Submission of Course Work to Instructors

Students in Yale College are expected to take personal responsibility for the timely delivery to their instructors of all course work, including examinations, in the manner and format prescribed by the instructors. In-person submission, either to the instructor or to someone explicitly designated by the instructor, such as a teaching fellow or an administrative assistant, is always the best way to ensure that the work has been received. Students who submit course work in a manner other than in person and directly to an appropriate individual (e.g., place it under a door or in a box in a hallway or send it via electronic means), should—even when that is the method directed by the course instructor—confirm as soon as possible after the submission that the work has been received. Students who must use postal services to submit a course assignment, because they will be unavoidably absent from campus at the time an assignment is due, should ascertain in advance from the instructor the correct mailing address and use receipted mail services to establish the date of mailing.

Instructors are not required to accept course work sent over a computer network to their computer, printer, or email account unless they have explicitly authorized such electronic submission in the course syllabus or have made a special arrangement with the student. Instructors may establish a deadline for electronic submission of a particular assignment different from the deadline for submission of the same assignment on paper.

Late or Postponed Work

There are three kinds of late or postponed work: (1) work late during term time; (2) work incomplete at the end of term; and (3) postponed final examinations. Instructors of courses may, during term time, give permission to make up late or missed work, provided that such work is submitted before the end of term. Only the residential college dean, however, may authorize the late submission of work still incomplete at the end of term, or the postponement of a final examination.

When students know in advance that they must miss or postpone work for a legitimate reason, as described in “Work Missed During the Term” and in “Postponement of Final Examinations” below, they should inform the instructor and the residential college dean as soon as possible.

Work Missed During the Term

The basic responsibility for permitting postponement of work during the term rests with the instructor. However, the residential college dean may give permission for a student to make up work missed or delayed during the term because of an incapacitating illness or incapacitating condition of any kind, the death of a family member, or a comparable emergency. The residential college dean also has authority to give permission to make up work missed because of the observance of religious holy days and because of participation required in intercollegiate varsity athletic events. Only in these cases does a residential college dean have authority to give permission to make up late work during term time. This permission is conveyed by means of a special form which, upon approval by the college dean, is sent to the student's instructor. Students participating in events of intramural or club sports, as differentiated from varsity events sponsored by the Department of Athletics, are not eligible for a postponement of work by the dean on account of those events.

In all other cases of work missed during the term, permission to make up course work must be secured directly from the instructor of the course, since the instructor is the only person who can decide, in the context of the nature and requirements of the course, whether such permission is appropriate. This permission may not, however, extend beyond the end of the term. Permission to submit work still incomplete at the end of term may be granted only by a student’s residential college dean. See “Work Incomplete at the End of Term” below.

Work Incomplete at the End of Term

Only the residential college dean has authority to give permission to a student to submit work in a course after the end of term. The college dean may give such permission because of an incapacitating illness or incapacitating condition of any kind, because of a serious family emergency, or because of another matter of comparable moment. In such cases, the college dean may authorize a mark of Temporary Incomplete for a period not to exceed one month from the beginning of the final examination period. Note that the mark of Temporary Incomplete refers to unfinished course work that was originally due in the closing weeks of the term, and not to assignments (such as lab reports, problem sets, reading responses, etc.) originally due prior to the last day of classes. Note also that the mark of Temporary Incomplete does not refer to a final examination missed for any reason; see “Postponement of Final Examinations” below.

The residential college dean, in authorizing a mark of Temporary Incomplete, will stipulate the date on which the student’s late work will be due and the date on which the instructor is expected to submit a course grade to the registrar. The college dean may not set this second date later than one month after the beginning of the final examination period. If the student’s work has not been completed in time for the instructor to report a grade to the registrar by the deadline stipulated, then the instructor will submit a grade for the student that reflects the absence of the missing work, or the registrar will convert the mark of Temporary Incomplete to a grade of F. See section B, Grades, “General Regulations Concerning Grades and Transcripts,” and section F, Withdrawal from Courses.

