UCSD
CAMPUS NOTICE
University of California, San Diego
 

ACADEMIC SENATE: SAN DIEGO DIVISION

March 8, 2001


ALL UCSD INSTRUCTIONAL FACULTY

SUBJECT:  Clarification of the CEP Policy on Midterm and Final
                     Examinations

Owing to a number of recent inquiries regarding the language of the Midterm and Final Examination policy, the Committee on Educational Policy (CEP) conducted a review of the policy. Essentially the policy remains unchanged. CEP focused its attention specifically on particular ambiguities in the language of the final exam portion of the policy under 2(i). CEP concluded the following:

- Faculty must be available to students during final examination week up to the time when final examinations of their courses are given and,

- Faculty must be physically present in the examination room during the final examination.

It is the hope of CEP that the above clarifications will provide both faculty and administrators a clearer understanding of the policy, thereby diminishing current misunderstandings. Exceptions to the policy must be approved by CEP.

The following revised CEP Policy on Midterm and Final Examinations is effective Winter Quarter, 2001. The policy may also be found on the Academic Senate website (http://www-senate.ucsd.edu/cep/midterm.htm).


                                                John M. Goodkind, Chair
                                                Committee on Educational Policy

____________________________________________________

CEP POLICY ON MIDTERM & FINAL EXAMINATIONS


The Committee on Educational Policy (CEP) would like to call your attention to policy regarding two subjects:

1. Policy on Midterm Examinations

a. Faculty are obliged to have printed in the Schedule of Classes the date and time of any midterm which is to be given outside of the regularly scheduled class hours (beginning with the Winter 2001 Schedule of Classes).

b. Additionally, any midterm given outside of the regularly scheduled class hours must be announced in a syllabus distributed to the class at the beginning of the quarter.

2. Policy on Final Examinations

a. Academic Senate Regulations specify that final examinations are required in all undergraduate courses, unless an exception has been approved by CEP or the CEP Subcommittee on Undergraduate Courses. Final examinations are, however, normally not required in laboratory courses.

b. Final examinations may not be given at any time before examination week without explicit approval of CEP.

c. Although the instructor may give a final examination at an alternative time during examination week with the approval of CEP, students must be permitted to take an equivalent examination at the originally scheduled time if they so desire

d. An instructor may administer an examination to a student at an alternative time if a valid reason is given by the student for not taking the regularly scheduled examination. Valid reasons include religious holidays, illness, family disaster.

e. No student may be excused from assigned final examinations.

f. A final examination must, whenever practicable, be written and it must be completed by all participants within a previously announced time limit.

g. Final examinations in non-laboratory courses may not exceed three hours duration.

h. No instructor may require a "take-home" final examination be turned in before the date and hour at which the examination for the course was scheduled by the Registrar's Office.

i. Faculty members (including visiting faculty) must be available to students during final examination week up to the time when the final examinations of their courses are given and, physically present in the examination room during the final examination. In cases where the approved absence of a course instructor cannot be avoided, the department chair or program director must seek CEP approval to designate another faculty member to administer the final examination. Nevertheless, faculty course instructors themselves must assign grades for the courses they teach.

j. CEP will not recommend approval of faculty absences during finals week unless arrangements to administer the final examination have been worked out in advance with the department chair or program director.

Revised: 3/01