Policy
The Academic Courses Policy on Class Delivery, Examinations, and Assessment of Student Learning prescribes university-level requirements for delivery of academic courses, and the assessment of student learning including conduct of examinations.
Forms
Examination Scheduling
Scheduling process
- The instructor fills out an examination information sheet on PAWS; available in August (for December examinations) and in December (for April examinations).
- Preliminary examination schedule will be produced and instructors will gain access to view schedule. This will occur at the end of September (for December examinations) and at the end of January (for April examinations).
- Final examination schedule is released to the campus community in October (for December examinations) or February (for April examinations).
- Once the final examination has been written, final grades are to be submitted and approved within five business days after the date of the final examination (not including weekends or holidays). If for any reason the deadline cannot be met, the instructor should discuss the reason for the delay with their department head, or dean in non-departmentalized colleges. The instructor will also notify both the Registrar and the students in the class as to the anticipated date of submission. More information in the Academic Courses Policy.
If you are teaching a multi-section course with a common examination, the mid-term will be scheduled outside of the normal class time. This will need to be arranged within the department and communicated on the syllabus.
Examination information sheets
The exams office uses the information collected to build the examination schedule. It is particularly important that instructors report any common examinations (two or more sections or classes writing the same examination at the same time and day) on the examination info sheet. If you cannot access the examination info sheet, then please contact your department to ensure you have been added as an instructor in the system.
Classes numbered 898 and higher are scheduled by instructors and not by the exams office and, therefore, do not require an examination info sheet completed.
Instructors must complete an Exam Information Sheet to indicate scheduling preferences, available on PAWS during the first week of the term, to have a final examination scheduled.
Dates, times, location, and examination exemptions
Changes to dates or times
Once the exams office has scheduled final examinations for a term, instructors wanting to change the date and/or time of their final examination must obtain the consent of all students (100% of the class) according to procedures established by the registrar, as well as authorization from the department head, or dean in non-departmentalized colleges. The exams office will then try to accommodate this approved change but due to many constraints may not be able to do so.
Location changes
Changes may be made if the room is unsuitable. Please check your room before the examination date and the exams office will see if changing the room is possible. This is not guaranteed.
Off-campus examinations
The exams office will not schedule an examination to be off-campus for on-campus classes.
Examination exempt course
You may not add an examination to an examination exempt course or remove an examination from a class that is not examination exempt. You must first obtain approval from your department head (or college office in a non-departmentalized college) and this must be done before classes are open for registration for that term.
Special accommodation for students
Accommodations for students
The University of Saskatchewan is responsible for providing reasonable accommodations for students who experience barriers to their education on the basis of a prohibited ground(s), including disability, religion, family status and gender identity.
To apply for exam accommodations, students must register with Access and Equity Services prior to the relevant exam accommodation deadlines.
Additional accommodations
Please refer to the Academic Courses Policy for information on additional special accommodations related to:
- students who are reservists in the Canadian Armed Force
- students who are participating in activities deemed to be official university business
Deferred and supplemental examinations
All deferred and supplemental or special supplemental examinations must be approved by the college. The college must notify the student, instructor and in the case of approval, the registrar of its decision.
Approval deadlines and invigilation arrangements
Please refer to the Academic Courses Policy in regard to deadlines and arrangements surrounding the approval and invigilation process.
Providing the exams office with deferred/supplemental examinations
- Examinations being written in-person on the main USask campus must be supplied one week prior to the start of the deferred/supplemental examination session. If the examination has not been received by this deadline, the exams office will issue one reminder. If the examination is still not received, the arrangement for invigilation will be the responsibility of the instructor/department.
- Information regarding the examination (eg: length of time allotted, formula sheet or calculator allowed, etc) should be supplied in a cover sheet for the deferred/supplemental examination.
- Computer based examinations including remote and take homes will be scheduled a date and time during the regular deferred examination period, but invigilation will be accommodated by the instructor.
- It is recommended that you create a new final examination; please check the guidelines of your college or department regarding examination use.
Deferred and supplemental examination schedule
The deferred and supplemental examination schedule will be posted approximately three weeks prior to the examination dates.
Examination Rules and Invigilation
Instructor arrival time
Instructors need to arrive 30 minutes prior to the examination time. Arriving 30 minutes early allows you time to get the room ready, hand out examinations, and have students seated by the time the examination is scheduled to start. In a gym or large classroom, it can take 5-10 minutes to get students seated. If you plan on handing out examinations after students are seated, please bring assistants to help you.
