Final Examination Guidelines

Final Examinations should be administered in accordance with the examination schedule. For the purposes of this policy, a final examination is considered to be an examination that is cumulative of the material/subject studied during the course of the quarter.

The dean may permit an instructor to change the time of a final examination upon prior application demonstrating good cause for such change. In such cases, the following guidelines shall be observed.

1. Non-cumulative examinations (e.g., an examination that covers material taught only since a mid-term examination) may be administered prior to the end of instruction during regular instructional hours.
2. With the dean's permission the final examination may be postponed or moved to an earlier time within the examination period if agreed to by all students and the instructor. Before approving the rescheduling of a final examination, the dean shall obtain assurances that the change will not have an undue adverse impact on the students. The dean shall notify the Registrar of the approval granted for the date of a final examination.
3. An instructor shall not schedule a final class examination before the beginning of finals week. An instructor shall not, except in very unusual circumstances, grant permission to individual students for an early examination. If the student is unable to take an examination on the scheduled date, the procedure outlined in the following paragraph should be followed.
4. A student absent from any examination through sickness or other cause, judged by the instructor to be unavoidable, shall be given an opportunity to take a rescheduled examination or perform work judged by the instructor to be the equivalent.

   If the instructor determines that neither alternative is feasible during the current quarter, the instructor may exempt the student from the requirement. Examples of unavoidable cause include death or serious illness in the immediate family, illness of the student, and, provided previous notification is given, observance of regularly scheduled religious obligations, and might possibly include attendance at academic conferences or field trips, or participation in university sponsored activities such as debating contests or athletic competition.

   Students are responsible for taking any number of examinations for which they are scheduled on a given day.

5. Multiple section courses, courses with two or more lecture and/or lab sections in a given quarter, may schedule a common final with the approval from the dean and the registrar. Common finals will usually be held the Saturday of finals week, during finals the regular finals schedule (Monday through Friday), or on occasion in the evening.

   Common finals dates and times are normally indicated in the comment section of the Time Schedule, under individual course listings. They will be announced at the beginning of the quarter in each course-section, and included in the course syllabus. The times for common finals differ from the times shown in the above examination schedule. A make-up examination time is to be arranged for any student who cannot be present for the common final due to having another final scheduled at the same time.

6. Classes that begin on the half-hour and last longer than one hour use the actual starting time to determine the examination time. For example, a class that begins at 7:30 a.m. and continues until 9:00 a.m. would use the 7:30 a.m. time.
7. Classes that begin on the hour use the first following half-hour to determine the time of examination. For example, a class that begins at 10:00 a.m. uses the 10:30 a.m. examination time.
8. Day-time classes (7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) in which the entire class meets at the same hour every day, in the same room, may extend their final examination period to three hours. All other examinations are limited to one hour and fifty minutes unless other arrangements are made with Room Assignments.
9. Final examinations for classes without meeting times may be set by the instructor or offering department for any time during the regular finals examination week. However, accommodations must be made for students who have a conflict with otherwise scheduled final examinations, and students should in no way be penalized for such conflicts.
10. If an examination is held during finals week at a time other than what the schedule indicates, instructors must contact their departmental Time Schedule Coordinator who will confirm a classroom location with the Room Assignments Office.
11. Questions concerning the examination schedule should be directed to the Time Schedule/Room Assignments Office, 206-685-0540, or times@uw.edu.