August 10, 2026
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to share some important information about final exam scheduling that came to light during the 2025-26 Academic Year. We heard from students who felt overwhelmed by exams that were moved out of the exam period and into the final week of classes, and we also saw record levels of demand at the Testing Center during this period.
Moving exams out of the exam period and into the final week of classes can negatively impact the student experience and our institutional obligations. Doing so is also in conflict with our Final Exam Conflict Accommodation Guideline, which states:
The final examination in a course must be given as scheduled by the Office of the University Registrar and not at other times, even if the faculty member and all students in a course agree to such a change.
Student Impact
Our Final Exam Conflict Accommodation Guideline exists to protect students by ensuring they can:
- Focus on learning content during the last week of the semester rather than managing exam schedules.
- Use the designated study period to prepare effectively.
- Take exams according to a carefully designed schedule that minimizes conflicts.
- Access established procedures to spread out exams when conflicts occur.
When finals are moved into the last week of classes, even with student agreement, we eliminate these protections and create inequitable experiences across courses, especially for students with work, clinical, or family obligations beyond their studies.
Credit Hour Requirements
This practice also implicates our Federal credit hour obligations. A semester comprises 15 weeks: 14 of instruction and 1 for finals. All 15 weeks are necessary to meet U.S. Department of Education credit hour requirements (34 CFR Section 600.2). Moving final exams into the instructional period effectively shortens our semester and puts us at risk of noncompliance.
What Can You Do?
As you prepare your course syllabi and materials for the fall semester, please keep the importance of adhering to the scheduled final exam period in mind.
I have heard questions from some faculty about the types of activities that are permissible during the final exam period. Importantly, there is no restriction that only cumulative high-stakes written assessments can be administered during this period. This period can be used for the presentation of papers, projects, and oral exams. Likewise, non-cumulative “final midterm” exams can also be administered during the scheduled final exam period.
Scheduling these types of assessments during the final exam period ensures that the 14th week of instruction can be used for instructional activities, and provides students access to our established examination conflict procedures during finals week.
Thank you for your partnership in maintaining equitable and compliant academic practices for our students. It is greatly appreciated. Please reach out to me (VPLee@pitt.edu) with any questions that you have on this topic, or refer to our Frequently Asked Questions.
Best regards,
Adam
Adam J. Lee, PhD
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies
Professor of Computer Science