Final Exams
Final exams are those tests scheduled for a special period following the last week of instruction which is referred to as "final exam week". This period begins and ends with the first and last officially scheduled final examinations. Each department shall designate all courses or sections of courses in which final examinations are to be given.
A comprehensive final examination designed to measure the student's overall knowledge is considered good teaching policy. However, no regulations shall attempt to govern the content of a final exam. A final exam could be either incremental or comprehensive.
No final examination will be given earlier than the final exam week. In classes which do not have final exams the instructor may not give any major tests or examinations during the last week of regularly scheduled classes, because such a test would be in effect a final examination given earlier than the final exam week. However, departments with lab courses can choose to exempt lab examinations from this policy. Make-up exams for illness or other excused absences may be administered before or after the scheduled time, consistent with maintenance of exam security.
No final exams shall be scheduled on Sunday, unless the regular instruction periods are also scheduled on Sunday.
No regular instruction is to be continued during the final exam week, except that the final examination time assigned to a course can be used for instruction if an instructor so desires.
The University shall not schedule, nor shall the students participate in, any official function during the scheduled final exam period, except events whose date is beyond the control of the University.
It is the responsibility of the chair of each department to prevent violations of the final examination policy. Students may report violations of the policy to the chair of the instructor's department either in person or by anonymous note. Students may similarly report violations to the office of the Dean of Students; these reports will be forwarded to the departmental chair for appropriate action.
Any departures from an officially scheduled examination time must be approved by the scheduling office.
Absences from final exams need not be excused when caused by a student scheduling courses with conflicting final examination times.
No student shall be required to take more than three exams per calendar day. For students with an accommodation for extended time on examinations, the limit may be fewer than three examinations per day, since Policy 605.1 limits the total amount of time that such students may be required to spend on examinations to six hours per day.
Conflicts will be resolved by the Dean of Students Office.
Evening Exams
Regular exams are exams and quizzes that are not defined as final examinations. Evening exams are regular exams held outside of scheduled class times, usually after 6 p.m.
Regular exams should be given during scheduled class meeting times when possible. Students required to take an evening exam shall be excused from one scheduled class.
Evening examinations must be arranged through the scheduling office to avoid conflicts and to allow effective use of University resources. Evening exams should be scheduled for 6-7 p.m., Monday-Thursday. The University shall not schedule classes for this time period.
Faculty scheduling evening exams must provide alternative examination times for students with the following conflicts:
- In the case of two conflicting evening exams (inside or outside the 6-7 p.m. period), the larger class has priority.
- In the case of an evening exam conflicting with a regularly scheduled class, the class has priority over the exam.
Regular exams shall not be given on Friday evenings, nor on Saturday or Sunday.
Election Day Exams
Instructors shall not schedule due dates for major assignments, e.g., examinations, projects, presentations, or papers on the first Tuesday after November 1 (i.e. Election Day) on even numbered years. Furthermore, instructors are encouraged to not schedule any assignments for Election Day and are asked to be flexible regarding class attendance on this day in consideration of election related absences.
Winter Carnival Week Exams
Hour examinations shall not be given during that portion of Winter Carnival week beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday. An hour examination is taken to be any major examination comprising a significant portion of a student’s overall grade and which would require major preparation.
Career Fair Exams
Regular examinations, major projects and papers, and presentations shall not be given or be due on the day of career fair. All Instructors are encouraged to consider how involved the students in each of their classes are with career fair and address other days in the week appropriately.
Lower level students are encouraged to attend career fair to learn the ropes, and seek internships and co-ops. Faculty in courses with high numbers of lower level students, new to managing the conflicting demands of being an adult student, should consider providing more support to help those students develop good habits of planning ahead and communicating clearly, early, and respectfully about conflicts.
A regular examination, major projects or papers, or presentation is taken to be any assignment comprising a significant portion of a student’s overall grade and which would require major preparation. Evening exams are included as they are regular exams held outside of scheduled class times.
