Examinations

The final examinations for each semester and summer term are scheduled by the Office of the Registrar. Classes that meet at the same time during a semester also have a common examination time. An index of these examination times is included in the Course Schedule; the examination schedule for a specific class is available through the Texas One Stop's website. The final exam schedule will be available by the first-class day of each semester. Students may access their individual examination schedules through the Texas One Stop's site.

Final examinations should begin promptly at the scheduled hour. They should not continue beyond the period (two or three hours) allocated in the official schedule, but may be shorter at the instructor's discretion.

No final examinations may be given before the examination period begins, and no change in time from that published in the official schedule is permitted without approval. An instructor with a compelling reason to change the time of an examination must obtain the approval of the department chair and the dean of the college or school in which the course is taught before announcing an alternative examination procedure to the students. No substantial examinations may be given during the last class week or during the study days preceding the final examination period. An examination is considered to be substantial if it counts for more than 30 percent of the final course grade. A change in the room assignment for a final examination may be made only with the approval of the registrar.

The study days preceding final examinations are not to be used as dates on which assignments are to be turned in, examinations are to be given, quizzes are to be scheduled, or for any other class-related activity, other than office hours or review sessions. In addition, the final examination period is reserved for scheduled final examinations. No other class-related activity, with the exception of office hours, may be scheduled during the final examination period.

An instructor may choose not to give a final examination. However, if an examination is given, all students must take it unless there is a uniform exemption policy announced to the class.

For good cause, an instructor may give a student permission to take an examination with a different class section than the one in which the student is registered.

For good cause, students may petition their academic dean for permission to change the time or place of an examination from that specified in the official schedule. If permission is given by the dean and the instructor, no penalty (such as a reduction in grade) may be assessed.

In the event of a student having a regular exam and a uniform exam scheduled at the same time resulting in a conflict, the student should plan to take the final exam during the make-up exam period as written on the final exam public search because uniform exams already have a make-up exam scheduled for  another date and time.

In the event of a student having two regular final exams scheduled at the same time resulting in a conflict, the instructor who chose the non-default exam period for their regular exam is responsible for accommodating the student by providing another time to take the exam that works with the student's schedule.

In the event of a student having two uniform final exams scheduled at the same time resulting in a conflict, the student should plan to take one of the final exams during the corresponding make-up exam period as written on the final exam public search because uniform exams already have a make-up exam scheduled for another date and time.

Instructors cannot require students to make up an exam on a day that would cause the student to exceed the 3-exam limit. In the event a student has more than three (3) final exams scheduled in a single day, the student may petition the instructor(s) to allow them to take the additional exam on an alternate day. Students should ask the instructor of their latest 2-hour exam time(s) on days they are scheduled for more than three exams for an alternate  exam day.

Instructors of asynchronous courses are presumed to be offering asynchronous final exams. An instructor of an asynchronous course who wishes to give a synchronous final exam must contact their unit's course scheduler no later than one week before their first class meeting of the semester to request a synchronous final examination time. The instructor of the asynchronous course must accommodate students who have regularly scheduled final exams that conflict with the asynchronous course scheduled final exam time. 

All instructors must communicate dates and times of all final exams to all students on the syllabus, on the first class day. 

In the event a student has an exam accommodation through Disability and Access (D&A) that causes an overlap with another scheduled exam, the instructor of the course causing the overlap must work with the student to find an alternative time for the exam or allow the student to take the exam through the designated D&A exam proctoring system.

A student should address complaints related to the final examination procedures in a course to the chair of the department offering the course. The student may appeal the decision of the department chair to the dean of the college or school in which the course is offered.¹

The following instructions govern the conduct of final examinations as well as other examinations given during the semester:

• Students must be informed that all written work handed in by them is considered to be their own work, prepared without unauthorized assistance.
• Students should be asked to cooperate in maintaining the integrity of examinations and encouraged to inform the instructor, without specifying the offenders, when cheating goes on in class.
• Instructors are responsible for advising students of the rules governing examinations and for supervising examinations in their respective classes. They, or their representatives, must remain in the examination room and take necessary actions to ensure an orderly examination and minimize the temptations and opportunities for cheating.
• Students are expected to (a) remain in the examination room until the test is completed; (b) refrain from talking; and (c) leave all notes and books where they are not accessible during the examination, unless otherwise directed by the instructor.
• An instructor who suspects academic dishonesty must report the case to the Office of the Dean of Students.

1	Updated October 21, 2022