Exam rescheduling for instructors

Exam Guidelines for Instructors

Exam rescheduling for instructors

If a student has three final exams held in four consecutive time blocks, they may be eligible to reschedule one of those exams.

definitions

Deferred Exam: When a student is absent from a final examination for a legitimate reason, that student may apply to their Faculty Office for a deferred examination.

Accommodated Exam: Accommodated exams address exam-writing barriers experienced by students who are registered for accommodations based on legal protected grounds.

Rescheduled Exam: If a student is scheduled to write three (3) or more final exams within four (4) consecutive time slots, they can request rescheduling one (1) of the exams to another date.

Exam schedule

Holding up to three exams per day allows the university to ensure 63 teaching days in the academic year. It will also ensure that final exams are scheduled within the approved two-week examination period. Exams will be held at 8:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

The Winter 2025 exam schedule will be available to students on February 28.

Exam Rescheduling Procedure

To ensure that all students have a fair chance to perform at their best during examinations, the General Faculties Council approved the Exam Rescheduling Procedure (3-in-4). If a student is scheduled to write three (3) or more final exams within four consecutive time slots, they can request rescheduling one of the exams.

The Exam Rescheduling Procedure is optional for students. Eligible students can opt-in to rescheduling but retain the right to write all their exams as originally scheduled.

Student eligibility

A student is eligible if they are scheduled to write three (3) or more final exams within four consecutive time slots.

Eligible: A student is scheduled to write one exam at 8:30 a.m. and one at 5:30 p.m. on the same day and their next exam is at 8:30 a.m. the next day.
Ineligible: A student is scheduled to write one exam at 8:30 a.m. and one exam at 5:30 p.m. on the same day and their next exam is at 1:00 p.m. the next day.

How do eligible students request rescheduling of an exam?

The Office of the Registrar will contact eligible students directly to inform them of the option to reschedule. If they choose to reschedule, students will submit an application in Bear Tracks to request the rescheduling of the eligible exam. The application will be open from February 28 to March 12, 2025.

Only eligible students will have the option to apply to reschedule an exam through Bear Tracks. Students can submit one application per eligible exam. If a student has more than one exam eligible for rescheduling, they will be able to submit a subsequent application.

Once a request to reschedule an exam is submitted, it cannot be changed. If a student misses the deadline to apply for a rescheduled exam, they will write the exam as originally scheduled.

Are student exam conflicts treated separately from 3-in-4 situations?

Exam conflicts (i.e., exams scheduled at the exact same time) must be addressed first, as the Exam Rescheduling Procedure is optional for students. Students retain the right to write all their exams at their originally scheduled times if they do not choose to reschedule.

While these two situations are distinct, the Office of the Registrar aims to coordinate the exam conflicts with the rescheduled exams and lessen the workload for instructors. Integrating the management of exam conflicts with rescheduled exams streamlines processes and reduces the workload for instructors.

The unified approach to handling student exam conflicts alongside 3-in-4 situations also promotes fairness for all students and simplifies exam administration.

Rescheduling requests

When will instructors be notified of exam rescheduling requests?

Course instructors will be informed of any potential rescheduling requests approximately two weeks after the exam schedule is released.

Confirmation of any rescheduled exams will be sent by March 28, 2025.

Will the rescheduled exam information appear in the Instructor Centre in Bear Tracks?

Instructors will not be able to view this information in Bear Tracks but will receive email confirmation from the Office of the Registrar regarding any rescheduled exams they may have.

How will instructors be notified?

The Office of the Registrar will email instructors in the second month of the term to notify them of any potential rescheduling requests and will follow up to confirm the details of any rescheduled exams, including the date, time and location.

For Fall term exams: the RO will email instructors in October to notify them of any potential reschedules and will follow up in early December to confirm the details of any rescheduled exams, such as the date, time and location.

For Winter term exams: the RO will email instructors in February to notify them of any potential reschedules and will follow up in mid-March to confirm details of any rescheduled exams, such as the date, time and location.

Instructors will be notified of rescheduled exam requests individually - one per course section/exam.

What dates are available for rescheduling?

Rescheduled exams will be held on the following dates:

Fall 2024: December 20, 21 and 22
Winter 2025: April 28 and 29

Alternatively, instructors may request an exam date in the subsequent term. If choosing this option, instructors must indicate this to the Office of the Registrar, in order to provide a timely notification to students.

What happens with exams during the final exam period which depart from the official final exam schedule (i.e. do not follow the exam planner)?

Deviations from the exam planner have the potential to create exam conflicts and 3-in-4 situations and should be avoided. The Office of the Registrar’s process to identify 3-in-4 scenarios targets exams following the exam planner. The only exceptions are classes with non-standard scheduling, as these generally create an exam conflict.

Classes with non-standard scheduling: can choose the final exam date and time, being mindful that they will need to accommodate any students for whom this causes a conflict or 3-in-4.
Classes following the standard timetabling model: should follow the exam planner. If they choose to deviate, they will also need to accommodate any students for whom this causes a conflict or 3-in-4.
Sections following the standard timetabling model that want to deviate from the exam planner: the instructor must obtain unanimous signed consent from all students registered in the course section as well as approval from the dean of the faculty offering the course at least one month prior to the new dates being requested.
Online exams with extended completion windows represent a deviation, but the longer time frame should help reduce 3-in-4 scenarios. If any 3-in-4 situations persist, further extending the completion window will resolve them.

Can a student withdraw online from a course after they have submitted a rescheduled exam request?

A student can withdraw online from a course after submitting a request to reschedule the exam.

Holding a rescheduled exam

Does the format of the final exam need to match the format of the course?

The final exam delivery method should match the delivery method of the main/graded component of the course. Asynchronous classes (both online and in-person) should schedule an asynchronous online exam to reduce the potential for conflict or 3-in-4 scenarios.

Do course instructors need to invigilate the rescheduled exam?

The Office of the Registrar will provide optional invigilation services to course instructors if the rescheduled exam is held on April 28 or 29. Instructors can indicate they would like the optional invigilation service when they are contacted to select their preferred rescheduled date or by emailing exam.rescheduling@ualberta.ca. If these services are requested, instructors will not be required to be present to invigilate the exams. Please ensure that all requests for invigilation are received before February 21.

If invigilation services are requested, instructors will need to ensure that paper copies of the exams (and supplemental material, if applicable) are delivered to Examinations and Timetabling by April 24 at 11:59 p.m. MT.

If copies of the exam (and supplemental material, if applicable) are not provided by the deadline, instructors will need to invigilate the rescheduled exam in the rescheduled slot. Detailed instructions will be sent out upon receiving the request for optional invigilation services.

Can instructors book a facility for a rescheduled exam? If so, how can they make that request?

Yes, centrally scheduled classrooms and gym spaces can be booked if they are available. Instructors who wish to do this should notify the Office of the Registrar when the date and time of the rescheduled exam are confirmed.

Grading

What is the grading procedure for these exams?

Grades will not be automatically assigned to students that have rescheduled exams. As with all other students in the grade roster, the instructor will need to input their grades. As , grades shall be submitted within five business days after the student has written their final exam. Therefore, for rescheduled exams occurring after the final exam period, instructors will likely need to manually assign a grade of “IN,” so that they are able to submit the grades for the rest of their students. They will then need to follow-up with their faculty’s grade-change process to submit the rescheduled students’ grades once they have written their rescheduled exams.

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