Information for Deans, Directors, and Department Heads

  • Final Exams Rescheduling

    Sent on behalf of Sally M. Reis, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs:

    I hope you are enjoying the spring semester and as finals week draws near, I write to ask you to review the policies and expectations related to administering and rescheduling of finals, as follow: 

    • The University by-laws state that a student whose absence is excused by the Dean of Students Office shall have an opportunity to take an examination without penalty.  Please note that the Dean of Students Office (DOS) and not individual schools or faculty make the decision for rescheduling finals.
    • Please remember that a recent by-law change has alleviated the requirement for faculty to hold a specific assessment during finals week.  If you are not planning to hold a final and/or do not need a room scheduled for a final, please inform the Registrar’s Office so that your pre-scheduled slot can be dropped from the scheduling.  This will free up rooms for others to use and loosen the bunched exam schedule. 
    • Permission from the DOS will be communicated via the e-mail address listed in the on-line phone book.  Please make sure that the address listed in our phone book is the e-mail address that you check. 
    • You must administer your final exam at the time and place that the Registrar has scheduled during finals week, if you are giving a final. Many of you use multiple forms of assessment and choose not to give final examinations, but you should not schedule other mandatory events for students during finals week. 
    • Please assume that there will be at least one student in your class who will need to reschedule his or her final due to conflicts with too many exams scheduled in a day.  To simplify this process, it will be helpful, if you are going to create a different version of the make-up final, that you ensure that your departmental office has the alternate version in case you are not available to proctor the make-up final. 
    • When a student has permission to reschedule, the instructor will schedule it at a time agreeable to both.  It is the responsibility of the instructor to identify a location for the rescheduled exam to be administered. 
    • Department heads are strongly encouraged to coordinate the delivery of make-up finals within each department. 
    • Finally, questions arise each semester about grading for final exams. If a student is not present at the final, simply mark an “X” for the final grade.  You do have the option of assigning an “F” grade if the student has completed all other work and even with an “A” on the final, could still not mathematically pass the course.  When in doubt, please err on the side of entering the “X” grade.  It does not obligate you to allow the student to complete any missed work and will automatically turn in to an “XF” if the student is not given permission from DOS to make up the missed final.  An incorrectly assigned “F” has implications and if it needs to be corrected, it will result in additional work for both you and others. 

    Please inform your students of the finals rescheduling policy, reminding your students to resolve any conflicts as quickly as possible.  Contact the Dean of Students Office at dos@uconn.edu with any questions regarding rescheduling final exams.  As always, we thank you on behalf of our students and wish you a productive end of the semester. 

     

    For more information, contact: Dean of Students Office at dos@uconn.edu