What is a good excuse for missing an exam?

What happens if you fall ill on the day of an exam or you have other valid reasons of absence? On this page you will also find information about registering this and how to sign up for a new evaluation.

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Illness and other legitimate absence from examinations

The three time regulation states that a student may not sit for an exam in a course more than 3 times.
If you fall ill or have valid absence and are not able to sit the exam for this reason, it should not count as an attempt.

Notification

To give notice on your absence, please complete the online form found on the central administratation page on exam absence.

The deadline is one week after the examination date.

New evaluation?

You may sign up for a new attempt at an exam, provided that you have not spent three attempts and that all mandatory work is valid. The validity of mandatory work varies in duration depending on the course, and is explained on the course home page. 
 

All courses have ordinary examinations both semesters.
You can sign up for a new evaluation on the Studentweb by finding the course in earlier semesters and choosing "New evaluation". 
Please note that you must register for the exam on Studentweb yourself.

For courses with teaching both semesters (only courses MAT111, INF100 and KJEM110) or irregular courses:
Examinations are arranged at the end of the semester. Early exams in these three courses are only arranged for students with valid reasons of absence and must be applied to sit. Contact your department before the semester starts.

For courses with teaching spring or fall:
Examinations are arranged at the end of the semester with teaching and at the beginning of the semester without teaching.

Mandatory attendance or assignments

If you due to illness or other legitimate reasons are unable to attend or complete mandatory assignments at the deadline given, please contact your department for further information.

The department will forward instructions on documentation.

Important information

• Valid absence must be documented within one (1) week of the exam
• Applying for a new evaluation only applies to MAT111, INF100 and KJEM110
• In other courses you can sign up for a new evaluation on Studentweb

Online form and information

See this page

So I was genuinely sick Monday and today. To my dismay I noticed I had exams these two days. I got messages from my professors that I needed an excuse bill for my absences. Now I will fail a very important course if I don't get some sort of bill in. Any ideas? I'm desperate as I really want to succeed in school but I was stupid enough to go to the clinic to get a damn doctors note as i was too sick to even get out the washroom (was throwing up a lot). What do?

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The class I am teaching had a quiz yesterday. A student wrote to me 2 hours after that he missed the quiz because he suspected he had a strep throat. He would see doctor and provide me a doctor's note. Personally I feel this particular reason is a little lame. If he decided to skip the exam because he suspected he was really sick, he would have wrote to me earlier. My question is, if in the end the doctor says he did not have strep throat, should I still give the student a chance to make up the quiz (just because he suspected it)?

asked Oct 15, 2015 at 17:41

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Rather than having to think about what is a legitimate excuse or not, I routinely give make-ups to anyone who misses a quiz or exam. Yes, it is explicitly assumed that they are operating with knowledge of what was on the quiz or exam that was given, so the situation is somewhat different, and the nature of the make-up is consequently somewhat different. I explain this at the beginning of the course. One might worry that there'd be too many people trying to game the system, but it seemed not so.

(I think it is not reasonable to demand that people who are sick get a note from their doctor... if it's something like a severe cold, say, because the wisest and most socially reasonable thing to do is stay home in bed, not travel to a clinic... Also, I do like to cultivate the atmosphere that I am willing to believe students' excuses, rather than have the default be skepticism about their honesty.)

answered Oct 15, 2015 at 20:26

paul garrettpaul garrett

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To skirt this kind of issues, I tell everybody at the beginning of the term that they can skip an exam, no questions asked. It doesn't matter if they just overslept, were scared to fail, or were undergoing surgery. At the end of the term, all those (and only those) who didn't show up give a make-up exam. I just ask them to tell me as soon as possible, and remind me they are due for the make up exam (to coordinate a schedule, mostly) at term's end.

[Yes, if they have a weighty reason for not showing up, I'd cut them some leeway. But don't tell that to my students ;-]

answered Oct 15, 2015 at 20:27

vonbrandvonbrand

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A doctors note will never confirm nor deny if a person is truly ill, Just merely that they were seen by said doctor at X Date and Time. If your syllabus states that you allow make up exams with doctors excuse then your hand is forced.

In my experience most profs had a zero tolerance policy on missed quizzes and exams. Some would allow for a much harder quiz or test to be taken towards the end of the semester to replace the missed grade.

answered Oct 15, 2015 at 19:57

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This a slippery slope. Personally, if the guy has a doctors note, I'd just let him take another test. IMHO, it is better to let some lazy student get a pass than to deny that right to a really sick student.

Some decades ago, I was that sick student...

And I really like vonbrand's idea. I'll try to remember and put it in practice on my next courses....

answered Oct 23, 2015 at 16:22

Fábio DiasFábio Dias

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The rule at my institution is simple: Either you get graded for the performance you showed in the exam or you get graded a 1 (worst grade). If you are seriously sick, you get a doctor's confirmation of said sickness. Doctors here (Switzerland) will write down what sickness you had.

answered Oct 16, 2015 at 12:46

Just to add to the other answers. You must be careful not to get a reputation as being gullible. This may cause this type of thing to become habitual from this pupil and may even rub of on some of your previously good pupils.

The proverbial giver a person an inch and he will take a mile can very easily be true here.

answered Oct 23, 2015 at 15:16

Neil MeyerNeil Meyer

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