Final Exam Policy
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 Student Affairs; 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 examinations per calendar day.
Conflicts will be resolved by the Dean of Student Affairs.
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.
Winter Carnival Week
That 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
Regular examinations, major projects and papers, and presentations shall not be given or be due on career fair day. 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 presentations 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 (senate policy 601.1).
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.
Election Day
The Administration approved the University Senate proposal that beginning in the fall of 2022 instructors do 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.