Dead Week Policy
Approved by the University Senate on February 14, 2005.
A dead week would allow for only one exam or quiz to be given, per course, during the last two weeks of the semester, which includes finals week. If a professor chooses to give an exam during the last week of classes, she/he must make some instructional use of the final examination time as required by policy of the State Board of Higher Education.
A list of exceptions to this rule should include:
- Summer classes
- Self-paced/correspondence courses
- Make-up exams
- Courses in which a laboratory is incorporated with a lecture
- One-credit courses
- Block-taught courses
- Quizzes that account for less than 5% of the students overall grade
A "make-up exam" should be defined as any exam that is not given to the entire class, and is used to give a student, or group of students a chance to improve the overall grade of individual students. This is intended to allow professors both the option to give a makeup exam for missed exams, and also to offer an exam during the last week of classes that can help the grade of students who wish to participate, but not hinder the grade of the students that choose not to participate.
Based on the recommendation of Student Senate, University Senate approved the implementation of a “dead week” on a permanent basis effective Fall 2005.