Exams

Exam preparation tips

1. Check your exam schedule in PAWS for room updates before you arrive at your exam as the assigned rooms may change. When checking your exam schedule, pay attention to the assigned room:
   • On-campus room: Takes place in person at the assigned campus room
   • Take-home exam due: Assigned due date/time for an exam with an extended window for completion. The instructor will provide details.
   • Course tools remote: Online or remote exam. The instructor will provide details.
     
     
2. For in-person exams: have suitable identification (student ID card or government-issued picture ID) available during all exams.

These dates are taken from the Academic Calendar, the official listing of major academic events and deadlines for the academic calendar year. Complete examination regulations are published on the University Secretary's website. College regulations on examinations are available in the college offices. For further details, contact the Exams Office. If you are required to write a final exam to pass a class, it should be stated in the class syllabus.

Please note: Final examinations may be rescheduled any time during the entire final exam period for any college to address needs for special accommodation or emergent issues.

• Exam channel in PAWS

The date, time and location of your exam is listed in the My Exam Schedule channel in your PAWS account. 

If you are taking in-person classes (face-to-face or live streamed/televised) at the Saskatoon or Prince Albert campus or at a regional or affiliated college, and the exam is scheduled to be written in-person, it will be held at the applicable campus. 

Online classes:  In person exams are scheduled in Saskatoon for online classes delivered with support from the Teaching Innovation Team, Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (typically W section classes). If you are unable to write your in-person examination in Saskatoon, you must apply for a regular or special examination centre (certain criteria applies). Review the syllabus for your online class for more information and visit the distance exam webpage to learn more.

Once posted, exam dates/times cannot be changed without the consent of the instructor and all the students in a class. You are responsible for attending final exams on their scheduled dates.

We will not accommodate a request to reschedule an exam unless it falls under one of the following exceptions. 

30-Minute Rule

Students should not be allowed to leave the examination room until 30 minutes after the start of the examination. The invigilator may also deny entrance to a student if they arrive later than 30 minutes after the start of the examination. A student denied admission to the examination under this regulation may apply to their college for a deferred final examination; such application will be subject to consideration under the usual criteria for that college.

Except for use of the washroom, invigilators can, at their discretion, deny students leave of the examination room for a period prior to the end of the examination. Students who are finished during this time should remain seated at their desk or table until the invigilator informs the class that the examination is over, and they can leave.

Identification

Students sitting for examinations are required to confirm their identities by providing their student identification (ID) numbers and names on their examination papers, and by presenting their university issued student ID cards during the examination and upon signing the tally sheet when leaving the examination, or both.

During the examination, invigilators can require students to place their student ID card on the desk or table where the student is writing the examination, in plain view for invigilators to check. Invigilators may ask for additional government-issued photographic ID if the student does not have a student ID card or if they deem the student ID card insufficient to confirm a student’s identity.

Students who do not present a student ID card, or other acceptable photographic identification, during an examination will be permitted to finish sitting the examination, but only upon completing and signing a Failure to Produce Proper Identification at an Examination form. The form indicates that there is no guarantee that the examination paper will be graded if any discrepancies in identification are discovered upon investigation. Students will then have to present themselves with a student ID card or other acceptable government-issued photographic identification to the invigilator within two working days of the examination at a time and place mutually agreeable to the invigilator and the student. 

Access to Materials in the Exam Room

Students should bring only essential items into an examination room. Personal belongings such as book bags, handbags, purses, laptop cases, and the like may be left, closed, on the floor beneath a student’s
chair or table or in an area designated by the invigilator; coats, jackets, and the like may be placed similarly or on the back of a student’s chair. Students should not access any such personal belongings except with the permission of and under the supervision of the invigilator. Students should not collect their personal belongings until after they have handed in their examination. The university assumes no responsibility for personal possessions lost in an examination room.

Students shall follow the rules of the exam ination as defined by the instructor, including what resources
and materials are permitted during an examination and what can be taken with them when they leave the room.

It is at the discretion of the invigilator whether food or beverages are permitted in an examination room, unless required for a medical purpose.

Permission to Leave the Exam Room

Students who need to leave the examination room for any reason require the permission of the invigilator. Invigilators may use a sign-out/sign-in sheet for students who are given permission to leave the examination room and may record the amount of time a student spends outside of the examination room, frequency of requests to leave, etc. Students must leave their examination paper, examination booklets, and any other examination or personal materials either in the custody of the invigilator for retrieval upon their return, or at the desk or table they were writing at, as per the invigilator. 

Students are not permitted to leave the examination room with the examination paper, examination booklets, or any other examination materials unless permitted to do so by the invigilator. 

For all exam-related policies, please see Section 7 of the Academic Courses Policy.

A student who is absent from a final examination through no fault of their own, for medical, compassionate, or other valid reasons, may apply for a deferred exam. An application must be made to an academic advisor in their college within three business days of the missed examination. The college may also ask for supporting documentary evidence or a Declaration of Absence form.

A student who becomes ill during a final examination or who cannot complete the final examination for other valid reasons must notify the invigilator immediately of their inability to finish.  The student may then apply for a deferred examination by contacting an academic advisor in their college.

Deferred exams: a deferred examination is the sitting of a final examination at a time other than the scheduled time and date. A deferred examination may be granted to a student who is not able to complete a final examination through no fault of their own, for medical, compassionate, or other valid reasons. These examinations are granted under regulations established by the college and subject to the Academic Courses Policy.

Supplemental exams: a supplemental examination is the re-writing of a final examination. A student may be granted a supplemental examination under regulations established by the college and subject to the Academic Courses Policy.

Special deferred and supplementals: the college may, under extenuating circumstances, grant a special deferred or supplemental examination to a student who submits satisfactory evidence of inability to be present at the deferred or supplemental examination under regulations established the Academic Courses Policy and the college.

Schedule

The Deferred and Supplemental exam schedule is posted approximately three weeks prior to the exam dates.

Cost

The non-refundable fee for all supplemental and deferred exams is charged when a student's application to write the exam is granted. In order to avoid interest charges, payment must be made prior to the last working day of the month in which approval for the examination is received.

*Students expecting to need specific software to write a deferred or supplemental exam must write the exam on campus with the University of Saskatchewan. For more information contact exams@usask.ca or your college office.

If you have concerns with how your instructor marked an exam you can appeal the mark within 30 days of it being made available to you.

• Learn more about appeals