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Final Exams and the Exam Period

Emory College’s policies for final exams and the examination period have been established to ensure students can adequately plan and study for their examinations and other final assignments. All faculty are expected to adhere to the policies below. Final exams are defined as any exam (or significant final assignment) given after the penultimate week of class.

  1. Faculty members who give in-person final exams must give their exams during the final exam time scheduled by the Registrar’s office. Faculty may not reschedule their exams. The deadline for any take home exams should correspond to the scheduled final exam time.

  2. The deadline for final papers, projects, performances, and presentations may fall during the last week of class, at the scheduled exam time, or at the very end of the exam period. Faculty may not set deadlines for these projects at other points during the exam period or on reading days.

  3. Reading days fall between the final day of class and the start of the exam period; they provide students time to prepare for final exams. Faculty may not assign deadlines for papers or other assignments during the reading days. Faculty may not reschedule final exams during the reading days.

  4. Faculty may not give tests and exams during the last week of classes (i.e. the final five days when classes meet). Faculty should instead give those exams during the final exam period or during the penultimate week of class. Faculty may continue to give small quizzes, such as weekly vocabulary or chapter quizzes, during the final week of classes when those assessments are given periodically throughout the semester. Faculty may also give lab exams during the final week of class.

  5. Faculty may use the entire 2.5 hour time slot scheduled for their final exam or some portion of that time according to their needs. If faculty plan to use less than 2.5 hours for the final examination, it is suggested that this is communicated with students in advance.

  6. Exemptions to this policy must be approved at least one semester in advance by the Curriculum, Assessment, and Educational Policy Committee.