Extracted from the Purdue University Academic Regulations

B. Final Examinations (University Senate Document 84-12, March 25, 1985)

   1. In regular semesters, the final examination period shall consist of six scheduled days comprising the 16th week of the semester. The two-hour class meetings during the six days of the final examination period will be scheduled at the discretion of the Educational Policy Committee on the advice of the coordinator of schedules and space as, at most, 30 two-hour periods (five periods per day, including evenings).

      Upon request, a single coursewide examination will be scheduled for any course.

      In the summer session, the final examination schedule shall be appropriately scaled to meet the demand. It shall be scheduled at the discretion of the Educational Policy Committee on the advice of the coordinator of schedules and space in, at most, 12 two-hour periods on the last three days of the session (four periods per day, excluding evenings).

   2. Each class will be scheduled for a two-hour meeting during the final examination period. Excepted are those courses classified as individual study, clinic, student teaching, industrial experience (co-op), or research and those offered for zero credit. However, any such course will be included in the schedule upon the specific request of the appropriate schedule deputy. If no educational purpose will be served by any type of meeting during the 16th week because the educational objectives of the course have been achieved, a department may dismiss this class meeting during the 16th week.

   3. Two weeks after the beginning of any regular semester and one week after the beginning of the summer session, schedule deputies shall inform the Office of Space Management and Academic Scheduling of the courses requiring coursewide examinations. It will be the responsibility of the department head or, where appropriate, the school head to inform the Office of Space Management and Academic Scheduling which courses within the department or school will not need a meeting. A schedule implementing Section I-B (Under Part II of this handbook. This is true of all section references in this part unless otherwise specified.) will then be developed by the coordinator of schedules and space in consultation with the Educational Policy Committee. Guiding principles include:

         1. Minimize the number of direct student examination conflicts.

         2. Minimize the number of students who have more than two examinations on the same day.

         3. Minimize the number of students who have consecutive (back-to-back) examinations.

      No student shall be required to take more than two examinations on one day.

   4. The Office of the Provost shall implement a procedure to inform faculty and students of the academic regulations governing end-of-semester exams and activities each semester to coincide with the release of the final examination class schedule.

   5. Students scheduled for more than two examinations in one calendar day are entitled to reschedule any examinations in excess of two. Similarly, students faced with a direct exam conflict are entitled to reschedule either examination. It is the responsibility of the student to make the necessary arrangements before the last week of regularly scheduled classes. Course instructors shall not penalize a student who chooses to reschedule an examination under these options (University Senate Document 90-22, March 25, 1991).

   6. Regional campuses may modify these provisions to meet local differences through established procedures of the local faculty governing bodies or, lacking these, the regional campus chancellor or designee.

   7. The final examination period is intended for the end-of-semester examination. No examination or quiz may be given during the week (three days in summer session) preceding the final examination period of the semester (examinations for laboratory, intensive, or minicourses excluded). It will be the responsibility of the department head or, where appropriate, the school head to ensure that none of the departmental or school faculty use the week (three days in summer session) preceding the final examination period to administer an examination.

   8. Comprehensive final examinations (examinations for laboratory, intensive or minicourses excluded) are prohibited except during the regular final examination periods of the last week of the semester.

A. Evening Examinations

(University Senate Document 77-27, approved September 25, 1978, and University Senate Document 82-5, approved February 21, 1983; revised by University Senate Document 00-4, March 19, 2001)

   1. The Office of Space Management and Academic Scheduling will schedule examinations as requested under the provisions of this policy. Such scheduling will be subject to limitations on available facilities and will be based on the concept of minimizing the number of students scheduled for more than one examination at the same time.

   2. Evening examinations will be scheduled when requested for multidivision courses whose daytime classrooms and schedule prohibit effective common examinations during regular class periods.

   3. Single-division course evening exams are not encouraged and may be requested only under the most unusual circumstances (e.g., space limitations preclude the establishment of valid examining environment) and after the personal review of the department heads.

   4. Graduate-level courses (600 level) are exempted from this policy.

   5. Evening examinations may be scheduled during either of the following periods:

      7 to 8 p.m.

      8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

      As an exception, when the Hall of Music, Loeb Playhouse, or Fowler Hall is used for two examinations in a single evening, the exams are to be scheduled for the following periods:

      6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

      8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

      In all cases, the testing period should be restricted to 60 minutes, unless a multiple-period evening examination has been requested.

   6. Multiple-period evening examinations may be requested only when the unique nature of the course as testified by the department head precludes effective testing within the regular 60-minute evening examination period.

   7. Examinations will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with the exception that no examinations will be held on the day preceding an official University holiday.

   8. For all examination periods scheduled, roughly equivalent regular class periods are to be omitted. Omitted meetings are to be selected by the instructor according to the principle that meetings for each course should be distributed uniformly over its assigned term of instruction.

   9. Requests for the scheduling of evening examinations shall conform to the following procedures:

         1. Requests shall be forwarded to the Office of Space Management and Academic Scheduling by and with the approval of the departmental schedule deputy. The request should include a preferred date and two alternative dates (one of which should be in another week) for each evening exam requested.

               1. Multidivision courses at the 100 and 200 level must submit requests at the time departments submit their schedule of classes. A statement that these courses require evening examinations will be printed in the Schedule of Classes.

               2. If possible, all other courses requesting evening examinations should submit requests at the same time departments submit their schedule of classes. These courses will also be identified in the Schedule of Classes.

               3. If after the beginning of classes it becomes necessary to submit a request for an evening examination not previously scheduled, this request should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the proposed examination date. These requests will be honored only as space and the principle of conflict minimization permit.

               4. Scheduled times for evening examinations may be changed after the be-ginning of the semester providing a request for the change is submitted at least two weeks in advance of the earlier of the two scheduled dates. These requests will be honored only as space and the principle of conflict minimization permit. Changes in scheduled examinations should be avoided as much as possible. In particular, requests for changes in scheduled examinations in 100 and 200-level courses should be requested only under the most unusual circumstances.

         2. Examinations coincident with convocations, intercollegiate athletic events, and student activities will be avoided if possible; but if necessary, such examinations may be scheduled on the premise that the examination process takes priority over any of these events. In this case, the Office of Space Management and Academic Scheduling has the authority to start the first period of evening exams as early as 6:30 p.m.

         3. Conflicts shall be resolved as follows (University Senate Document 81-4, April 19, 1982):

               1. In case of examination conflicts (exams scheduled for the same student at the same time), the conflict should be resolved by the course instructors provided that the student informs them of the conflict. If the instructors cannot resolve the conflict, the student may elect the course in which he/she is to be examined and should so inform both instructors prior to the examination.

               2. In case of examination conflicts with a scheduled evening course, the affected student, after consultation with the instructors involved, may elect the alternative at the scheduled time that is most appropriate to his/her academic interests.

               3. Other conflicts should be resolved between the instructor and the student. If conflict resolution is not possible, the examination shall take precedence, subject to appeal through the head of the department in which the course is offered.

               4. The Office of the Dean of Students will be available for assistance  in conflict resolution.

  10. The Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs shall implement a procedure to inform faculty and students of the academic regulations governing the scheduling and conducting of evening examinations.