Revision published January 27, 2025 to reflect new final assessment policy (effective Spring 2025)

Reading Period and Dean's Date

Each term, a period of approximately 8–9 days immediately preceding the final assessment period is set apart as a reading period to give students time in which to consolidate coursework or to extend reading and investigation in accordance with their interests. Individual faculty members may choose to continue instruction during reading period. All work assigned during the semester, including papers, homework assignments, lab reports, and projects, are due on the date set by the instructor, but in no case later than “dean’s date,” the deadline for the submission of term-time work set by the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing. All coursework originally due during the term must be submitted by dean’s date.

Final Assessments

All courses must have a final assessment (exam, project, presentation, or paper) due on the date assigned by the Registrar during the final assessment period. Rescheduling policies vary by final assessment type.

Scheduled Final Exams

A scheduled examination must be taken at the time and date assigned by the Registrar. Students should plan to be available throughout the final assessment period and should not finalize personal travel until the final assessment schedule has been published. 

The Registrar, acting for the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing, may authorize a student to take an examination during dedicated rescheduling windows of the final assessment period. Appropriate reasons for granting requests for rescheduling include religious observation, personal emergencies, or other exceptionally compelling circumstances. Faculty have discretion to write a new exam if the rescheduled examination is scheduled more than 24 hours after the scheduled time. 

Should a student be unable to complete an exam during the final assessment period due to illness or another compelling reason outside of their control, a request must be made for a long-term postponement. The request must be made prior to the scheduled examination time and must include the endorsement of the course instructor. Students apply through their residential college deans or assistant deans. Faculty are required to write new exams for students given a long-term postponement. Postponed fall term examinations are administered during the week before spring classes begin; postponed spring term examinations are administered the week before fall term classes begin.

A student who has received authorization for a postponed final examination will receive the symbol of Incomplete (INC) until the examination has been completed and a final grade reported.

A student who fails to take an examination at either the scheduled/rescheduled or postponed time will receive a failing grade for that portion of the course.

A student who becomes ill or otherwise incapacitated at the time of a scheduled examination should notify the associate registrar for curriculum and scheduling, as well as their residential college dean or assistant dean for studies, as soon as possible. If a student elects to take the examination at the scheduled time, the student's grade will not subsequently be altered on the grounds of poor health or other problems.

A student who arrives late at an examination but within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time will be given the examination and permitted to complete as much work as possible during the remaining time.

A student who arrives at an examination more than 30 minutes late must notify the associate registrar for curriculum and scheduling immediately. A student who misses an examination entirely, for any reason, must notify the associate registrar for curriculum and scheduling as soon as possible. In these cases, upon review of the circumstances, the student may be allowed to make up the examination in the next available time slot. Such a makeup examination is permitted only once in a student's undergraduate years. Failure to report a missed examination within 24 hours of the scheduled examination time will result in a failing grade for the exam.

All Other Final Assessments (papers, projects, presentations, take-home exams)

All other final assessments, including papers, projects, presentations, and take-home examinations, are due on the final assessment date set by the Registrar. Faculty who elect to schedule a timed take-home exam rather than a scheduled in-person exam must ensure that the exam is a reasonable length, since students will have up to two final assessments scheduled per day of the final assessment period. 

A student who is unable to complete final written work by the assigned final assessment deadline because of illness or another equally compelling reason beyond the student's control may apply for permission to submit the work late. Instructors may elect to give extensions of up to 24 hours on final written work, provided that the request is made on or before the due date. Applications for extensions on final papers, projects, or other final written work beyond 24 hours must be made before the deadline and must be approved by both the course instructor and the student’s residential college dean or assistant dean for studies. Faculty may not independently grant extensions of more than 24 hours beyond the assigned final assessment date.

If the request for such an extension is approved, the student and the course professor will be notified of the new due date. Normally, only short-term extensions are granted, and the new deadline will not extend past the last date of the final assessment period. In exceptional cases, a longer-term extension may be granted at the discretion of the residential college dean, provided that the student will not carry an INC into the subsequent term. Further postponements are available only to students who take a leave of absence from the current term for medical reasons. 

A student whose request for an extension is approved may receive the symbol of Incomplete (INC), which is converted to the appropriate grade on submission of the written work on or before the new deadline. Failure to submit work by the extended deadline will result in a failing grade for that component of the course.

A student whose request is denied must submit the written work by the assigned deadline or receive a failing grade for that component of the course.

Deadlines for the Submission of Independent Work

The Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing establishes deadlines each term for the submission of junior independent work and in the spring for submission of the senior thesis. While individual departments may set earlier deadlines for this work, departmental deadlines may not be later than those set by the committee. A student who will not be able to meet a departmental deadline may request an extension within the department to submit work no later than the University deadline.

Students who are unable to complete independent work by the University deadline because of illness or another compelling reason essentially outside their control may apply for permission to submit their work late. Students should apply to their residential college dean on or before the due date and must include the endorsement of the adviser. An unauthorized failure to submit independent work by the University deadline or by an extended due date established by a residential college dean or assistant dean will result in the assignment of a failing grade. In such cases, a second grade is added to the transcript when the late work is submitted. Both grades remain on the transcript.

No student will be permitted to enroll as a senior unless all junior independent work has been successfully completed.

A senior who fails to submit an acceptable senior thesis will not be permitted to graduate until that requirement has been met.