DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE ACADEMICS GRADUATE |
The following summarize University policies governing final examinations, and provides some details as they apply to this department.
University Final Examination Policy Provides:
Courses meeting every day at the same hour and classes meeting for more than one time period will hold examinations according to the time and day of the first scheduled class meeting of the week. For example, a class meeting for the first period on Tuesday and for the first and second periods on Thursday will hold its examination at the time scheduled for the TTH first period.
The department interprets the above rule specially for courses that have both lecture and recitation sections. For such courses, the final examination is held at the time scheduled for the lecture meeting. To avoid confusion on the part of the students in the course, the syllabus for the course must spell this out clearly.
Exceptions to the Examination Policy for an individual undergraduate student:
Approval by the appropriate academic dean is required for any change in examination time for an individual undergraduate student. The student must first receive written permission from the instructor if he/she is willing to give a make-up examination at a specified time within the exam week. The student then must petition the dean, giving the reason for the requested exception, and supported by the instructor's written permission. The dean will then notify the instructor in writing if approval is granted.
Make-up examinations are permitted for an undergraduate student when justified by illness, conflicting examinations, more than three examinations in a 24-hour period, or for certain emergencies. Arrangements should be made prior to the Scheduled Exam.
In case of conflicting examinations, group examinations take precedence over examinations scheduled by class meeting time. In the case of conflicts which cannot otherwise be resolved, the course listed first in the Schedule takes precedence over a course listed afterward.
Exceptions to the Examination Policy for an undergraduate class:
No instructor of an undergraduate course may give a final examination during the separate examination period at a time other than that which appears in the printed Directory of Classes unless he/she has obtained prior approval from the Undergraduate Policy Committee. Such approval must be requested, in writing, at least three (3) weeks prior to the scheduled final examination. To schedule a final examination without such approval places the instructor in jeopardy of administrative reprimand by his/her dean and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Instructors of courses with multiple sections should consider contacting the department office about the possibility of scheduling final examinations during one of the "block exam" times that are reserved for large enrollment courses. By scheduling the examination for all sections of a large enrollment course to occur in different lecture rooms at a single time of the week may enable using a single version of the examination. Permission to do this is hard to get, and must involve both the Registrar and, if it is an undergraduate course, the Univerity Undergraduate Policy Committee, so this is not something that can be arranged at the last minute.
The Final Exam Week Policy is intended to ensure that students receive a full semester's worth of instructions, including regular class meetings and during the entire week prior to exam week, and a culminating course activity during exam week at the day and time specified in the printed Directory of Classes. The absence of a final exam, unit test, or final paper or project during exam week is left to the discretion of individual faculty members ONLY if that is the explicit policy of the department sponsoring the course (Computer Science does NOT give that discretion. Approval for substituting a final project, unit test, or term paper during the final exam week requires specific written approval of the department chair.). Graduate teaching assistants may deviate from this policy ONLY with the express permission of their supervisor and the chair of the department sponsoring the course.
The following combinations of activities are in compliance with the Final Exam Week Policy, but anything other than a final (proctored, in-class) exam during the exam week requires written approval of the department chair:
Last Week of Classes | Scheduled Time Within Final Exam Week |
---|---|
class meets as usual | final exam, unit test, or paper/project due |
class meets, unit test | final exam or paper/project due |
class meets, paper/project due | final exam or unit test |
The following combinations of activities are NOT in compliance with the Final Exam Week Policy (unless specifically approved by the department or school sponsoring the course):
Last Week of Classes | Scheduled Time Within Final Exam Week |
---|---|
class meets as usual | nothing |
class meets, paper/project due | nothing |
class meets, unit test | nothing |
nothing | nothing |
It is University policy that examination papers of students shall be kept in the departmental file of the faculty member giving the examination for one year after the examination is given. Faculty members leaving the University before the completion of the year must leave the examination papers in the departmental files.
Faculty members and teaching assistants who need help in finding space to store old examinations should contact the Department Office Manager.