Completion of Work and Policy on Extensions

After final grades are reported in a given semester, the record for the semester is closed. In conformity with the practice established by the faculty, no extension of deadline is allowed for papers, examinations, laboratory or other course work beyond the date of the last day of the last scheduled examination of the semester, unless an extension is granted in writing by both the instructor and the class dean. Students will not be allowed to register or participate in Add/Drop for the subsequent term until all grades from their previous semester are recorded by the Registrar’s Office.

A student who cannot attend a final examination may be granted the privilege of a makeup examination by the instructor in consultation with the class dean, who will arrange the date of the examination with the instructor. For students needing accommodations for their exams, faculty may contact the Office of Student Affairs to make arrangements for an exam proctor. A final examination may be postponed only with the approval of the instructor and class dean.

Extensions may be granted beyond the final examination period only with the approval of the instructor and the class dean. In such cases, the instructor must submit a request for extension to the Office of Student Affairs by the end-of-semester grading deadline to establish an extension deadline and default grade, which the Registrar’s Office records only if the instructor does not submit a final grade by the extension deadline. The Registrar’s Office records the incomplete notation “I” during the extension. The  extension deadline should indicate when the grade is due rather than when the work is due and must indicate a default grade. No incomplete grade should be recorded without a default grade and grading deadline. 

The faculty policy regarding extensions was revised as follows:

  • All regular course work in a given semester must be submitted by the last day of classes at 5:00 p.m.
  • All final course projects, papers, and examinations in a given semester must be submitted by the end of the final examination period (voted by the faculty, May 19, 2016; amended May 18, 2017).
  • All other regulations with respect to the completion of work and extensions are specified in the Examinations and Extensions section of the Amherst College Catalog.  Those regulations are binding and may be modified only by vote of the faculty (voted by the faculty, May 18, 2017).

Regarding the Reading Period, note that “With the exception of previously scheduled performances and exhibitions, no final course work may be assigned or due during the reading period, which extends between 5:00 p.m. on the last day of classes through 9:00 a.m. of the first day of the examination period” (voted by the faculty, May 19, 2016).