5. Policy for the Scheduling of Courses/Examinations

Normally, the University schedules and conducts courses on weekdays (e.g. Monday to Friday between 8:30am (start time) and 10pm (end time) Atlantic time), and sometimes Saturdays, and examinations on weekdays and Saturdays, but not Sundays or statutory holidays. No examinations or courses should be scheduled on Good Friday, Easter Saturday or Easter Sunday. Otherwise, exams will be scheduled Monday through Saturday between 8:30am and 10pm Atlantic time, and sometimes Sunday between 12 noon and 10pm Atlantic time. However the University reserves the right, in exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Dalhousie Senate, to schedule courses or examinations on Sundays or statutory holidays, as the case may be.

I. Requests for an Alternative Final Examination Time
A student requesting an alternative time for a final examination will be granted that request only in exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances include illness (with medical certificate) or other mitigating circumstances outside the control of the student, including technology failure in the case of online examinations. Students writing online tests or exams in other time zones may request an alternative exam time if they are scheduled to write a test or exam during a restricted time period after 10pm or before 8:30am local time. Elective arrangements (such as travel plans) are not considered acceptable grounds for granting an alternative examination time. In cases where it is necessary to make changes to examination arrangements late in the term, or Senate has approved exceptional examination arrangements, a special effort will be made to accommodate difficulties the changes may cause for individual students.

Instructors are expected to accommodate all reasonable requests for alternative examination times although the ultimate decision of whether to grant a student’s request for an alternative examination time lies with the instructor of the course concerned as does the responsibility for making the alternative arrangements.

This policy may also be applied at the discretion of the instructor to tests and examinations other than final examinations.

Assistance and Support: The Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) is available to provide assistance to Instructors in preparing examinations and in considering alternative forms of assessment. Academic Technology Services (ATS) can provide technical support to instructors offering online exams.