Midterm Examination Policy

Policy Statement

The Department of Health Sciences will not offer deferred midterm examinations. The date and time of midterms will be clearly stated in the course outline, which will be made available from the first day of classes. Thus, students will have ample time to modify their extracurricular and off‐campus activities accordingly. Any conflicts based on activities planned by students prior to the first date of class will be handled at the discretion of the course instructor.

If a midterm is missed for a legitimate reason, the student must contact the instructor before the exam is conducted. Legitimate reasons for missing or rescheduling a midterm exam are:

• Incapacitating illness;
• Death in the family;
• Athletics staff-verified varsity competition;
• Three examinations within a 24-hour period.

Examples of unacceptable reasons for wanting to miss or reschedule an examination include:

• Family vacations;
• Varsity sports practices;
• Work/volunteer schedules;
• Multiple examinations in a time period different than noted above.

Appropriate documentation (e.g. doctor’s note, online death notice verification) should be given to the course instructor within one week of the missed exam.

For exams missed due to incapacitating illness, the Laurier Verification of Illness form is preferred but original medical documentation will suffice. Original medical certificates must include:

• Date(s) of illness;
• The date(s) and time(s) a student was examined by the physician;
• The functional impacts of the illness; and
• The expected time of convalescence.

In cases where students obtain medical documentation prior to the date of the exam, the time of convalescence must include the exam date in order to excuse the student from the exam. The student is responsible for ensuring that all requested information is included with their submitted Laurier Verification of Illness form/medical documentation.

In the case of a midterm missed for a legitimate reason, the decision of how to re‐weight/assess the missed marks is solely at the discretion of the course instructor. For example, the marks from the missed midterm may be added to the next midterm or final exam, another examination or assignment may be arranged, or other means to replace the missed examination may be found.

If a student misses a midterm for an unacceptable reason (see list above for examples), the student will receive a grade of zero for the test.

Policy effective Feb 1, 2014; revised September 8, 2016.