Dear Students,
As we come to the end of the fall semester, the Deans’ Office for Advising and Support wants to update you about final exam information and academic resources. We also want to remind you what to do if you experience anything that impacts your ability to complete work for your courses and final exams.
One of the most important things to remember if you are experiencing difficulties is to reach out to your instructor and/or Class Dean. Your class dean is available to discuss your specific situation and offer advice and options.
Academic Resources
| • | Academic Coaching Finals Prep Sessions: The Academic Coaches in the Deans’ Office for Advising and Support are here to help you cross the finish line this semester with tips, tricks, and snacks! If you are feeling stressed for finals, need help organizing your study plan, or want to learn some new study strategies, drop in to see an academic coach during Reading Period, Tuesday (12/12)-Friday (12/15), from 1-4pm in Milbank 227. Academic Coach Allie Johnston will also hold additional walk-in hours in 105 Milbank throughout the exam period. Email Allie for the schedule or to set up a consultation. |
| • | Personal Librarians: As you complete your final assignments for this semester, contact Barnard Library’s research and instruction team (Personal Librarians) for any support needed around research-based assignments, including senior projects. Librarians are available for individual consultations about ways to access online research materials and meet citation requirements for your papers and projects. Personal Librarians can assist in finding e-books, full-text articles, and open access sources. |
| • | Center for Engaged Pedagogy: The CEP has put together helpful guides for time management, active reading strategies, and a resource map that points you to various supports. |
| • | Center for Accessibility Resources & Disability Services (CARDS): Students who are registered with the Barnard Center for Accessibility Resources & Disability Services (CARDS) and have accommodations should be in touch with CARDS as needed to ensure that their accommodations align with end-of-term assignments. If a faculty member has specific questions about how to implement accommodations in their courses, CARDS is available for individual consultation at cards@barnard.edu. |
FINAL EXAMINATION INFORMATION:
All students and instructors are expected to follow the official exam schedule. If you find yourself scheduled for three exams within a 24-hour period or four within 48 hours, you should fill out this form.
If you find that you need to take your exam on a different day during the final exams period, please contact your instructor and make arrangements directly with them (this is different from a deferred exam -- see below). Individual faculty members have discretion to allow or deny requests to take an exam at a time different than originally scheduled. If you need assistance with communicating with an instructor, you may contact your Class Dean. If you have tested positive for COVID-19 and/or have been advised by the College to quarantine and/or isolate when you otherwise would be taking an in-person exam, please be in touch with your Class Dean to discuss possible options.
DEFERRED EXAMS:
Students may defer an exam due to illness or personal emergency on the day of the exam. If you need to request a deferral, you must:
a) Email your instructor, copying your class dean, on the day of the exam requesting a deferred exam.
b) You must also submit an official request for a deferred exam in Slate. You will need to upload an approval email from your instructor when you submit the Slate form.
c) Deferred exams will be given on Friday, January 19, 2024 and Monday, January 22, 2024. After submitting the Request for a Deferred Exam form, you will receive a confirmation email. It is your responsibility to check the registrar's website and your Barnard email the previous week for the details of your deferred exam.
Please be aware that deferred exams cannot be requested in advance of exam week. For more information, visit https://barnard.edu/registrar/grades-exams and scroll down to "Final and Deferred Exams."
ILLNESS DURING EXAM:
If you become ill during an examination:
a) inform the proctor
b) hand in the exam, and
c) call Primary Care Health Services at 212-854-2091 to make an appointment.
If you've completed less than 40 minutes of a two-hour exam or less than one hour of a three-hour exam, you qualify for a deferred exam (see above.) If you leave the exam more than 40 minutes into a two-hour exam or more than an hour into a three-hour exam, you'll be graded on the basis of the work you've completed to that point.
INCOMPLETES:
Incompletes are to be given only in cases of illness, personal emergency, or other compelling circumstances. If you need to request an Incomplete, and the instructor is amenable, please be in touch with your faculty member via email to obtain their approval. From there, you will need to submit an Incomplete Request Form in Slate. You will need to upload email confirmation from your instructor when you submit the Slate form. Note that these requests should be received by Thursday, December 14 (the end of Reading Period).
As a reminder, the official College deadline for completing Fall 2023 Incomplete coursework is Monday, April 15, 2024. Individual faculty may also set an earlier deadline for the work to be completed. Please note that incompletes apply only to coursework exclusive of the final examination. For more information, visit https://barnard.edu/registrar/grades-exams and scroll down to "Incomplete Grades."
GRADES:
Final grades are indeed final. Grades may be changed only in cases of clerical error or in the rare event that the instructor needs to reevaluate the work of the entire class. Grades may not be recalculated on the basis of reexamination or the submission of additional or revised work.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND THE BARNARD HONOR CODE:
As you write papers or complete exams, whether in a proctored environment or in the comfort of your residence hall, keep the College's Honor Code (https://barnard.edu/honor-code) in mind. Under pressure, it can sometimes be tempting to make a regrettable decision, such as using untrustworthy and undocumented sources, collaborating on an exam, not following proper citation methods on a paper, or claiming someone else's work as your own. Doing something that might violate the Honor Code is NEVER the way to respond to a difficult or pressured academic situation. There's always a better choice. Please also be aware that any misrepresentation of your circumstances in order to obtain an exam deferral or an incomplete is a violation of the Honor Code. An additional word of caution: it is your responsibility as a student to be aware of your professor’s individual stance on the use of generative AI (ex. ChatGPT). If you are not sure about whether the use of generative AI is permitted in a course, you must consult with your instructor for additional guidance before using generative AI. Note that the Honor Code states that students must responsibly use electronic, print and other resources.
ACADEMIC STANDING:
Please be advised that all students should be aware of Barnard’s academic standing policy (please scroll down on this page to “Academic Standing and Degree Progress”) and how incomplete grades, deferred exams and/or withdrawal grades may impact a student’s academic standing. To discuss your academic standing, please contact your Class Dean.
We wish you all the best as you complete your work for the semester, and hope you have a restful, restorative winter break.
Sincerely,
Holly Tedder
Dean for Academic Planning and Class Advising
