The Senate of College Councils
April 3, 2014
S.R. 1312
IN SUPPORT OF A REVISED FINAL EXAM POLICY
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WHEREAS,
The current final exam policy in the Registrar’s General Information Catalog does not
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address the occurrence of a student having multiple, non-conflicting final examinations
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scheduled on the same calendar day; and,
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WHEREAS,
The Office of the Registrar’s index for final examinations1 is created in order to prevent
examinations from conflicting on the basis of time; and,
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WHEREAS,
There is a possibility for a student to have three, non-conflicting final examinations
scheduled in one calendar day; and,
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WHEREAS,
The current policy refers solely to exams that conflict in the same time slot, but does not
refer to the number of same-day scheduled exams; and,
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WHEREAS,
The current policy2 only states that the student alone must file complaints of their exam
schedule directly to the dean of that respective course’s college; and,
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WHEREAS,
Due to a lack of direction in this situation, students are at the mercy of their professor’s
flexibility and will, and must act alone in scheduling an alternate exam time; and,
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WHEREAS,
The students possess no guaranteed relief from taking three final examinations in one day;
and,
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Office of the Registrar. http://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules/142/finals
Office of the Registrar, General Information Catalog. http://catalog.utexas.edu/general-information/academic-policies-andprocedures/examinations/
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WHEREAS,
The current policy on final examinations does not serve in the best interest of the student’s
health and well-being; and,
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WHEREAS,
When students have three examinations in a row on the same day, it becomes less a
question of their knowledge and academic ability, but their mental stamina; and,
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WHEREAS,
Several of UT’s peer institutions, as identified in the Commission of 125 Report, address
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the issue of multiple same-day examinations through a defined course of action in their
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final exam policies; and,
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WHEREAS,
At Indiana University at Bloomington, the final exam policy dedicates a section to this,
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saying: “[an] issue with a set-by-step procedure where the students may determine their
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course of action by either 1) taking all exams as scheduled, or 2) consult with all instructors
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to determine if make-up exams are or can be scheduled or 3) in the event that no make-up
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examinations can be scheduled, the instructor of the student’s fourth examination of the
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day is obligated to reschedule”3; and,
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WHEREAS,
At The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, the final exam policy states that no
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student should be required to take more than two consecutive final examinations and
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institutes a policy wherein students with multiple same-day examinations must take the
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make-up exam administered by the “course that has the largest number of students;”4 and,
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WHEREAS,
At Michigan State University, the final exam policy states that no student should be
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required to take more than two examinations during any one day of the final examination
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period, and the student must contact the Academic Student Affairs Office in their colleges
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for assistance in arranging for an alternate time for one of the three examinations5; and,
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WHEREAS,
At The University of Minnesota System, the final exam policy addresses the issue of a
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student having three or more final examinations in one calendar day and the instructors or
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advisors are expected to make appropriate accommodations for the student6; and,
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WHEREAS,
At The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, students may pursue a “Final Exam
Indiana University Registrar. http://registrar.indiana.edu/grades/class-rosters/final-examinations.shtml
University of Illinois. http://admin.illinois.edu/policy/code/article3_part2_3-201.html
5 Michigan State University Registrar. https://www.reg.msu.edu/ROInfo/Calendar/FinalExam.aspx
6 University of Minnesota System. http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/EXAM.html
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WHEREAS,
Excuse” in the event of having three exams schedule in twenty-four hours7; and,
WHEREAS,
In comparison to other institutions, The University of Texas at Austin’s Final Examination
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Policy does not hold any form of language, regulation, or administrative process pertaining
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to the occurrence of multiple and non-conflicting final examinations scheduled on the same
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day; therefore, be it
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RESOLVED,
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That the Senate of College Councils calls upon the Office of the Registrar to amend the
final exam policy for subsequent catalogs; and, be it further
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RESOLVED,
That the Office of the Registrar consider dedicating a sector of their services, as well as
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portion of their Final Examination Policy, to aiding students with this specific conflict; and,
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be it further
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RESOLVED,
That this resolution be sent to V. Shelby Stanfield, Registrar; Brenda Schumann, Associate
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Registrar; Priscilla White, Assistant Registrar; Dr. Mary Rose, Educational Policy
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Committee Chair; Dr. Hilary Hart, Chair of Faculty Council
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AUTHORS:
Forrest Wolfe (At-Large, Academic Enrichment Committee, Senate of College Councils)
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Gabrielle Torres (At-Large, Outreach & Development Committee, Senate of College
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Councils)
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SPONSOR:
Robert Belanger (Policy Director, Senate of College Councils)
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University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. http://advising.unc.edu/policies-and-procedures/final-exam-excuse/