V. Examinations

Detailed examination information is posted each semester. Students are responsible for reviewing and complying with all exam policies and procedures. Exceptions to these policies sought by students may be granted only by the assistant dean for student affairs and assistant dean of academic services and registrar, and only then for serious circumstances beyond a student’s control that interfere with a student’s ability to perform (see below). Failure to take an examination during the scheduled time will result in a failing grade.

A. Final Exam Schedule

Law courses typically have a final exam at the end of the semester or require a paper in lieu of an exam. If a paper in lieu of an exam is permitted, the policies in section IV apply to the paper. First-year courses and a few other selected courses will have “fixed” exams; all other courses in the Law School requiring examinations will have “flexible” (flex) exams. The final exam schedule is posted on LawWeb at the beginning of each semester.

1) If a course is scheduled to have a fixed exam, students must sit for that exam during the designated time.

2) If a course is scheduled to have a flex exam, students may take that exam during the announced window of availability.  

3) Students may take flex exams in locations designated by the Law School and announced by Student Records on LawWeb prior to the start of the exam period. Students may not take a flex exam in a room designated for fixed exams. 

4) Advance registration for exams is not required. 

B. General Rules

1) No information of any kind about any exam, including an exam from a prior semester, may be transmitted by any means to students who have not taken that exam. This prohibition includes but is not limited to information about the specific content of questions; the number, difficulty and kinds of questions; and general topics included or not included on the exam.

2) Unless specifically instructed otherwise by an instructor, students may discuss exams after the exam period ends, but only with students who have completed the exam.

3) The time permitted by an instructor for an exam will be multiplied by 1.334 for designated LL.M. and exchange students (for an extra 20 minutes per exam hour).  J.D. and non-law students are not eligible for this additional exam time.

4) Unless specifically authorized otherwise in writing, students may not use aids while taking an exam. Aids include, but are not limited to, human assistance, notes, books, outlines, study guides, dictionaries, computer programs, internet applications, and artificial intelligence. Unless specifically authorized otherwise in writing, everything that appears on an exam answer must have been created and written entirely by the student while taking the exam.  The Law School may analyze exam answers using anti-plagiarism, AI-detection, and related programs.

5) Failure to sit for an exam when scheduled will result in a failing grade.

C. Computer Policies

1) Students are required to take all exams (fixed and flex) on a laptop computer unless instructed otherwise. Unless specifically authorized otherwise in writing, use of other computing devices while taking an exam, including but not limited to, tablets and smart phones, is prohibited except for the limited purpose of multi-factor authentication. Other than the monitor attached to the student’s laptop, students may not use peripheral monitors unless accommodated in writing for medical reasons by the assistant dean of student affairs.

2) It is the student’s responsibility to have all computer equipment in good working order at each exam. Students should reboot their computers and scan for viruses before the exam period begins.

3) Students are responsible for creating and saving back-up copies of their exams. Under no circumstances should a student open a back-up copy of an exam after the exam has been submitted unless requested to do so by Law IT or Student Records Office personnel. 

4) Students are expected to monitor their University email accounts. If there is a problem with a student’s exam, the student will be contacted via their University email address. 

D. Procedure for Problems Experienced During an Examination

1) Students who experience computer problems, medical concerns or other issues that affect their ability to perform during an exam should immediately contact an appropriate administrator (Law IT, Student Affairs or Student Records) and report the problem.  As soon as the problem is reported, exam time "stops."  Under no circumstances will Student Affairs, Student Records or Law IT respond to a stop time request before 8 a.m. EST or after 6 p.m. EST Monday through Friday or at any time on weekends during the exam period.  Students are advised to take all exams between 8 a.m. EST and 6 p.m. EST Monday through Friday to ensure access to support services if needed.

2) Once an issue is reported, specific procedures/remedies are in place including allowances to stop time as follows:

Computer problems:

a. The exam time clock is “stopped” when a student reports a computer-related exam issue to Law IT and Law IT accepts the student’s report. Once the problem is corrected, the time clock is restarted and the student resumes sitting the exam using either his/her laptop or a back-up PC.

b. If a student loses part/all of her/his exam answer as a result of a computer-related issue, Law IT will try to recover the work lost before the issue was reported. Students will be given one-half of any time lost between the last successful “save” and the report time of an issue. This time will be added to the remaining time left on the exam and the student's exam end time will be adjusted accordingly. Example: A student reports and Law IT accepts a problem two hours into a three-hour exam at 3:15 p.m.  The last recoverable saved document is time stamped at 2:45 p.m. Student will be given one-half of the 30 minutes lost, i.e., 15 minutes. Hence, when the student resumes the exam, s/he will be given one hour and 15 minutes to complete the exam.

Medical or other issues:

a. The exam time clock is “stopped” when a student reports to an appropriate law school administrator a medical or other issue affecting his/her ability to perform and the appropriate law school administrator accepts the student’s report. If the student is able to resume the exam, the time clock is restarted.

b. The duration of the stoppage described in (a) above shall not exceed 60 minutes. Moreover, students will not be allowed more than one stoppage of time under this section during an exam.

c. If the student is unable to resume the exam due to hospitalization, a determination will be made at a later date regarding the exam status of the student.

