CAS Guidelines for Spring 2021 Final Exams

CAS’s guidelines for Spring 2021 final exams are similar to those for the Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 semesters and are intended to balance two concerns: our responsibility to assess students’ learning accurately and fairly, on the one hand, and the College’s desire to approach this with understanding and flexibility, on the other. 

University final exam policy:

These CAS guidelines are intended to supplement the University’s guidelines for final exams as communicated in an email from the Office of the Provost sent on January 21, 2021. In particular, please note that synchronous exams—whether in-person, fully-remote, or in-person with a remote option—must be given during their scheduled exam periods. For further information regarding the scheduling of final exams, please see the website of the University Registrar (http://www.bu.edu/reg/calendars/final-exams/policy/).

CAS guidelines for Spring 2021: 

University policy ordinarily requires that final exams be taken during their scheduled times, and this policy remains in force for timed, synchronous exams. Timed, synchronous exams may be offered fully remotely or in-person with a remote option; unless a course has been exempted from LfA to have required in-person components, it should not have an in-person-only final exam. 

In the interest of accommodating our students, we encourage you to consider offering asynchronous or “take-home” exams in lieu of timed, synchronous exams if at all possible. When planning asynchronous or take-home exams, remember that any given student may be taking several exams over a period of only a few days. Therefore, please adhere as fully as possible to the following guidelines, which are intended to offer faculty the latitude to assess their students as they deem appropriate, while offering students reasonable flexibility to plan their exam weeks.

Communication: Good communication with our students is essential. Please inform your students in advance about the format, timing, and submission procedures of your final exam, and inform them as well about the resources on which they may draw when completing your exam. Also, we ask that you remain sensitive to the challenges that some students may face in completing their exams and that you work with your students to resolve any issues amicably and equitably. (For example, students may be in different time zones; have varying access to computers, printers, scanners, or the internet; or simply have multiple exams due within a short period.) If necessary, consult with your program or department, with the Undergraduate Academic Program Office (casuap@bu.edu), or the Graduate School (grs@bu.edu). 

Study Period: As usual, you should not have any work due during the Study Period (Friday, April 30 – Monday, May 3). 

Duration of exam: Since students may be taking multiple exams in a short span of time, we ask that you design your exams so that they can reasonably be completed in two hours (the normal duration of scheduled exams). You may allow students additional time if you wish, but exams should be “doable” in two hours. 

Timing of release and submission: If you are offering an asynchronous or take-home exam, you should give your students a reasonable time during the exam period to complete it without encroaching on the Study Period (April 30–May 3) and while minimizing potential conflicts with other exams. To these ends, we ask that you

  • release your exam either before April 30 or after May 3
  • allow at least 48 hours between the time of an exam’s release and the deadline for its submission
  • make an exam due when it is scheduled in the University’s exam schedule (or later that same day), unless the exam is scheduled for the first day of the exam period, May 4. In that case, make the exam due on May 5 (this exception will allow students close to the recommended 48-hour window to complete the exam).

Taken together, these guidelines allow you maximum latitude to determine when you will release the exam while ensuring that students will have at least two days during the final exam period (May 4-8) to complete it.

Accommodations: Students’ accommodations remain in force. If you have questions about whether your asynchronous or take-home exam satisfies the accommodations to which a specific student is entitled, please consult with the Undergraduate Academic Program office (casuap@bu.edu) or Disability and Access Services (access@bu.edu). Asynchronous, untimed exams are generally the most accessible and inclusive format for all students. The Educational Technology webpage offers helpful information about disability and access issues in a remote-teaching context. The Center for Teaching and Learning’s Continuity of Teaching Resources page also offers useful information.

Courses with pedagogical exemptions from LfA to have in-person-only components: A course that has been approved to have required in-person components may require an in-person-only exam if such an exam is truly necessary to reliably and fairly assess students’ performance in the course. Because we need to be especially sensitive to our students’ circumstances this semester, the College asks those faculty teaching courses with required in-person components to provide students with remote options for their final exams if at all possible.

Academic Integrity: The University’s Academic Conduct Code remains in force. To minimize the possibility of academic conduct issues, please provide explicit, detailed guidelines to your students about the resources they may and may not use when taking the exam, including course materials, reference sources, the internet, or consultations with others.