Final Examination Policies

The final examination week is part of the regular academic program and must be incorporated into each instructor’s course plan for the semester. Final examinations are not the only legitimate type of terminating activity, and therefore, the instructor may choose an appropriate activity that conforms to course objectives.

The terminating activity shall take place only at the time and location assigned by the Office of the Registrar. Unless granted an excused absence, the faculty member responsible for the course must be present to direct the terminating activity. Faculty members may require student participation in the terminating activity.

Faculty members who do not schedule or do not attend the terminating activity for a course may be subject to disciplinary action commensurate with unexcused absences. Once the final examination has been set by the Office of the Registrar, changes and absences must be approved by the instructor’s dean. Faculty members are only obligated to offer a makeup in cases where officially scheduled exams are in conflict. Where such conflicts exist during the examination period, the following general rules apply:

The higher-numbered course takes precedence. Thus, a student enrolled in GEOG 102 and ECON 325 would take the ECON 325 exam at the assigned time and the makeup in GEOG 102 .
If courses in conflict are the same level and number, an alphabetical determination by full name of the department, not its acronym, will be made. For example, a student enrolled in MATH 350 (mathematics) and MGMT 350 (management) would take the MGMT 350 exam at the assigned time and a makeup in MATH 350 .

NOTE: For stand-alone lab courses that assign letter grades or for lab sections assigned to lecture courses, final exams/ culminating activities may be given the week prior to the Registrar’s final exam schedule.

Maximum Number of Exams on One Day/Conflicts

A student may not be required to take more than three final exams on any one regularly scheduled examination day. For any exam over three, a makeup exam must be scheduled by the instructor for the student, at his or her request, into another mutually agreeable regular final examination period. The rules determining conflict resolution (listed above) will determine which exam or exams a student may request as makeups.