Regular weekly assignments, such as lab reports, are not considered major papers. However, instructors of lower division classes with career fair attending students are encouraged to move the due date a day earlier or in some other way help lower level students plan ahead.
Regular examinations, major projects and papers, and presentations shall not be given or be due on the day of career fair.
Accommodated Examinations
Any student requiring accommodations due to a documented disability must provide the instructor of the course notification of needed accommodations no later than five business days prior to the use of the accommodations. In situations where fewer than five days' notice is given, the instructor is encouraged, but not obligated, to provide accommodations. The instructor will determine, in consultation with the Testing Center in the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning, whether these accommodations can be met.
Students who have an accommodation for extended time allowed on tests shall not be required to spend more than six hours per calendar day in final examinations. For a student with an accommodation for extended time, this may imply no more than two examinations per day. To resolve time conflicts between two overlapping exams (either regular exams or final examinations), the current practices of the University shall be followed.
Online Course Examinations
To maintain the academic integrity of its online courses, Michigan Technological University requires that students in online courses follow these guidelines for examinations*.
1) Students that reside within a 30-mile radius of Michigan Tech must complete examinations on campus at the Michigan Tech Testing Center (MTTC), with the instructor, or with a designated proctor (as defined below).
2) Students outside of the 30-mile radius are responsible for finding a proctor (as defined below) when taking exams at an alternate location.
3) Students that cannot meet these requirements or who have special needs should contact the instructor as soon as possible to request alternate arrangements, which can reasonably be expected to maintain academic integrity at a level consistent with those examples above.
*An examination is defined as a set of questions or exercises students are asked to complete individually in a limited amount of time (usually less than 3 hours) with limited access to outside resources, which constitutes more than 15% of an overall course grade.
Students violating this policy are guilty of academic misconduct, and subject to disciplinary actions as defined by Michigan Tech Senate Policy 109.1. Proctors who violate examination rules or the academic integrity policy of Michigan Tech will be reported to their employers.
Proctor Guidelines
A proctor is a person that administers examinations to students within the parameters established by the course instructor. Final proctor approval rests with the instructor. Michigan Technological University instructors reserve the right to deny or terminate a proctor at any time, for any reason.
Michigan Tech requires that proctors regularly monitor students during examinations, either in person or by video and audio. Proctors must be sufficiently proficient in English to fully understand and implement examination instructions.
Approved proctors are, in order of preference:
- A Michigan Tech faculty member, graduate student, or academic staff member.
- A staff member, administrator or educator at a designated testing center ** affiliated with another university, a military education center, or operating independently.
- A person from the students' place of employment may proctor, with instructor approval, provided there is not a direct reporting relationship.
- A public librarian or a public library testing center staff member.
If none of the above is available, an online proctoring service can be arranged through MTTC for an additional charge. An educator, counselor, librarian or administrator in another collegiate or high school educational system or other individual may also be designated with instructor approval. A proctor CANNOT be a relative, close personal friend, student, spouse or significant other or anyone else who might appear to have a conflict of interest.
Michigan Tech students can take course exams with Michigan Tech faculty or through the MTTC free of charge. All other proctoring fees are the sole responsibility of the student.
Students are responsible for providing all required proctor contact information indicated on the proctor form. An alternative method of providing equivalent information may be specified by an instructor.
To allow adequate time for needed proctor-instructor communication, students should provide this contact information to the instructor at least 5 business days before an exam occurs. Instructors should confirm its acceptability to students as soon as possible after receiving it. Emergencies due to proctor or student unavailability (proctor illness, family death, power outages, etc.) which require changes in proctoring arrangements within this 5-day window should be communicated to the instructor as early as possible. Changes will be allowed at the instructor’s discretion. The instructor may require formal documentation or proctor confirmation of the emergency.
**A designated testing center is defined as an organization or unit within an organization that routinely provides classroom, accommodated, or sponsored examinations. This organization should meet typical testing standards such as providing lockers for disallowed materials, using security cameras, and verifying student identity. The National Collegiate Testing Association (NCTA) provides a list of such testing centers.