Difference: TeachingTips (12 vs. 13)

Revision 132005-05-21 - DonaldActon

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Teaching Tips (including Best Practices)

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- Missed midterms
- Missed final exams
Avoid giving in to special requests for early exams (e.g., student wants to qualify for cheaper airfare).

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If a student is sick for the final exam, you should have the student write the final exam either: (a) at the same time that the next section of this course has its final exam (e.g., in April for missed December exams), or (b) during the August deferred exam period. Avoid having the student write the exam shortly after the others write (e.g., 0-3 days), as this usually gives a distinct advantage to this student (he/she has more time to study, and word gets around pretty quickly about the questions on the final exam). Furthermore, if more than one student missed the exam, it can be a hassle to try to accommodate everyone's schedule. Things get messy when students fail to show for your make-up exam, or when more excuses are given (or favours requested). These are all reasons for why some instructors adhere to the "next term" or "August" timeframe for make-up exams.

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If a student misses a final exam they must contact their Dean's office or, in the case of science students, the Faculty of Science Information and Advising Office to reguest an academic concession. You should only give a makeup exam if the Dean grants an academic concession. In particular, it is not your responsibility to evaluate the student's reason for missing the exam or to collect and validate any needed documentation in support of the student's claim, the science advising office will do that. If an academic concession is granted you get to select when the exam will be written. The missed exam can be offered : (a) at the same time that the next section of this course has its final exam (e.g., in April for missed December exams), or (b) during the August deferred exam period (c) at time of your choosing before the August defferred exam period. Avoid having the student write the exam shortly after the others write (e.g., 0-3 days), as this usually gives a distinct advantage to this student (he/she has more time to study, and word gets around pretty quickly about the questions on the final exam). Furthermore, if more than one student missed the exam, it can be a hassle to try to accommodate everyone's schedule. If students fail to show for your make-up exam it is a missed exam and they must again request an academic concession. For additional information see the Academic Concession section in the Faculty of Science regulations at http://students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=12,215,410,407 . You probably also want to consult the Term-end Guidelines found in the Learning and Teaching section at http://science.ubc.ca.

- An exception to the above is a student that is about to graduate (e.g., missed an April final exam, but would be graduating in May). Such students should probably write a replacement exam after the end of the April exam period.

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- If only one student missed the final exam, and you're convinced that the absence was legitimate, you can use your discretion at granting an earlier exam than August or next term.

Students who miss the final exam should make sure that they download needed materials from the course Web site (e.g., practice questions and course notes on WebCT), since these resources may no longer be available to them after the end of the term.
In the days preceding your final exam, advertise your sickness policy. Experience has shown that fewer students tend to miss the final exam when they find out that the instructor isn't going to be offering a make-up exam two days later.
To be fair to all students, avoid re-using exam questions for which the integrity may have been compromised. For example, students may already be discussing their solutions on the newsgroup or bulletin board. Replace such questions on future exams, including make-up exams. As for other questions, if you've numbered the exams (e.g., serial numbers), it should be easy to see whether or not you got all of the exams back, including the leftover ones. Be sure to collect the marking schemes from the TAs, and don't leave the marked exams or solutions lying around in open spaces in your office. These latter few points will allow you to re-use selected questions on future exams.

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