Changes to academic policies and spring term reminders

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The Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs sent the following message on May 23, 2017 regarding changes and reminders about academic policies.

This message is to inform you of a number of academic policies that may affect your course planning, grading and exam schedules. This message covers the following topics:

Major Declaration Policy

Effective fall 2017, UO students will be required to declare a major by a certain point in their academic career or see an advisor to receive a waiver and a PIN to register. The policy defines specific times by which students should declare a major. See the senate motion and the full policy for details.

Elimination of Y Grade

Effective fall 2017, the university will no longer use the “Y” grade.  For details on what faculty should use in specific situations instead of the “Y” see the policy proposal and the senate motion.

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, with the exception of 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

In the event that 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.

Post-season Contests and Final Exams

Each term there are UO athletic teams with a strong possibility of being invited to post-season competitions. The athletic event listed below is an official “university-sponsored event,” and as such, provides a legitimate excuse for student participants (e.g., team members, cheerleaders, band members, etc.) to be absent from regularly scheduled exams.

Students are encouraged to speak with their instructors prior to the athletic event to arrange for the completion of course work and final examinations in the case of such anticipated absence. For procedural recommendations, please review the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs website.

Potential NCAA championship conflicts for spring 2017:

  • Baseball

Further Information

If you have questions about these policies, or are faced with a situation you are unable to resolve, please feel free to contact us at academicaffairs@uoregon.edu or 541-346-3081.