It’s the last month of classes everyone! Where has the term gone?! Well, like it or not, exams are fast approaching. This issue, I will highlight regulations and policies regarding final examinations.
I think we can all agree that exams are a stressful time of year. That being said, the University of Waterloo strives to create a level playing field for all students. Examinations are scheduled with three principles in mind: no student shall write two exams in two consecutive exam periods, no student shall write an exam in the last period of one day followed by an exam in the first period of the next day, and no student shall write more than two exams in a single day. University policy guarantees accommodation for examination conflicts when a student reports the conflict with the Scheduling Office within seven days of the appropriate examination schedule being released. That being said, if you have neglected to report examination conflicts within this time frame, talk to your professors about what accommodations might be possible. This should be done AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Accommodations for religious conflicts are made at the University of Waterloo. The University of Waterloo recognizes and values the incredible diversity of cultures and religion found on our campus. Such conflicts should be reported following the same procedure as above: inform the Scheduling Office within seven days of the applicable examination schedule being released.
Final exams cannot exceed 2.5 hours in duration, and are scheduled for Monday through Saturday. Additionally, there are four prearranged time slots exams can be written in: 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Exams scheduled outside of these times and days must allow for student accommodation if a legitimate conflict exists.
If you should become ill during final examinations, students are required to provide a Verification of Illness Form, available on the University of Waterloo Health Services webpage. Bear in mind that a cold does not count as an illness with grounds for special accommodation, only significant illnesses are grounds for deferred examinations. A general rule of thumb is that if you think you can reasonably sit through 2.5 hours, then you are expected to write the exam as scheduled.
In regards to the act of writing examinations, there are a few rules to be sure of. This is likely an extremely rare event, but if there are no proctors at the assigned examination room, students must remain in the room for 30 minutes after the scheduled start of the exam before leaving. Assuming all goes well and the exam begins as scheduled, students must remain for an hour before they can submit their exam and leave. During the last 10 minutes of an examination, all students still in the room are required to remain in their seat. Any students who arrive late for an examination will be allowed to enter and write the exam, but additional time will not be granted. The single exception to this rule is if a student arrives over an hour late, and other students have already completed their exams, in which case it will be at the proctor’s discretion whether or not the student will be allowed to write the exam.
For the complete list of procedures and policies please visit uwaterloo.ca/registrar/final-examinations/examination-regulations-and-related-matters, and feel free to stop by the EngSoc office if you have any questions. Happy studying, and don’t forget to bring your WatCard!
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