Academic Regulations
The regulations published in the Undergraduate Catalog are a digest of the rules of the institution. Changes may be made in the regulations at any time to promote the best interests of the university and its students. Students are responsible for knowing the published regulations, policies, and standards of the university and of their college or school.
Examinations and Last Week of Class
Regulations Governing All Examinations
A student’s failure to appear for an examination without an acceptable excuse, inability to present valid identification, absence from the room during the course of an examination without the consent of the examiner, or attempting any portion of an examination without submitting his or her answers shall result in failure of the examination. Tardiness beyond 15 minutes forfeits a student’s right to an examination.
Final Examinations
A final examination, to be given at the time posted in the examination schedule, is required in each undergraduate course, unless the appropriate chair and dean have approved an exception. A student who has three or four final examinations in one day may arrange with the course instructor to take the noon or 7:30 p.m. examination at another time. In order to give a final examination at any time other than that shown in the posted examination schedule, an instructor must have prior approval of the department chair and dean.
Last Week of Class
The following guidelines exist to allow sufficient time for students and instructors to prepare for final examinations. These guidelines apply to the week preceding final examinations for undergraduate courses held during fall and spring semesters.
During the period of Wednesday through Friday of the last week of class, instructors are not to give exams, tests, or quizzes that contribute more than 10 percent of the final grade for a class. An instructor can obtain approval of the department chair and dean to give an exam, test, or quiz, of this weight, during this three-day period. Instructors should return graded work and/or inform students of their grades on exams, tests, or quizzes prior to the beginning of finals week.
Exceptions to the above statement are automatically made for lab-based courses, technical writing courses, seminar courses that assign a term paper, and senior design courses that assign a multifaceted project in lieu of a final exam. Major projects of the above types, which contribute more than 10 percent of the final grade and which are due during this Last Week period, should be assigned in the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, and any substantial change in the assignment should be made known to students before the drop deadline.