Final Exams
A final examination shall be given in every course. Exceptions may be made with the written approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. To request an exception, please submit a ticket via the Academic Programs portal at http://tinyurl.com/iSchoolAcademicProgramsPortal . A student's final course grade may not assign a weight to a final exam that accounts for more than 49% of the student’s grades. Other assessments should make up the majority of the student grade. Instructors can review the final exam schedule in Testudo each term. Most exams fall into a standard schedule used each semester for courses. Some courses, due to time or room conflicts, are scheduled off the standard schedule. That information is provided early in the semester and is listed under each course. The standard finals schedule is available at http://www.registrar.umd.edu/current/registration/exam.html . If a course is not represented in the standard final exam schedule, that means the course is operating on a non-standard day or time. For these courses, the University will release exam times by the middle of the term, at https://ntst.umd.edu/soc/exam/
No final examination or equivalent assignment may be given or due during the last week of classes. Out-of-class final examinations or equivalent assessments shall be due on the date and at the time listed in the Official Examination Schedule.
Students whose class schedule requires them to take more than three final examinations on the same day have the right to reschedule at least one examination. The student is responsible for making this request to their instructor. Issues regarding rescheduling exams can be addressed by submitting a ticket via the Academic Programs portal at http://tinyurl.com/iSchoolAcademicProgramsPortal . Students wishing to reschedule a final examination under this rule should contact their instructor(s) by the deadline for dropping courses (see Deadlines here: ). Students are strongly encouraged to check the final exam schedule before registering for courses (see Final Exam Schedule ).
Instructors are responsible for implementing University policy on makeup examinations. The student must notify their instructor of the reason for an absence as soon as possible. Excused absences include illness, religious observance, participation in university activities at the request of University authorities, or compelling circumstances beyond the student’s control. Students must apply in writing and, in some cases, supply documentation. Where the reason for absence from a scheduled assessment is known well in advance, the student must inform the instructor by the end of the schedule adjustment period.
*Please note that during the COVID-19 pandemic, students are not responsible for providing documentation of illness.