Instructor is late to or misses the scheduled final examination
The instructor must call the exams office immediately or contact their department administrative support staff. Students are waiting and if extra time is needed to give the students full time, we may have to negotiate with the room owner to see if we can have any additional time. This is not guaranteed.
Please refer to the Academic Courses Policy for:
Student examination issues
The Academic Courses Policy refers to the “30-minute rule” which clarifies when students may be refused entry to a final examination. A student who is denied admission must apply to their college for a deferred examination.
A student should remain in the examination for 30 minutes after the start of an examination. Students who need to leave the examination room for any reason require permission from the invigilator. If a student leaves without permission, an incident report may be filled out by the invigilator. It is then the decision of the instructor to pursue an academic misconduct charge following the guidelines in the Academic Courses Policy.
Students who do not produce proper photo identification may have a photo taken during the examination and must fill out the failure to produce identification form.
Students will then have to present themselves with a student ID card or other acceptable government-issued photographic identification to the instructor (invigilator) within two working days of the examination.
Electronic devices, including wearable technology (electronic watches, glasses, etc), are not allowed in the gyms unless specifically designated as allowed by the professor. Dictionaries should be paper based and all phones should not be brought into the examination. If a phone is accidentally brought into the examination, it must be turned off and stored in a backpack underneath the desk, and never stored on the person. Students cannot take cell phones into the washroom.
An incident report will be created if an examination proctor observes a student with unauthorized material. It is then the decision of the instructor to pursue an academic misconduct charge following the guidelines in the Academic Courses Policy.
Grading and Assessment of Students
Entering, changing and approving grades
Final grades in all classes are to be submitted and approved:
- no later than the end of the final examination period for standard term classes in a given term with no final examination, and for mid-year examinations in 100-level, two-term classes offered over the Fall Term and Winter Term; or
- within five business days after the date of the final examination (not including weekends or holidays), for those classes with final examinations including final grades resulting from deferred, special deferred, supplemental, and special supplemental final examinations; or
- five days after the end of the class for open learning classes without a final examination.
If for any reason the above deadlines cannot be met, the instructor should discuss the reason for the delay with their department head, or dean in non-departmentalized colleges. The instructor will also notify both the Registrar and the students in the class as to the anticipated date of submission. More information in the Academic Courses Policy.
Entering and approving grades manual
The entering and approving grades manual provides assistance to department heads, instructors, and administrative support staff in entering grades, approving/rejecting grades, and completing grade changes online.
Grading system and assessment
Please refer to the Academic Courses Policy for:
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Student Appeals
A student who is dissatisfied with the assessment of their work or performance in any aspect of class work, including a mid-term or final examination, shall follow the procedures set out in the University Council policy on Student Appeals of Evaluation, Grading and Academic Standing and the Procedures for Student Appeals in Academic Matters.
Third Party Examination Invigilation
The exams office coordinates third party examination invigilation for students from other institutions. Invigilators are representatives of our university and are capable and experienced in invigilating examinations.
- our invigilation hours are Monday through Thursday at 9 am or 1 pm
- we do not invigilate examinations on the weekend
- students must contact our office to schedule an examination and are responsible for contacting their institution to have their examinations sent to our office
- the cost is $100* per examination per student ($75.00 for current student or alumni) payable on the day of the examination
- examinations that run longer than 3.5 hours will be subject to additional charges
Corporate Rates
| Students | Cost |
| 1-5 | $100 per student* |
| 6-10 | $500 plus $50 for every additional student over 5 |
| 11+ | $750 plus $30 for every additional student over 10 |
- courier and printing fees are extra
- we provide one invigilator for groups of 1-5 students and two invigilators for groups of 6 or more students
- the number of students must be confirmed by 5 business days prior to the examination, at which time the cost is locked in
- payment is expected for all confirmed students, even those who do not attend
*Our invigilation fee is $100.00 per exam per student ($75.00 for current students or alumni) and is payable to the University of Saskatchewan just before the exam is written. Acceptable methods of payment are debit, cash, cheque, Visa or MasterCard
Getting Help
Examination Office - Registrarial Services
For information about examinations, deferred and supplemental examinations, and grading.
Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning
Staff at the GMCTL offers information and resources about grading and assessing students as well as about assessing your own teaching practice.