ONLINE FORM AVAILABLE FOR EXAM EXTENSIONS
New form – revised guidelines
A new online form, which can be reached from each course page, has been introduced to streamline exam extension requests when emergencies interfere with student coursework.
“While we don’t encourage rescheduling tests, we understand it cannot always be avoided,” says Dr. Mari Brodersen, Associate Director for Student Advising. “Sometimes, unforeseen circumstances require rescheduling a quiz or exam: illness, work emergency, personal crisis, or technical problems.”
The exam extension procedure was put in place last year to preserve exam integrity while ensuring that students have the support they need to overcome any adversity. Along with the new online form, the Academic Board refined some of the existing guidelines to improve the process and discourage abuse.
“We had a small number of cases where students had abused the policy. Continually having a few extra days to prepare for an exam would give them a clear advantage over their classmates,” says Chris Dudley, Vice Chancellor for Administration & Student Affairs.
Before requesting an extension, students need to keep in mind that they have to involve their Academic Advisor, adhere to a timeline, and provide documentation to support the request. Each student is allowed five extensions in a year.
Important guidelines include:
- A mandatory meeting with the student’s Academic Advisor must take place a minimum of 4 days before the exam to discuss a mitigation plan.
- For quizzes, first timers without an Academic Advisor may use the “skipped quiz” option (see #4 below) and must meet with an Advisor as soon as possible to discuss the situation that led to the extension and to discuss mitigation strategies.
- Fill out the online form; provide complete supplementary documentation – doctor’s note, supervisor’s note, OUM support ticket and/or Proctortrack ticket.
* Note: All supplementary documentation must be uploaded as one document, as only one document may be uploaded in the system.
- Be aware that there is a limit of a total of no more than 5 times a year for extension requests or skipped exams. Not five of each, five total. As an alternative to an extension, students may skip a quiz. Students may skip:
- 1 quiz per eF100 block
- 2 quizzes per 10-week eF300 segment
- 1 quiz per SBM
Students who do not meet the exam extension criteria may have one exception per year, which will count as part of the five total annual allowed extensions or skipped exams. To apply for this exception, the student must submit the application for the extension through the standard approval process.
Denials and Appeals
Reasons for denial of request:
- Request was submitted past deadline
- Request was not relevant or consistent with University policy
- Supporting documents not provided or insufficient
- Request would exceed permitted maximum extensions
- Technical issue not confirmed
Rejected requests may be appealed to Student Affairs Committee (specialconsideration@oum.edu.ws), but know that if your appeal is granted, you will likely be taking the quiz or exam at the same time as you are taking another. Studying for two exams in one week may be stressful and may lead to poorer results than if one exam is attempted at a time. If the appeal is not granted, and the student does not take the exam during the original time period, s/he may receive a failing grade for the exam.
“Hopefully, the updated guidelines and the new online forms will help students who really need the extensions and discourage those who are tempted to use the extension as a crutch to postpone their test,” says Brodersen. “The key is to have students confer with their Academic Advisor in advance.”