Pharmacy Students
PharmD, PharmTox, and Graduate Student Resources

Course Examination Schedule

Information regarding final exams is available on the UW Madison Registrar’s Office Website.

School of Pharmacy exam dates can be viewed on the School of Pharmacy Exam Calendar.

At the School of Pharmacy, the university’s final exam schedule, as published in the Schedule of Classes, may be adjusted so that students have no more than one exam in a 24-hour period. Any needed adjustments to hourly exams are made prior to the first week of class for the semester. If, after this has been done, the schedule still poses undue hardship for a class, students should talk to their class officers. The class officers should then consult with the school’s Exam Schedule Coordinator in the Student and Academic Affairs Office. This must be done prior to the end of the third week of the semester. If a change is possible and warranted, the Exam Schedule Coordinator will contact the appropriate course coordinator(s) to determine the feasibility of the requested change. If the course coordinator approves the change, the class members will be informed and the online Exam Calendar will be updated.

School of Pharmacy Examination Policy

Background

This policy applies to examinations in required courses within the PharmD program.  Lab assessments are exempted from the policy.

General Expectations of Students:
  1. Students are expected to uphold the core values of academic integrity which include honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. The University of Wisconsin–Madison takes academic misconduct allegations very seriously.  Academic misconduct is established by the state of Wisconsin for all UW System schools as detailed in UWS Chapter 14.
  2. Students seeking exam accommodations must have a valid McBurney VISA and provide a paper copy of this VISA to the course coordinator and the SAA office (Rebecca Beebe) by the end of the third week of the semester or as soon as possible after a disability has been incurred or recognized.
  3. Students must use restrooms before exams begin, as faculty typically do not allow any breaks once an exam is in progress.
  4. Students must arrive early to start the exam on time. Course coordinators will determine if late arrivals are eligible to take the exam.
  5. Students are advised to carefully read all exam instructions and are responsible for knowing and following all instructions.  Most faculty do not allow questions during an exam.
Exam Procedure Required Practices:
  1. Students are permitted to have only pens, pencils and erasers with them during the exam.
  2. Calculators will be provided if required to complete exam questions. Faculty may approve the use of personal non-programmable calculators during the exam.  Sharing of calculators between students is prohibited.
  3. Beverages are permitted in translucent bottles with the labels removed. Food is not allowed during exams.
  4. All backpacks, purses, coats, hats, and other personal items brought into the lecture halls must be placed either in the back or front of the room before distribution of test booklets.
  5. Laptop computers are required for electronic examinations. All other programs must be shut down before the start of the exam.  No other windows may be open and no pop-ups are allowed.
  6. Use of any device that can be used to communicate with others is prohibited during exams. This includes (but is not limited to):  smart phones, smart watches and Fitbit (or similar) devices, or smart glasses.  Cell phones must be turned off and placed in backpack or purse.  All wrist devices and watches must be removed prior to the start of an exam.
  7. Foam ear plugs are the only form of noise protection allowed (no headphones of any sort).
  8. Signs must be posted outside of the lecture hall(s) indicating there is an exam in progress. These will be provided for faculty.
  9. Students must sit in alternating seats in the lecture halls, or spread out as much as possible in other classrooms.
  10. Students must keep exam booklets face down until all exams have been distributed and the instructor announces the exam period has begun.
  11. A clock or timer must be provided at the front of the room for the duration of the exam. (Ex: http://www.clocktab.com/)
  12. When faculty or proctors announce the end of the exam, students must stop even if their exam is not complete.
  13. Paper examination materials must be turned in to faculty or proctors before a student leaves the exam room. All pages of the exam booklet must be returned, including scratch paper.  Faculty will announce prior to the exam if the exam booklet may be retained by the student.

SOP Guidelines for Scheduling Exams

Stipulations

  1. No exams are permitted after 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, to avoid conflicts with the Interprofessional Education (IPE) carve out.
  2. No exams are permitted on Fridays outside of regular class meeting times, to accommodate Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) and student activities.
  3. Evening exams will be limited to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after 4:30 pm. Evening exam periods will follow the University policy.
  4. No more than 1 examination per day will be permitted. This applies to required courses only and eliminates the 24-hour buffer period between exams. (For example, an evening exam could be administered in one required course and an in-class exam could be scheduled in a different course the following day.  This would be less than a 24-hour buffer and would be permitted under the new policy.
  5. Daytime in-class exams are permissible as long as they comply with policy items 1, 2 and 4 and do not conflict with scheduled labs.

School of Pharmacy Faculty must adhere to the UW–Madison Policies Regarding Summary Period (Final Exam) Scheduling

Approved 25 August 2005 Revised and Approved 13 February 2018

PharmD Handbook Sections