Undergraduate Exams Information for Instructors and Professors
Academic Consideration during the Exam Period
Please note that the Senate Policy on Academic Consideration for Students in Extenuating Circumstances is applicable during the final examination period. In the Faculty of Arts and Science, students who are too ill to write the examination or are experiencing extenuating circumstances are being directed to the Academic Consideration Request Portal (ACRP) to submit a request for consideration. Instructors are asked
to recognize the University's good faith approach and provide the student with support in the form of an alternative or deferred assessment.
- Request for Academic Consideration using the Self-Declaration for Brief Absence Form (up to 48 hours)
Students may use the Self-Declaration request form for an extenuating circumstance that is expected to resolve itself within 48 hours. The instructor will receive an email from the Faculty Office notifying them of the student's request. In this case, the student could be required to write a deferred examination any time after the 48 hour absence, if it does not result in 3 consecutive exams within 24 hours.
- Request for Academic Consideration for Short-Term Extenuating Circumstances (more than 48 hours, up to 3 months)
Students should use the Academic Consideration for Short-Term Extenuating Circumstances request form (more than 48 hours and up to 3 months) if they are experiencing extenuating circumstances that will last for more than 48 hours. In this case, the University requires supporting documentation. Instructors will receive an email from the Faculty Office notifying them of the request and verifying receipt of appropriate documentation. Given the volume of requests during the exam period, there may be a delay in the notification.
Please note that for both types of requests, it is the responsibility of the students to follow up with the instructor, but that it is up to the instructor to determine the date of the deferred examination, in accordance with their departmental policy on deferred examinations, if applicable. Deferred examinations could be scheduled up to the end of the subsequent term. Any further extensions based on continued extenuating circumstances will require a written appeal to the Associate Dean (Studies).
New Regulation on Extenuating Circumstances Occurring During an Examination
Additions to Academic Regulation 8, Final and Mid-Year Examinations, were recently approved by Faculty Board. The new Academic Regulation 8.4.3 is meant to provide instructors with the discretion to allow re-writes of final and mid-year exams in rare situations where it is determined that the student's exam attempt was affected by extenuating circumstances and is deemed not to be a valid attempt:
"Students who experience serious illness during the course of writing a scheduled examination that prevents them from completing the examination, must notify an Examination Proctor prior to leaving the examination hall, or prior to exiting the examination session of an online proctored examination. The Faculty Office will liaise with the instructor of the course to determine if the examination attempt is considered valid. If students leave the examination hall or exit an online examination without notifying and Examination Proctor, the examination attempt will be considered valid and no retroactive consideration will be possible.
If, after consultation with the instructor, the examination attempt is not considered valid, permission for the student to re-write the final examination may be granted for documented cases at the discretion of the instructor(s) and the Associate Dean (Studies). Alternatively, other options for the student to complete the course may be provided."
Incomplete Grades (IN)
When the deferred final examination is scheduled after the submission of grades, the instructor should submit an incomplete grade
(IN), as defined in Academic Regulation 10.3.4. Please note that the latest date by which the course requirements may be completed is the end of the
subsequent term, which would in this instance
be September 15, 2018. Any further extensions
based on
continued extenuating circumstances will require a written appeal to the Associate Dean (Studies). Students with extenuating circumstances who have been unable to complete the majority of their work in a course should
instead consider
submitting an appeal to drop the course.
The Faculty Office is currently revising the ''Permission for an Incomplete Grade or Deferred Examination'' form to align it with the new Academic Consideration Policy and Protocol. In the meantime, instructors are welcome to use it or adapt it if they wish to formalize their agreement with the student regarding the date of the deferred exam.
Re-weighting of marks
The option of re-weighting marks i.e. allocating /shifting marks associated with missed work to another academic requirement that assesses similar learning outcomes should be used mainly when:
- a student has missed a small component of academic work and/or
- a) it is not possible to have the same assessment at a later time because the component has been compromised (i.e. answers posted or material covered in class) or
b) when it is not possible to set an alternative assessment (with the same learning outcomes).
It is possible to redistribute marks on a mid-term to a final exam when the final exam assesses the same learning outcomes as the mid-term. However, it is not recommended if it puts the student in a Pass/Fail situation.
It is not possible to retroactively redistribute marks from a missed final exam (or a comprehensive/end of term assignment) to a previous component of the course. If this final component of the course is missed, the preferred option will be to give the student an Incomplete (with a deferred exam or an extension of the assignment). The alternative option would require an appeal to the Associate Dean (Studies) for Aegrotat Standing, which is only possible when the student has completed at least 60% of the course.