Final Examinations

​Except where otherwise approved by Senate, final examinations are mandatory in 1000 and 2000 level courses. (Final examinations are not mandatory in creative writing, studio art courses, or other courses so designated by Senate). Instructors of 3000 and 4000 level courses may assign final examinations as part of their course assessment strategies. Final examinations are scheduled by the Office of the Registrar. Final examinations will be scheduled Monday to Saturday and may be scheduled day or evening regardless of when the class was scheduled. In courses with final examinations, they must constitute a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 70% of the final grade. Punctual and regular attendance is essential for the successful completion of a course. When absenteeism exceeds 20%, the student may be excluded from writing the final examination.

Final examinations for all courses of three-credits or above will be three hours in length. The length of final examinations for courses that are less than three credits will be determined by the instructor. No student will be required to write more than one Nipissing University exam during the same exam period, or more than three Nipissing University final examinations in any 48 hour period. Any conflicts must be reported to the Office of the Registrar two weeks after a draft schedule is published.

Exam Policy and Procedures

General Rules for Proctoring and Conduct of Final Examinations  

Student Policies Governing Final Exams

1. A student shall not be permitted to enter a room in which University examinations are being written if the student arrives more than one hour after the commencement of writing.
2. There shall be no extension of time for candidates who are allowed to sit the examination after arriving late.
3. At 15 minutes before the conclusion of the examination period, the proctor shall announce the time remaining.
4. No student shall be allowed in the examination room during the course of examination except the candidates concerned.
5. Students must place their student ID cards, or another piece of photo identification, on the desk, or be able to establish their identities in a manner satisfactory to the proctor and sign the attendance sheet when presented to them.
6. Each student must submit all required exam materials before leaving the exam room. Candidates must leave the room immediately after handing in their examination materials. Any materials removed from the room will not be accepted for submission.
7. Students shall not be permitted to submit their exam and leave the exam room within the first hours of the scheduled exam.
8. If a student becomes ill or receives word of a domestic emergency during an examination, the student must hand in all exam materials at once to a proctor and request the exam paper be cancelled. In the case of illness, the students must arrange immediately for a medical examination so that a medical certificate is available to support any request for a deferred examination. The candidate may then apply for a special examination in accordance with the published special final examinations procedures.
9. If a student fails to appear for a scheduled examination, the candidate may apply for a special examination in accordance with the special final examinations procedures.
10. All inquiries and requests must be addressed to proctors only and candidates must not leave their seats except when granted permission by the proctor.
11. Candidates must not:
    1. impersonate another student;
    2. speak to other candidates or communicate with them under any circumstances whatsoever;
    3. leave answer papers exposed to view.
    The published policy for “Academic Dishonesty” will apply to anyone found cheating.
12. No materials or electronic devices shall be brought to the desk or used at an examination except those authorized by the proctor. Unauthorized materials include, but are not limited to: books, class notes, or aid sheets. Unauthorized electronic devices include, but are not limited to: cellular telephones, laptop computers, programmable calculators, palm pilots or pagers. All electronic devices must be turned off and kept out of view.
13. Students may not bring food or drink into the exam room. Those who must do so for medical reasons must identify himself/herself to the Exam Invigilator.
14. In consideration of those who have allergies, students and proctors shall refrain from wearing fragrances.
15. There are no personal belongings allowed on the desks except those directly required for the exam.
16. Students are discouraged from bringing personal belongings into the exam room. Small belongings may be placed under the seats, but exam supervisors may request that all personal belongings be left along the edges of the room. In either case, the University will assume no responsibility for lost articles.
17. Any student leaving the examination shall do so with the least distraction to the students still working. Students shall not congregate outside the examination room.
18. Instructors shall proctor their own final examinations. If this is not possible, the Instructor shall arrange for an alternate who is familiar with the subject of the examination. Students should not be used as alternates.
19. The Instructor or alternate shall be the proctor for that course and is responsible for the conduct of the examinations and the enforcement of the examination regulations.
20. When multiple exams are held in one room, the Assistant Registrar shall appoint a Chief Supervisor. The Chief Supervisor is responsible for the conduct of examinations and the enforcement of examination regulations.
21. When examinations are scheduled in the gym, the Registrar’s office staff will bring the exams to that location. When examinations are not scheduled in the gym, it is the responsibility of the Proctor to ensure that exams and any booklets may be picked up from the Registrar’s office the day of the exam.
22. The Registrar’s office will be responsible for hiring additional Exam Proctors so that large exams may have more than one proctor and so that supervisors of smaller exams may be relieved for short periods of time.

