Exam Policies
Memo from Dean rapp on Exam Rescheduling
We know exam schedules matter, which is why the exam schedule is posted along with the class schedule prior to registration. Thus, you can know and plan for your exam schedule from the beginning of the semester. Reviewing and completing outlines, as well finishing other course assignments, should be done with your exam schedule in mind.
In addition, College of Law policy entitles students to reschedule exams under two circumstances. First, students who have two exams on two consecutive days may reschedule an exam if the start time for the second exam is less than 23 hours after the start time of the first exam. Second, students who have three exams on three consecutive days may reschedule an exam if the start time for the last exam is less than 49 hours after the start time of the first exam. This doesn’t happen automatically, and there is no requirement that you have such exams rescheduled. If you do want to have an exam rescheduled, you must make a timely request for exam rescheduling. For spring 2024 semester, that request must be turned in to the Registrar’s Office by Friday, March 22. The entire exam policy can be found here.
There are two important aspects of this policy to keep in mind. One is that to have a right to reschedule one of two exams the second exam must start less than 23 hours after the first exam starts. Thus, a morning and an evening exam on the same day would qualify, as would a morning exam following an evening exam the night before. Morning exams on two consecutive days, however, do not result in rescheduling because the second exam starts more than 23 hours after the first one starts.
The second thing to keep in mind is that, when a conflict exists, while you can request which exam will be rescheduled and when, this is not a matter of personal preference. Given how complicated exam giving has become, I attempt to group all re-scheduled exams for a particular course on the same date. That means that you may not get the revised schedule you would most prefer. You will, however, get an exam schedule free of the conflicts our policy is designed to avoid. For example, you may prefer to reschedule one particular exam, but I may move the other if several students in the latter course need rescheduling.
We realize that in many cases students would prefer to have more time between certain exams than their exam schedule gives them. It is simply impossible to provide each person a schedule customized to his or her preferences and still administer exams efficiently and fairly. The best solution to exam preparation is keeping up with one’s courses and preparing early. That kind of preparation helps minimize stress and maximize chances for success no matter when you take an exam.