E. Honor Pledge

1) Unless specifically instructed to hand-write and sign the Honor Pledge on the exam cover sheet, students submitting exams electronically acknowledge the following Honor Pledge on all exams:

“On my honor, I have neither given nor received aid on this examination, nor did I have prior knowledge of its contents.” 

2) Students who are unable to acknowledge the Honor Pledge must inform Student Records Office personnel or the assistant dean for academic services.

F. Exam Types and Questionset Distribution, Answer Submission, and Collection Procedures

1) FIXED EXAMS First-year courses and a few other selected courses will have fixed exams. Students will report to designated classrooms on specified days and times for exam distribution. Once the exam questionset is distributed and “start” is announced students may choose to then go to another lecture classroom in Brown Hall or Slaughter Hall designated for exam-taking to answer the exam questions.  The student has the amount of time stated in their EXPO account for completing their exam answers – inclusive of time from the instructor plus accommodated time, if any – and then 10 minutes of “administrative time” to finalize the EXPO submission process. Upon completion, students must return the questionset to a box in the distribution room or to Student Records if the box has been removed.  Students should not leave the Law School with the exam questionset.

2) FLEX EXAMS Flex exams are distributed in accordance with instructions and procedures announced by Student Records on LawWeb prior to the start of the exam period.  

G. Late Exams

In accordance with guidelines adopted by the faculty, late exams will be evaluated as follows:

1) If an exam is submitted less than five minutes late, a faculty member may, at their discretion, penalize that late exam. For example, if an exam falls on the borderline between two grades, the faculty member may use the fact that the exam was late as a basis for awarding a lower grade.

2) If an exam is submitted more than five minutes late, the grade shall be reduced according to the following schedule of penalties, unless the faculty member concludes that there is good cause to do otherwise.

a. If the exam is 5 to 10 minutes late, the grade will be reduced one gradation (i.e., an A is reduced to A-, B+ to B, etc.);

b. If the exam is 10 to 15 minutes late, the grade will be reduced two gradations (i.e., an A is reduced to B+, B to C+, etc.);

c. If the exam is 15 to 20 minutes late, the grade will be reduced three gradations (i.e., an A is reduced to B; etc.);

d. If the exam is more than 20 minutes late, the grade will be reduced four or more gradations.

H. Fire Alarms and Power Outages

In the event a fire alarm is activated at the Law School or there is a power failure at the Law School while a final exam is in progress, the following procedure will be used.

1) Students taking exams at the Law School will evacuate the exam rooms, leaving all exam materials and computers in the exam rooms. 

2) The exam administration staff will note the time and lock the exam rooms if it is safe to do so.

3) When re-entry to the exam rooms is allowed, a member of the exam administration staff will notify students of the adjusted times. The assistant dean for academic services or Student Records Office personnel will determine if, and how much, extra time will be allowed for completion of exams due to the disruption.

I. Exceptions

Law School faculty policy requires all students to adhere to the exam schedule and procedures described herein and delegates administrative responsibility for these matters solely to the assistant dean for student affairs and assistant dean of academic services and registrar. Exceptions may not be granted by individual faculty members.

1) Students requesting an exception to the exam schedule and/or procedures must complete a written petition that may be obtained from the assistant dean for student affairs. In most circumstances, petitions for exceptions require supporting documentation.

2) Exceptions are granted only for reasons that arise out of personal circumstances beyond the student’s control, including severe illness of the student, hospitalization of the student, or immediate family emergencies.  Vacations, honeymoons, employment-related activity, lower airfares, weddings and similar events are not acceptable reasons for rescheduling an exam.

3) Exceptions will not be granted for sickness or other emergencies unless the student actually has been deprived of the ability to take all remaining exams on an every-other-day basis as of the date of the petition.

4) Exceptions to the exam schedule and/or procedures must be sought in advance, except when sickness, emergency, or other personal circumstances beyond the student’s control occur and make it impossible to seek the exception in advance. In cases of emergency, call 434-924-1363 (assistant dean for student affairs) or 434-924-6024 (assistant dean for academic services and registrar).

5) If an exception to reschedule an exam is permitted, it will result in the student taking the same exam taken by the other students in the class. All rescheduled fixed exams shall be taken at the Law School, and shall be administered on an every-other-day basis commencing at 9 a.m. on the first day the student is no longer suffering from the circumstances giving rise to the exception. All rescheduled flex exams shall be administered on an every-other-day basis commencing at 9 a.m. on the first day the student is no longer suffering from the circumstances giving rise to the exception. All rescheduled exams must be completed no later than one week prior to the grading deadline.

6) If a student fails to take a rescheduled exam as rescheduled, the student shall receive a grade of F for the class unless a further petition for exception is submitted and approved. If the circumstances giving rise to the original exception persist such that the student remains unable to complete an exam by one week prior to the grading deadline, the student will receive a W in that class.

7) Exceptions will not be granted to permit a less-crowded exam schedule unless the student has more exams than can be taken on an every-other-day basis beginning with the first day of the exam period.

8) Exceptions will not be granted to permit a student to take a fixed exam earlier than scheduled.

Index

Academic Policies (continued)