This form will be used to setup the course and to register the student.

This form is to be used by graduate students who are officially withdrawing from their graduate program. Please fill in the form and discuss with your Graduate Coordinator and the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Graduate program change forms received after the last day to withdraw from courses in a given term will be effective at the start of the next graduate term.

Note: Withdrawal from a graduate program does NOT affect course registration. Course add and drop dates must be adhered to. Fees may still apply.

This year, each of the four Convocation ceremonies will feature a student speaker. If you are graduating this spring and attending your Convocation ceremony, we invite you to submit an application to be the "Voice from the Class of 2018" at your ceremony.

Visit our page for more information.

If you are moving and need to update your address information, use this online form to have your address changed immediately. 

Address changes can be submitted through myInfo under the "Personal Profile" section and is an easy way to have your address information updated quickly.

All students must submit an Intent to Graduate in order to be considered for graduation.  This is an online submission through myInfo > Student > Intent To Graduate.  The online form is usually available from mid July until September for fall graduation, and from December until February for spring graduation. 

This form is to be used by undergraduate students who would like to change their active program of study.  It is recommended that you make an appointment with your departmental advisor or an academic advisor before submitting, so that a review of your academic record can be completed prior to changing programs.

A student who is unable to write an examination during the formal exam period (e.g. December, April) for religious or creed-based holidays, leaves and ritual observances, must submit a Creed and Religious Accommodation Agreement (Exams) to Enrolment Services no later than three (3) weeks prior to the start of the final examination period for that term.

 Upon approval, Enrolment Services, in conjunction with the instructor, will schedule an alternative exam date within the examination period for that term. Students will be notified of the rescheduled date via their lakeheadu email. 

You may also refer to the University Regulations, IV Examinations for more information.