Academic policies for spring term 2020

May 20, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

This message is to remind you of several academic policies that may affect your course planning, grading, and exam schedules for spring 2020. This message covers the following topics:

Incompletes

Posted grades must represent an assessment of the work accomplished by the student in the course. An incomplete may be issued when the quality of work is satisfactory, but some minor yet essential requirement has not been completed. Details about the incomplete option are available on the Office of the Registrar website.

Registered students who did not attend or participate in any part of a course

The Y grade was discontinued as of fall 2017. For registered students who did not attend or participate, an F or N grade should be recorded in Duckweb, and the new “non-attendance” box should be checked. Do not check the box if the students attended or participated in any portion of the course. Enter a Last Date of Attendance (LDA) instead.

Please keep in mind the March 5, 2020 Senate legislation on Academic Continuity expectations from the Academic Council regarding attendance. The change in expectations on attendance came about because of the issues presented by the coronavirus pandemic when UO shifted to virtual learning for the spring. Instructors may not count attendance in grades for Spring term, but may count participation as part of the grade, provided they have reasonable ways for students to complete make-up assignments without a loss of credit for missed participation points. Instructors who are unsure whether they are making reasonable accommodations should confer with their units heads for guidance.

Dead Week

Faculty legislation controls assignments that may be required during the last week of regular classes, commonly known as Dead Week.

In the week preceding final examinations during fall, winter, and spring terms:

  • No examination worth more than 20% of the final grade will be given, apart from make-up examinations.
  • No final examinations will be given under any guise.
  • No projects will be due unless they have been clearly specified on the class syllabus within the first two weeks of the term.
  • Take-home examinations will be due no earlier than the day of the formally assigned final examination for the class in question.

Exam Conflicts (not including Law students)

If a student is scheduled for two or more exams at the same time, the following procedures assist with resolving the conflict:

  • For regular courses with examinations scheduled at the same time, the course with the largest enrollment must provide an alternate examination;
  • For conflicts between regular courses and combined examinations, the combined examination course must provide the alternate examination;
  • For combined examinations with conflicts, the largest combined enrollment course must provide the alternate examination.

Students unable to resolve examination conflicts with their instructors may contact the Office of Academic Advising for assistance.

Law students should not contact their UO Law School course instructor over an exam conflict because the law school uses an anonymous grading system for its exams. Law students who have exam conflicts should immediately submit an Exam Change Request form in MyLaw or contact the Law School’s Student Affairs Office.

Further Information

If you have questions about these policies, or are faced with a situation you are unable to resolve, please contact us at OtP@uoregon.edu.

Sincerely,

Janet Woodruff-Borden
Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs