The final week of each fall and spring semester is designated as a week for courses to administer a comprehensive final exam. During finals week, all courses shall meet for one two-hour period. The Final Examination Policy is available at https://reg.msu.edu/ROInfo/Calendar/FinalExam.aspx. During summer sessions, final examinations are scheduled in the last class sessions. This period should be used for examination, discussion, summarizing the course, obtaining student evaluation of the course instruction, or any other appropriate activity designed to advance the student's education. The final exam period is intended only for a comprehensive final exam. Any replacement exam for those offered during the semester must be done before finals week.
If an instructor requires a written report or take-home examination in place of a final examination, it shall not be due before the final examination period scheduled for that course. Exceptions to this paragraph may be approved by the department or school chairperson, or in a college without departments, by the dean.
In the event that a final examination is deemed appropriate by the instructor for in-person hybrid and online synchronous classes, it may not be scheduled at any time other than the date and hour listed in Class Search. Online asynchronous classes must administer final exams remotely/online, if a final is given.
Any deviations from the final examination schedule must be approved by the Office of the Registrar based on the recommendation of the assistant/associate dean of the college responsible for the course offering. All instructors must terminate their examinations promptly so that rooms and buildings may be cleared for the examination periods which follow. If departments need additional time to conduct their exams due to accommodations through the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities office, efforts should be made to provide those accommodations at times that are beneficial to students.
No student should be required to take more than two examinations during any one day of the final examination period. Students who have more than two examinations scheduled during one calendar day during the final examination period may contact the Academic Student Affairs Office in their colleges for assistance in arranging for an alternate time for one of the three examinations.
Faculty members shall schedule office hours during the final examination period (or in some other way attempt to make themselves accessible to their students) as they do in the other weeks of the semester.
Common final examinations are scheduled in certain courses with several class sections. In case of a conflict in time between such an examination and a regularly scheduled course examination, the latter has priority. The department or school giving the common examination must arrange for a make-up examination.
A student absent from a final examination without a satisfactory explanation will receive a grade of 0.0 on the numerical system, NC on the CR-NC system, or N in the case of a course authorized for grading on the P-N system. Students unable to take a final examination because of illness or other reasons over which they have no control should notify the associate deans of their colleges immediately.
For information on other examinations, see the Undergraduate Education and Graduate Education sections of this catalog.