Exam Scheduling

• Final Examination Scheduling Annual Timeline
• Winter Final Exam Scheduling Timeline
• Summer Final Exam Scheduling Timeline

The department exam contact solicits course exam requests from instructors and enters each exam requirement in the SISC Exam Tab.

Senate & Curriculum Services urges faculties to make full use of the formal examination periods for all first- and second-year courses. Offering exams for courses designed for third- and fourth-year students is at the discretion of the departments. For more information, please see the Senate Policy on Examinations chapter in the Academic Calendar.

Exam information Collection

Exam requests should include the following information: exam duration, common exam requirements, cross-listed exam requirements, restricted and technology requirements.

Exams scheduled through Academic Scheduling Services can range from 1 hour (min) to 2.5 hours (max).

Exams needing a 3-hour duration require Associate Dean/Director approval. All requests for 3-hour exams are to be emailed to academic.scheduling@ubc.ca prior to the exam tab closing.

FINAL EXAM SITTINGS

• exams will have four sittings per day:
  • 8:30–11:00 am
  • 12:00–2:30 pm
  • 3:30–6:00 pm
  • 7:00–9:30 pm
• Winter Session: up to 12 examinable days which may include Saturday and Sunday for each formal Examination Period.
• Summer Session: up to 5 days which may include Saturday for each formal Examination Period.

• Instructors may view their personalized exam schedules when they visit the FSC (Faculty Service Centre). This is the same location where instructors would download classlists, print classlists, send emails, change grades.
• Students may view their personalized exam schedule when they visit the SSC (Student Service Centre).
• Parents and staff may view the exam scheduled when they visit Current Students, Academic Support, Exams.

• Once the exam schedule is published, both Department Head and Associate Dean/Director approval is required prior to submitting requests for late exam additions.

*Note: Late exam request additions and exam scheduling changes may increase the number of exam clashes and hardships.

If you need to request a change to the draft exam schedule, please submit the UBCO Exam Scheduling Change Request Form.

Assigning invigilators

All departments are responsible for their own invigilation assignments.

Invigilation duties

When invigilating an exam, please keep in mind the following:

• Invigilators should arrive at least a half-hour before the exam start time.
• Exam booklets should be distributed AFTER students have found their seats
• Exam Booklets should be placed face down on the tables of the rows assigned to you.
• Instruct students as they enter the examination area to leave all bags and books at the front and that exits are left clear.
• Instruct students that food and drink are NOT permitted to enter the examination area (with the exception of a clear water bottle).
• When students are receiving their exam instructions, do a security sweep of the washrooms.
• During the exam, walk up and down the rows on a regular basis.
• Invigilators should not talk to each other; if necessary, they should step into the hallway to talk.
• Invigilator gender balance must be maintained for the duration of the exam; students must be escorted to the door of the washroom by an invigilator of the same sex.
• Ensure that exam sign-out tables are properly staffed.

When creating your final exams, please consider the following:

• Use a cover page for all exams.
• Send an electronic copy of your exam to your unit/department assistant prior to the exam.
• Indicate a colour for your exam. If this is the case, please ensure that the last page of your exam is printed in the colour assigned. When submitting exams for printing, also indicate the number required and any other special instructions.
• Labelled envelopes with student sign in/out sheets and booklets will be made available. This may vary between units/departments. Please check with your unit/department assistant for full details.

Senate policy on examinations

You can find the Senate policy on examinations, including information on supplemental and deferred exams, under Academic Assessment in the Policies and Regulations chapter of the UBC Academic Calendar.

Academic concessions are granted only by the dean or director (or their delegate) and are a privilege, not a right. If you request an academic concession, you may be asked to provide additional information. For more information, see the Academic Concession section of the Calendar.

Religious accommodation

Religious observance may preclude attending classes or examinations at certain times. In accordance with the UBC Policy on Religious Holidays, (see Policy J-136) students who wish to have their exams accommodated for religious reasons must notify their instructors in writing at least two weeks in advance of the exam, and preferably earlier. For more information, see the Academic Concession section of the Calendar.

Students are required to give two weeks’ notice of their intention to absent themselves under the terms of the University policy on religious holidays. They shall notify the instructor of each course or, where this cannot be done, the head or director of the unit concerned.

Hardship policy

An examination hardship is defined as three (3) or more examinations scheduled within a 27-hour (inclusive) period.

The student must notify the instructor of the second examination no later than one month prior to the examination date for courses in the Winter Session, or no later than two weeks prior to the examination date for courses in the Summer Session. A student facing an examination hardship shall be given a new examination date for the second examination causing hardship by the respective instructor or department/faculty.

Exam clash procedures

An examination clash is defined as multiple examinations that are scheduled on the same day and at the same time, or where the allotted times for scheduled formal examinations overlap.  .

Any student scheduled with an examination clash should immediately contact their professor(s) to determine if an alternate writing time is available.

Senate Policy 0-125.2: Term and Formal Examination Scheduling

UBC’s official policy on student conduct during exams

The exam tab is part of the course section information accessible via the SISC.

• The department exam contact consolidates department exam information and enters their requests via the exam tab on the Student Information System Centre (SISC). See the Exam Request Tab User Guide for more detail.
• Use the Exam Tab Request Report to review and verify your exam requests are correct. If an exam request does not appear in the report, an exam will not be scheduled. Please double check that all exam information is correct.

Option 1

In tandem exam held on DIFFERENT days and times at each of the UBCO and UBCV campus

1. Each campus independently follow each individual campus exam scheduling procedure and timelines
2. Each campus enters an exam request
3. Each campus exam will be assigned a day and time according to student registration data for each relevant campus and be placed to minimize exam hardships and clashes.

*NOTE: In choosing option 1, UBCV and UBCO exams will be assigned different exam days and times and this information will be published to students.

Option 2

In tandem exam held on the SAME day and the same time at each of the UBCO and UBCV campus

1. The primary campus will follow the campus exam scheduling procedures and timelines and will request a final exam when the exam tab is open.

*NOTE: In choosing option 2, the Secondary campus will not enter an exam request when the exam tab is open.

2. Once the primary campus exam is scheduled with a day and time – the secondary campus will send an email to Scheduling Services and request a final exam be entered for the in tandem course.
   • Secondary campus will communicate exam day and time placement of the primary course
   • Scheduling Services will place the exam on the same day and closest start time to the primary campus in tandem exam
3. Scheduling Services will enter the exam with day and time
   • Secondary Campus will notify students of the exam date and time.

*NOTE: In choosing option 2, there will be a delay in the publishing of the exam day and time for students. This option may also result in direct exam lashes and increased number of exam hardships. The department is responsible for arranging a Deferred exam for students that may be affected.

The department cannot switch from Option 1 to Option 2 after exams are published

Examination scheduling is completed in a way that suits the best interests of the student by avoiding direct exam clashes and minimizing hardships.

A request for an exam to be scheduled on a specific day or in a specific general use classroom significantly restricts the scheduling process and therefore will only be considered with the approval from the Associate Dean/Director.

Exam requests for special accommodation should be consistent with the standards for students requesting a preferred schedule, such as:

• Medical, emotional or other condition.
• Religious and Cultural Observances.
• Faculty presenting their research at an academic conference that directly conflicts with the exam period may also be considered a special request if the request is submitted in advance of exams being scheduled.

Requests can be submitted to the Associate Dean/Director for approval. Upon approval, the approving Associate Dean/Director will then forward the request and approval to academic.scheduling@ubc.ca for consideration.

Booking a larger room for a mid-term

If sections require a larger room for a mid-term exam being held on the same day/same time as the course is normally scheduled, you can make an ad hoc booking through the Book Now page on the Central Booking Office website.

Out of time mid-term process

Courses holding out of time and/or multi section mid-terms that require additional space must:

1. Have dean’s approval for the out of time exam
2. Include section publish notes to the course sections in the SISC to notify students in advance that the midterm will be scheduled outside of regularly scheduled class time
   • Unit assistants and other admin staff around campus are trained on how to use publish notes
3. Have your Department Assistant submit an academic ad hoc booking request through the Book now page on the Central Booking Office website
   • Request to include Associate Dean/Director approval
   • Unless otherwise indicated in the request, the location booked to hold the out of time midterm will be in a room similar in size to the number of students registered in the class. NOTE: Booking a location to accommodate double seating cannot be guaranteed. Multi section out of class time mid-terms cannot exceed a single room capacity of 400 seats. If more than 400 seats are required, multiple rooms may need to be booked to accommodate the exam.
4. Enrolment Services, Academic Scheduling unit will book rooms for out of time mid-terms before classes start (prior to releasing rooms to CBO for event booking), but not before August 15
5. Include the midterm date and time in the course syllabus to be distributed on the first day of class
   • Scheduling of out of time midterms does not take into consideration the student’s academic schedule and therefore instructors should make accommodations for students that have schedule conflicts as a result of the out of time midterm

Exam Request Tab User Guide

Exam Request Tab Quick Reference User Guide