Examinations

Language Placement Examinations

The foreign language requirement can be met by completing the required courses at Barnard (for individual languages see departmental curriculum statements), or by a College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) score of 781 (700 or above in Hebrew), or, for transfer students, by having completed acceptable qualifying language courses.

Transfer Students

A transfer student who has a CEEB score is placed according to that score alone if she has had no previous college language courses. The determination is made according to the provisions of an established scale. A transfer student who has no CEEB score or previous college language courses must, if she wishes to continue with a particular language, take a placement test. Transfer students who are not required to take an examination are notified of language placement along with the evaluation of their transfer credit.

First-Year Students

First-year students are placed (or exempted) on the basis of their CEEB scores. Those with no scores who wish to continue languages studied in high school take placement examinations. The Class Dean advises all new first-year students on their language requirements.

Summer School Language Courses

Students, other than incoming transfer or first-year students, who take summer language courses and wish exemption or placement in their continuing language studies must take a language placement examination or secure departmental approval to receive degree credit and enter at a higher level.

A student who does not wish to continue with a language in which she has been placed may begin the study of a new language.

Information about Language Placement Examinations is available at the Office of the Registrar; the examination dates are published in the College Calendar. The examinations are evaluated and placement is made by the appropriate departments. Results are available at the Office of the Registrar.

Other Departmental Placement Examinations

Students may obtain exemption from or placement in certain courses by means of departmental placement examinations (for example, in the Mathematics and Physics departments). Information and applications for the examinations are available in departmental offices, and deadlines are particular to each department.

Make-Up Examinations During the Term

Instructors are not required to give make-up examinations to students absent from previously announced tests during the term. An instructor who is willing to give a make-up test may request a report of illness or acceptable evidence of other extenuating circumstances from the appropriate class dean in the Dean of Studies Office.

Final Examinations

No class meetings will be held on required reading days as set forth in the College Calendar. The dates for final examinations, given at the end of each term, are published in the College Calendar. Exact times and room numbers for individual examinations are posted on the website of the Office of the Registrar at least four weeks in advance of final examinations.

Barnard examinations are given under the Honor Code, which states that a student should not ask for, give, or receive help in examinations, nor should she use papers or books in a manner not authorized by the instructor. She should not present work that is not entirely her own except in such a way as may be approved by the instructor. Under the Honor Code, faculty members are expected to report any violation to the Dean of Studies.

A student who wishes to leave the room before the end of the examination period will submit her blue books to the instructor. If a student becomes ill during the course of the examination, she must notify the instructor and go to the College Physician, Brooks Hall, Lower Level. If less than an hour has expired, a grade of DEF will be recorded on the transcript and she will take a deferred examination. If a student remains for more than one hour of a three-hour examination or more than 40 minutes of a two-hour examination, she will be graded on the work she has completed, with the uncompleted work scored as 0.

Deferred Final Examinations

Deferred final examinations, given in September and January (see College Calendar), are permitted only for those students who were absent from the regular examinations for reasons of illness or emergency and who have received authorization from their instructors and the Dean of Studies Office.

Requests for absence from final exams for reasons of health or other emergencies must be reported to the instructor and to the Dean of Studies Office in person or by telephone on the day of the examination.

Examinations missed in December are to be taken the following January or, in cases of prolonged illness, in September of the same year. Those missed in May are to be taken in September of the same year. If a student absents herself without a compelling and valid excuse from a final or deferred examination, she will receive a grade of zero for that examination.

Applications for deferred examinations are filed with the Office of the Registrar. A payment of a $10 handling fee for each examination must accompany the application.

Examinations for Students with Disabilities

Individual arrangements can be made for disabled students unable to take examinations in the usual manner. Disabled students are normally expected to take their exams with the rest of the class, with disability-related modifications as needed. Students with disabilities who require nonstandard administration should consult with their instructors and the Director for Disability Services about reasonable accommodations. Students should obtain copies of the Test Accommodations Form in Room 105 Hewitt and return them at the beginning of each semester.