Exam Information
Spring 2025 Final Exam Schedule
Spring 2025 Residential Exam Schedule
Spring 2025 Online Exam Schedule
The final exam period runs from Friday, April 25 through Friday, May 9.
Professors do not have the ability to reschedule or extend exam dates.
Please note that no Tax exams this semester meet the requirements to be rescheduled. If you are a JD student or a non-Tax LLM student with concerns about a conflict with a timed exam, please contact the GTP office. All requests for rescheduling must come through the GTP and are subject to the regulations outlined here.
Regardless of format, exams are due by 2:00pm on the day following what is listed on the exam schedule. Failure to take your exam as scheduled, without a previously approved accommodation, will result in a failing grade.
Exam Types
If your class has a final exam, you will be taking one of these three types – timed, take home, or final project.
Timed Exams
- Method: Timed exams use a software application called Examplify from the company ExamSoft. Examplify locks your computer, so you cannot access anything else, for the duration of the exam. You must download Examplify from the ExamSoft website prior to the start of the exam period.
- For Residential Students: Timed exams will be taken in a proctored classroom at the date and time listed on the schedule.
- Time Limit for Online Students: Timed exams are assigned to a 24-hour window during the exam period, beginning and ending at 2:00pm eastern. You have 2.5 hours to take the exam, and you can start it at any point during the 24-hour window. Once you start, the exam must be completed in one sitting. The latest you can begin the exam and still have the full 2.5 hours is 11:15am on the day the exam window closes.
- Password: Passwords are required to access the exam. The exam password will be posted as an announcement to the Blackboard course site at 1:45pm on the day the exam opens.
Take-Home (Untimed) Exams
- Method: Take-home exams are PDF files that you download from the ExamSoft website and re-upload there once finished. No special software is required.
- Time Limit: Take-home exams have no time limit. You can download the exam file at any point during the window noted on the schedule. You must upload it to the ExamSoft website by 2:00pm on the day of the deadline.
Exam Schedule Acknowledgement
All students taking exams this summer are required to review the regulations regarding exam rescheduling posted here.
Additionally, all students are required to complete the Final Exam Schedule Acknowledgement Form to confirm that they have reviewed the exam schedule and the rescheduling regulations.
Click here to complete the Exam Schedule Acknowledgement Form.
ExamSoft website – examsoft.com/bulaw
The ExamSoft website serves two purposes:
- If you are taking a timed exam, you will download the Examplify software from the website.
- If you used Examplify in fall 2023 or spring 2024, you do not need to re-download it.
- Note: New students will get access to Examplify in Novermber
- If you are taking a take-home exam, you will download your exam file from the website and upload it there once complete.
If you are scheduled to take a timed exam, please visit the ExamSoft website to ensure your computer meets the minimum system requirements for Examplify, listed on the homepage.
You will use your BU username and Kerberos password to log in to both the ExamSoft website and Examplify (the same credentials you use to log in to your email and Blackboard).
You should verify that you can log in BEFORE your exam starts. You will not get extra time on your exam due to the fact that you are unable to log in.
Exam Numbers
Exam numbers will be posted later in the semester. They can be found in the ExamSoft website. Once you’ve logged in, click your name in the top right corner, and then click My Account. Your four digit exam number will be on that page.
Steps to Take Before Exam Day
All students are responsible for following these steps to prepare for their exams. Failing to be prepared on exam day will not excuse you from taking the exam as scheduled.
1. Review the exam rescheduling regulations and complete the exam schedule acknowledgement form
All students are required to review the regulations for rescheduling an exam, available here. After reviewing this page, all students must then complete the exam acknowledgement form, available here.
Only timed exams can be rescheduled, and all requests must be received prior to the start of the exam. Failure to submit your exam on time will result in a failing grade.
2. Determine the type of exam you are taking
All exams are either timed or take-home. A detailed breakdown of both exam types is included in the handbook above.
No special software is required for take-home exams.
Timed exams are assigned to a 24-hour window. You may take the exam at any point during this 24-hour window, but once you start you must complete the exam in one sitting. All timed exams are 2.5 hours long, and must be submitted by 2:00pm on the day the exam window closes. You will use Examplify to take the exam.
Take-home exams are assigned to a window of three to ten days, and there is no time limit. You will download the exam file from the ExamSoft website and upload it there once complete. All exams must be submitted by 2:00pm on the day the exam window closes.
3. Review the exam instruction handbook
Detailed instructions for both timed and take-home exams are included in the instruction handbook above. All students are responsible for reviewing this information prior to taking their exam and communicate any questions to the GTP.
You should have a copy of the handbook accessible while taking your exam.
4. Confirm your ExamSoft/Examplify login information
You will login to both the ExamSoft website and Examplify using your BU username and Kerberos password. You should verify that you can login BEFORE your exams opens.
5. Download Examplify for timed exams (if necessary) by May 1
You must download Examplify if you are taking a timed exam and:
- are a new fall 2023 student, or
- you did not use Examplify for a timed exam in fall 2020 or spring 2021
If you took a timed exam in fall 2020 or spring 2021 and are using the same computer, you do not need to re-download the software. You should open it and log in prior to the start of your exam to make sure it is up to date. Any updates should automatically install upon opening.
If you are having trouble downloading or accessing Examplify, please contact the Law School IT office at lawhd@bu.edu.
6. Obtain your spring 2025 exam number
Before taking your exam, you should make sure you know your four digit exam number. Steps for finding your number in the ExamSoft are above.
If you are taking a take-home exam, you will use your exam number in place of your name on the exam by inserting is as a header in your Word document. For timed exams, your exam number should be pre-populated when you login to Examplify.
Your exam number changes every semester.
7. Familiarize yourself with your troubleshooting options
If you have trouble downloading Examplify, you should contact the Law School IT office at lawhd@bu.edu.
If you have any issues while taking your exam during regular business hours, please email gradtax@bu.edu.
ExamSoft also offers technical support. You can reach them at support@examsoft.com, 954-429-8889, or via chat through the ExamSoft website (log in and click Support at the top). Support personnel cannot provide exam passwords or change exam download periods. These requests must be directed to the GTP.
8. Review the exam rules and regulations
- All exams shall be evaluated on an anonymous basis.
- Final exams are NOT a collaborative effort. You may not consult with other students during or after the exam (as some students may be taking the exam on a different date).
- Exams are due on the day and time as noted on the exam schedule, unless you have previously obtained an accommodation. Students who fail to submit an exam on time will receive a failing grade of F on the exam.
- While taking your exam you may only use materials approved by the instructor. For timed exams, you will need to print out any allowed materials prior to the start of the exam.
- Once the exam has opened, do not contact your professors with questions about anything on the exam. If you have a question, please email the GTP and we will reach out to the professor on your behalf. This is meant to protect the anonymity of the exam process.
- Students with appropriately documented disabilities must register with the Office of Disability Services in order to receive any exam accommodations.
- Students whose native language is not English and whose prior education has been in another language qualify for additional timed during timed final examinations. The GTP will determine whether students qualify for additional time and notify these students prior to the final examination period.
- You are responsible for understanding the regulations related to exam rescheduling.