Office of the Registrar

Student Petitions to Change the Time of a Final Examination: Policies and Procedures

(Policy as reviewed and modified by the Committee on Examinations 1987-88 and approved by Academic Affairs with the concurrence of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.)

1. A student request to change the time of a Final Examination is made on petition forms available at the Registrar's Office. (A Summary of University Final Examination policy is printed on the form.)
2. Petitions for changing a Final Examination are submitted directly to the appropriate instructor. Oregon State instructors are committed to help students achieve their personal and Academic goals. However, rescheduling a Final Examination may not be possible even for the most meritorious reasons. For example, there may not be time to design and prepare an equivalent make-up examination for individual students.
3. In June, 1988, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee recommended that instructors who can make arrangements for a rescheduled Final Examination may approve student petitions for any reasons they feel are appropriate. No further approval is required.
4. Students may forward disapproved petitions through the Dean of the College to the University Registrar for review. Approvals are normally limited to the following reasons:
1. Conflict with working hours on a job that has been held during the term, and for which working schedules cannot be readily adjusted. Example: driving a school bus.
2. Religious reasons.
3. Four finals in one day. Where amicable agreement cannot be reached by the student and the instructors, a solution following the rules on schedule conflicts in the Schedule of Classes booklet will be used.
4. Military obligations verified in writing. Example: military orders; pre-induction physicals.
5. Other exceptional hardship cases.
5. Petitions for reasons of personal convenience are generally not approved. A request to change the assigned Final Examination time for an entire class must be forwarded via the Instructor, Department Chair, and Dean to the Registrar's Office.
6. A request to change a Final Examination to Dead Week must be addressed to the Academic Requirements Committee. Appropriate forms are available in the Registrar's Office.