Policy reminders: Final examination, final instructional day, and Reading Day

Please be mindful of the policies below for final examinations, assignments, and assessments during the final weeks of the semester.

Final examination policy

A final examination schedule is produced each semester by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction. No time and date departures from the examination schedule should occur without prior approval of the dean of the school or college and the vice president for instruction. Similar advance approval also must be obtained to administer standardized, departmental “mass” examinations to groups of students enrolled in the same course.

Although there are special courses where a final examination of the regular type may not be appropriate, each student must be provided the opportunity to stand for a final examination as part of the completion of a full instructional term. Each instructor has the authority to design and administer the final examination in whatever manner is appropriate. Additionally, the instructor has the authority to structure the course syllabus and content so that the final examination may be a summative evaluation of the entire term’s work or a portion of the term’s work. Take-home exams are permissible as long as the exams are not due earlier than the final examination time slot as assigned by the University.

Final examination schedule conflicts

With the consent of the academic department, the individual faculty instructor has authority to manage students who have conflicts with the final examination schedule. A student with three final examinations scheduled within a 24-hour period or two examinations at the same time may petition to reschedule one exam to a different time or day. If one of the conflicting final examinations is a mass exam, then it will be rescheduled for that student. The instructions for rescheduling are located on the Office of the Registrar website.

Policy on mandatory assignments, tests, and quizzes during Reading Days and the final instructional day of a course

• Reading Days: Reading Days are designed to provide time for students to prepare for final examinations. No mandatory assignments scheduled for completion during the Reading Days, either for course work or extra-curricular or co-curricular activities, shall be given to students by University personnel. Exceptions for good cause can be made to this policy by the vice president for instruction. Nothing in this policy limits the ability of instructors to schedule optional study reviews for their students during these days.
• Final instructional day: No tests or quizzes are to be administered on the final instructional day of a course, unless the course has not been assigned a final examination time slot by the University. All labs may administer tests or quizzes on the final instructional day. For purposes of this policy, student presentations to the class in a seminar or graduate course shall not be considered a test or a quiz.