Permission for a mark of Temporary Incomplete to last beyond one month from the beginning of the final examination period can be granted only by the Yale College Committee on Honors and Academic Standing. Such an extension may be given only for a brief period of time, usually one to two weeks, and only in response to extraordinary circumstances, usually of a medical nature. A petition for such permission must be submitted at the earliest possible date. In considering such requests, the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing takes into account the original deadline for submission of the work and the date on which a petition is delivered to the committee.

Use of Computers and Postponement of Work

Problems that may arise from the use of computers, software, and printers normally are not considered legitimate reasons for the postponement of work. A student who uses computers is responsible for operating them properly and completing work on time. (It is expected that a student will exercise reasonable prudence to safeguard materials, including backing up data in multiple locations and at frequent intervals and making duplicate copies of work files.) Any computer work should be completed well in advance of the deadline in order to avoid last-minute technical problems as well as delays caused by heavy demand on shared computer resources in Yale College.

Postponement of Final Examinations

Only the residential college dean may authorize postponement of a final examination. The residential college dean may give such permission because of an incapacitating illness or incapacitating condition of any kind, because of a family emergency requiring the student’s absence from New Haven, or because of another matter of comparable moment. The residential college dean may also authorize such a postponement because of the observance of religious holy days, or because of participation required in an intercollegiate varsity athletic event. Students participating in events of intramural or club sports, as differentiated from varsity events sponsored by the Department of Athletics, are not eligible for a postponement of final examinations on account of those events. Finally, the college dean may authorize postponement of a final examination if a student has three examinations scheduled during the first two full days of the final examination period, or three examinations scheduled consecutively in the final examination schedules.* The postponement of a final examination for any other reason requires the permission of the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing. A student’s end-of-term travel plans are not a basis for the postponement of a final examination. See Final Examination Schedules and section G, Reading Period and Final Examination Period, paragraph 4.

*

The final examination schedules indicate three examination sessions, or time slots, per day: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. Some of these time slots contain examinations; others do not. A college dean may postpone an examination if a student has three examinations scheduled within any four consecutive time slots, whether or not each of those time slots has an examination assigned to it. See Final Examination Schedules. Occasionally an instructor may arrange an option for an alternative final examination in addition to the regularly scheduled examination. See section G, Reading Period and Final Examination Period, paragraph 5. Such an optional arrangement cannot be the basis for a postponement of an examination if three of a student’s final examinations would thereby acquire “consecutive” status.

It is normally the expectation that when a student begins a final examination but does not complete it, the student will receive credit only for the work completed on the examination. If, however, a student becomes unable to complete an examination because of a sudden and serious illness or other emergency during the examination, the student may request authorization from the residential college dean to take a makeup final examination. In such a case, the student must explain their departure to the instructor, or to some other person proctoring the examination, before leaving the room, and must contact Yale Health or the residential college dean as soon as possible thereafter.

Instructors generally administer makeup final exams. Makeup examinations for the fall term should be scheduled by the end of the second week of classes in the spring term. Makeup examinations for underclass students who miss final examinations in the spring term should be scheduled by the end of the second week of classes in the following fall term. Students who will not be enrolled at these times—whether because they are on leave of absence or on a Year or Term Abroad, or because they have withdrawn from Yale—must contact their residential dean's office in advance of the second week of classes about alternative arrangements. The registrar automatically records a grade of F in a course for a student who fails to take an officially scheduled makeup examination in that course at the appointed time. 

No fee will be charged for a makeup examination necessitated by illness, family emergency, the observance of a religious holy day, or participation required in an intercollegiate varsity athletic event. A charge of $35 will be made for the administration of a makeup examination occasioned by a conflict between two final examinations scheduled at the same time, or three examinations scheduled in the first two days of the examination period, or three final examinations scheduled in consecutive examination periods. Ordinarily there will be a charge of $35 for makeup examinations authorized for special reasons approved by the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing.

Permission to postpone a final examination does not authorize a student to submit other work late in that course. See “Work Incomplete at the End of Term,” above.