UPM #8 – Examination System

Effective Date: May 2012

PURPOSE
This publication is intended to bring together the policies and procedures developed by the
University for the administration of final examinations.

GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Faculty Council has approved various policies and procedures regarding examinations. In order
that we may have uniform administration of this policy, the procedures below were developed to
apply to all schools and departments.

EXAMINATIONS
Undergraduate courses taught on campus must include a final assessment (i.e. final examination)
unless the Provost grants an exception. A traditional final examination is written, is administered at a
predetermined time as specified in the final examination schedule, and takes place at a designated
location. Only the Provost can grant exceptions to the scheduled time and location of a traditional
examination after review and approval of the appropriate department head and the dean.

For graduate and professional level courses, final examinations, which may or may not be written,
may be given at the option of the college/school dean and the instructor.

A. General

The final examination schedule, announced prior to the beginning of the semester, sets the
time for each examination. No special preparation quizzes may be given during the last five
days of classes (last 2 days of classes for Summer School) before the beginning of the final
examination period. No examination (except for laboratory sections) may be held at a time
other than that specified in the general schedule except with the advance approval of the
Provost. No examination may start later than 7:00 PM. Final examinations for a full course
should ordinarily cover a minimum of two hours and should not exceed a period of three
hours. Courses with one hour of academic credit may administer their final exams during

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UPM #8 – Examination System
the last class period; all others must follow the published Final Examination Schedule. Only
examinations requiring an exceptional portion of practical work should be longer than three
hours.

Departmental chairs (i.e. heads of instructional units) must give permission for faculty to
use non-traditional examinations, such as a portfolio of a semester’s work or a take-home
examination. Faculty employing an alternative form of final assessment must adhere to the
general final examination schedule, must allow adequate time for completion, and should
bear in mind that the students have other scheduled examinations. The chair should submit
to the appropriate dean an annual summary of the exceptions that were granted. For
multidisciplinary and co-taught courses, permission to give a non-traditional examination
must be granted solely by the chair of the instructional unit in which the course is based.

B. Who May Take Final Examinations

The following may take the regular final examination in a course:

1. Only regularly enrolled members of the class whose registration has been
certified by the University Registrar’s Office may take the final examination in
any course. Students auditing a course do not write examinations or papers and
do not participate in class discussions unless otherwise directed by the course
instructor. They do not appear on the instructor’s class roll and may not request
grades. The Registrar’s Office will not accept final grades for auditors.
2. Instructors may arrange a suitable time for make‐up final examinations upon
receipt of a signed “Examination Excuse” (from the dean of the school in which
the student is registered) or an “Official Permit to Take a Final Examination”
(from the University Registrar’s Office). The instructor will assign a grade of “AB”
(Absent from final examination, but could have passed if exam taken) or “FA”
(student did not attend the exam, and could not pass the course regardless of
performance on the exam) until the exam is taken.
 When the dean authorizes the official excuse, the student will be
provided a copy of the “Examination Excuse” to present to the
instructor. A second copy of the excuse is on file in the University
Registrar’s Office. In the event of loss or question, the University

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UPM #8 – Examination System
Registrar’s Office will provide the student a permit to take the final
examination.
 When the University Student Health Service authorizes the official
excuse, the University Registrar’s Office will issue the student an
“Official Permit to Take a Final Examination.” The University Student
Health Service routinely provides the University Registrar’s Office a
daily list of all students medically excused during the examination
period. It is the student’s responsibility to present the Permit to the
instructor. The list is not distributed elsewhere on campus.
C. Examinations in Absentia

Only in very exceptional cases can arrangements be made to take examinations in absentia.
There is a fee of $10.00 for each examination taken in absentia. Applications for
examinations in absentia should be directed to the dean of the school in which the student is
registered.

D. Student Pledge

Each student is required to sign his/her name to the following pledge or its equivalent on
every paper: “I hearby certify that during this examination I have neither given nor received
aid.” The instructor will not report a final grade for any student whose examination paper
lacks this pledge. In these cases, a grade of “IN” (incomplete) will be entered on the
electronic grade roster in ConnectCarolina. If the student later signs the pledge, the
instructor may then report his/her proper grade to the University Registrar’s Office on an
Official Grade Change Form.

E. The Time of an Examination

The examination schedule at the end of each term having once been fixed cannot be
changed, and the examination must be held at the time shown on the schedule. In any case
where it appears necessary and desirable to deviate from this rule, the following procedure
should be adhered to:

o Request of an individual student to take a regularly scheduled examination at

any time other than the time set in the schedule. If students know in advance

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UPM #8 – Examination System
that they must miss one or more final examinations because of illness, religious
observance or other serious problems, they should notify in writing both the
course instructor and the dean of the school in which they are enrolled no later
than the last day of classes. If this is not possible, they should write or see their
dean as soon after the fact as possible. The dean may require documentation of
a student’s religious observance, illness, or problems.
a. The student should be required to obtain an Examination
Excuse from his/her academic dean. The student may then
take the examination at a later date in accordance with the
procedure outlined in the regulations for removal of an
excused AB.
b. The student should make application through the dean of
his/her college or school if there are compelling and
extraordinary circumstances for taking the examination prior
to the time set in the schedule. Approval by the dean will be
forwarded to the Provost whose decision is final. The
application must be made no later than three weeks before
the scheduled exam. In the summer sessions, applications
should be made through the dean of his/her school or the
college of the Dean of Summer School.
c. A student who has three exams scheduled by the Registrar’s
Office within a twenty‐four hour period may petition his or
her dean for permission to have one of the scheduled
examinations rescheduled. In the event that one of the
exams is a common final exam for a multiple section course,
that examination is the one to be rescheduled.
o Request by an instructor or department to change the time of an examination for an
entire class after it has been fixed in the schedule.

. In all cases in which an examination is to be rescheduled, the instructor

may reschedule that exam during the final examination period, but no
later than the end of the following semester. Any petition for a change
in the examination schedule because of this rule must be made before
the first day of the final examinations, through the department head and

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UPM #8 – Examination System
dean, with final approval of the Provost. If approved, the instructor
would assume responsibility for making special arrangements to give the
examination to any student who had a schedule conflict as a result of
the change.
a. The change could be made only to one of the other exam periods in the
schedule. Such changes will be granted only under the most extenuating
circumstances.
F. Grade Books and Final Examination Papers

Faculty members must retain on campus in their office all final examinations and unclaimed
tests, term papers, and homework for one year after completion of a course, as mandated by the
North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. In the case that a student contests a course
grade, faculty members can confidentially dispose of coursework after resolution of the formal
protest. It is also desirable that faculty members who leave the University deposit grade records
from the prior three years with the department chair.

These requirements are based on the fact that students frequently attempt to remove the
temporary grades of “AB” and “IN” in courses which they took with instructors who are no
longer members of the faculty.

Office of the University Registrar