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Fall 2020 midterm and final exam scheduling principles

Thursday, July 9, 2020

This message was originally sent to instructors by the Registrar's Office

General Principles

  1. In most cases, Online/Remote Exams will be scheduled with an instructor-determined duration to be completed by students within a 24-hour window
  2. Some Online/Remote Exams may be scheduled at specific times (Instructors may choose to have 2-3 definite start times to satisfy time zones, over a 24-hour period that students can choose from, with 2-3 exam versions to encourage academic integrity)
  3. Instructors are encouraged to consider alternatives to synchronous, high-stakes exams (alternatives discussed on the Keep Learning site). Where this is not feasible and Instructors elect to hold time-limited finals and wish to employ remote proctoring, further details on solutions are being confirmed. Seats will be limited, and thus requests will be prioritized using the criteria below or similar:
    1. invigilation is required due to accreditation or certification policies
    2. the exam is high stakes (50% or more) and alternative assessment strategy is not viable
    3. other situations that demand additional academic integrity measures
  4. The maximum time for an exam to be scheduled is 3-hours (maximum 2.5-hour exam plus 30-minutes for technology-related considerations)
  5. Exam conflicts are defined as 3 or more exams in a 24-hour period
  6. Exam conflicts will be handled by individual Instructors
  7. Dates for the 2020 Fall Term have not changed (i.e. Formal Lecture Period – September 8, 2020 -December 7, 2020, Pre-Examination Study Day – December 8, 2020, Examinations – December 9, 2020-December 23, 2020) and therefore the regulations for assignments, tests and exams have not changed (see the Undergraduate Academic Calendar – Assignments, Tests and Final Exams)
  8. Grades for all courses are due in the Registrar’s Office throughout the exam period. Due dates for courses with final exams are seven days from the date of the scheduled final exam. Grades for courses (on-campus and online/remote) without a scheduled final exam are due fourteen days after the start of the final exam period.

2020 Fall term midterm exams

For On-campus Courses:

  1. Midterm exams will continue to follow the Guidelines on Tests During the Formal Lecture Period
  2. Face to face midterm exams will be permitted for on-campus course sections only
  3. Room capacities are severely reduced and therefore seating for midterm exams is limited so alternate forms of student evaluation are strongly encouraged
  4. Instructors are asked to consider the following in order to assist with room scheduling challenges for midterm exams:
    1. In-class testing
    2. Take home exams
    3. Alternative ways of assessing students
  5. TST components will be permitted but must have a start and end time with a reasonable duration. You can choose to have your times published on the Schedule of Classes and show on the student's schedule.
  6. An option to add notes to the Schedule of Classes to advertise time/dates/windows for midterm exams is available, if needed
  7. Saturdays will be reserved

For Online/Remote Courses:

  1. Midterm exams will continue to follow the Guidelines on Tests During the Formal Lecture Period
  2. Face to face midterm exams will not be permitted for online/remote courses
  3. TST components will be permitted but must have a start and end time with a reasonable duration. You can choose to have your times published on the Schedule of Classes andshow on the student's schedule.
  4. Instructors of online/remote courses should establish a 24-hour window that includes the scheduled midterm exam/TST during which the midterm exam must be completed. This 24-hour window will not be visible on the Schedule of Classes and this flexibility must be communicated to students by the instructor
  5. Notes can be added to the Schedule of Classes to advertise time/dates/windows for midterm exams 

2020 Fall Term Final Exams

For On-campus Courses:

  1. Face to face final exams will be permitted for on-campus course sections only
  2. Room capacities are severely reduced and therefore seating for final exams is limited
  3. Instructors are asked to consider the following in order to assist with room scheduling challenges for final exams:
    1. In-class testing
    2. Take home exams
    3. Optional final exams for students (midterm exam counts for greater % of mark)
    4. Alternative ways of assessing students
  4. Exams will be centrally scheduled by the Registrar’s Office during the formal exam period December 9-23, 2020

For Online/Remote Courses

  1. Face to face final exams will not be permitted for online/remote courses
  2. Final exams for all online/remote courses will be scheduled with a 24-hour window during which the final exam must be completed (see points 1. and 2. of the General Principles)
  3. Instructors are asked to consider the following in order to assist with challenges for online/remote final exams:
    1. Open book exams
    2. Optional final exams for students (midterm exam counts for greater % of mark)
    3. Alternative ways of assessing students
  4. Exams will be centrally scheduled by the Registrar’s Office during the formal exam period December 9-23, 2020