Emergency Procedures

1. Examination Cancellation Contingency Plan:
1. The Assistant Registrar, or designate, will decide in consultation with the Deans, or designate, whether to proceed with or to postpone examinations in the event of extreme weather conditions or any other general emergency which occurs when final examinations are in session. Notification of the postponement of an exam(s) will be posted on the Nipissing University Portal as early as possible and the local media will be contacted.
2. If students have seen the examination, the examination should be cancelled and rescheduled. However, any examinations already submitted will normally be graded.
3. If the examination has not been started but the delay lasts longer than one hour, it is recommended that the examination be cancelled.
4. In anticipation of the need of such action, each examination schedule will be re-staged, if at all possible, prior to the end of the current examination period; in particular, the most likely time is the next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Students will be notified of the exact date and location through their Nipissing Student email account.
5. Faculty will enter their final grades into the Student Information System within five days of the date of the final exam or, if there is no final exam, within five days of the end of the term.
2. If a Fire Alarm Sounds and the building must be evacuated:
1. If the alarm is intermittent, then it is not necessary to leave the building and additional time will be added.
2. If the alarm is continuous, then Proctors will announce that “Students must turn over their papers and leave all exam materials on their desk. They are to take any personal belongings at their desk but are not to attempt to get personal belongings from the front of the room and to exit the building immediately. If re-entry to the building is permitted within 30 minutes, then each exam supervisor will decide on a course-by-course basis whether or not to continue their exam. After 30 minutes, students may leave and should check the Nipissing University portal for announcements regarding their exam(s)”.
1. Proctors will ensure that everyone exits the building.
2. Proctors and students will wait at the entrances for instructions.
3. The Assistant Registrar, or designate, will go to the location of the fire alarm annunciator panel to wait for confirmation from the Police and/or Fire Department that the alarm was false and the building may be re-entered or that the alarm is genuine.
4. If the alarm was false and re-entry is permitted within 30 minutes, the proctors will tell students to either, a) enter the building and exam room(s) to continue the exam or b) the proctors will collect the examinations and students will then be permitted into the exam rooms to collect personal belongings.
5. Those proctoring the exams will inform the Assistant Registrar, or designate, whether the exam is to be re-scheduled or, if 50% or more of the exam time has elapsed, they may elect to prorate the exam rather than schedule a new exam.
3. Power Outage:
1. Students must turn over their exam papers and remain in their seats.
2. Students will be asked to remain silent.
3. The Assistant Registrar, or designate, will contact Security to find out an estimated time for the duration of the blackout. At that time, it will be determined whether or not the exam will continue. If 50% or more of the exam time has elapsed, they may elect to prorate the exam rather than re-schedule a new exam.

Scheduling and Administration

1. Except where otherwise approved by Senate, final examinations are mandatory in 1000 and 2000 level courses. Final examinations are not mandatory in creative writing, studio art courses, or other courses so designated by Senate.
2. Faculty will provide the FASS office (or equivalent in Bracebridge and Brantford) with a copy of their final exam at least five working days in advance of the exam date. FASS will provide the Registrar’s Office with sufficient copies for each exam in advance of the exam day. The cover booklet design is included at the end of the document and different colours will be used on the cover to reduce the chance of students bringing exam booklets with them to the examination.
3. Faculty will enter their final grades into the Student Information System within five days of the date of the final exam or, if there is no final exam, within five days of the end of the term.
4. Final exams are scheduled by the Registrar’s Office and must take place within the dates published for final exams.
5. Instructors of 3000, 4000 and 5000 level courses may assign final examinations as part of their course assessment strategies.
6. Spring/Summer courses will normally have an extra day scheduled and the final exam will be on the last scheduled day of classes beginning at the same time as the class schedule.
7. In courses with final examinations, the exam must constitute a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 70% of the final grade.
8. Punctual and regular attendance is essential for the successful completion of a course. When absenteeism exceeds 20%, the student may be excluded from writing the final examination. If an instructor would like to exclude a student from writing a final examination, the Dean and the student must be notified in writing at least two weeks prior to the exam. Students who wish to appeal this decision may appeal to the Dean.
9. Final examinations for all courses of three credits or above will be three hours in length. The length of final examinations for courses that are less than three credits will be determined by the instructor.
10. No student will be required to write more than one Nipissing University exam during the same exam time period, or more than three Nipissing University final examinations in any 48-hour period.
11. Students are responsible to be at the designated place and time for their exam(s). Misreading the exam schedule will not be accepted as the basis for a special examination.
12. Each term, soon after classes begin, the Faculty offices will provide the Registrar’s office with a summary of which courses require a final examination.
13. Final examinations normally run from Monday to Saturday. Exams may be scheduled day or evening regardless of when the class was scheduled. Make-up exams may be scheduled on Sunday afternoon.
14. Once a draft schedule is published there will be two weeks to notify the Office of the Registrar if any changes are required. For example, if a student has been scheduled to write more than three exams within 48 hours then the draft will be changed to correct this conflict.
15. Past final examinations for courses offered by Nipissing University may be made available to students, on the Web, at the discretion of the faculty member.

Special Final Examinations

1. Students who are unable to write final examinations because of illness or other circumstances beyond their control, or whose performance on the examination has been impaired by such circumstances, may, on application, be granted permission to write a special final examination. Such application must:
1. be made in writing to the Dean not later than one week after the date of the examination; and
2. be supported, in the case of illness, by a medical certificate or by appropriate documents in other cases.
2. The Dean’s decision on special final examinations is final and may not be appealed to the Student Appeals Committee.
3. There will normally be a fee for a special examination and this fee may be found in the Nipissing University calendar.

Review of Final Examinations

1. Final examinations held during the final exam period are not returned to students but are kept on file by the Office of the Registrar until the deadline for appeals has passed.
2. Students may review their examination papers in the Office of the Registrar. Such reviews require 24 hours advance notification.
3. Students who would like to review the exam paper in the presence of the instructor may do so by making a formal request through the Dean’s office. The instructor shall review the examination paper in the presence of the student. Such reviews normally require one week advance notification. In the event that the professor is not available, the Dean will make alternate arrangements.