Exam Policies

Courses at the 500 level have the final examination at the regular class period during exam week; all School of Professional and Continuing Studies courses follow the SPCS exam schedule and must be taken as scheduled.

Students who have more than two examinations scheduled on the same day, first check with instructors. If, after consulting instructors you still have a problem, please see your dean.

No classes and no examinations are to be held during study periods.

The examination for one section of a multi-section course may be taken in another section if the instructor is the same for both sections and gives permission.

Except for the special note below, students are to take final examinations as scheduled. No rescheduling, excuse for absence, and/or provision for making up final examinations will occur without the approval, in writing, of the dean of the student's school (Arts and Sciences students should see their college deans.) Such approval shall be made only for illness certified by a physician, participation in authorized University activities, and/or personal emergencies such as death in the family.

  • Special note for religious observances: Students wishing to observe religious holidays should follow the procedures specified in the University catalog.
  • Special note for Arts and Sciences only: Student self-scheduling of final examinations is allowed at the option of the respective instructors only in upper level courses which have only one section.

Arts and Sciences Final Exam Policies and Agreements

By stipulation of Arts and Sciences faculty, all final examinations are to be given during the scheduled time slots. In particular, final exams are not to be given during the last week of classes, and no exams are to be given during the reading period.

The following exceptions are allowed:

  • Faculty with multiple sections of the same course have the option of allowing their students to take the exam with any section.
  • Faculty teaching upper-level classes may allow all students individually to self-schedule their examination.
  • Exceptions to use of the reading period include oral components of exams in some language courses which must be individually scheduled.

The Arts and Sciences faculty have also agreed that if a course has a final test but no examination, the final test should be given in the exam period time slot rather than in the last week of classes. Faculty are discouraged from giving major examinations during the last week of the semester. Faculty members giving take-home exams are expected to allow the exam papers to be turned in as late as the regularly scheduled exam slot.

Arts and Sciences Final Exam Exceptions

Students who wish to take an exam at a time other than the schedule time slot will require permission of their college dean. Normally, this is only granted to students with international travel constraints or for participation in special events such as a wedding.

Faculty members who wish an exception to these policies must obtain permission by contacting as@richmond.edu with support of their department chair.