Bryn Mawr College

For Faculty: Course Deadlines

 

Course deadlines other than those established by the College's Faculty Rules (listed below) are entirely a matter for your own decision.  We do remind you that announcing deadlines for papers and other forms of written work clearly, repeatedly, and well in advance can prevent a good deal of misunderstanding and confusion.  It is best if deadlines can be announced in writing as part of your syllabus or on assignment sheets.

College deadlines are announced each semester by the Registrar.  The College Calendar, under Faculty Rules, recognizes three deadlines:  The deadline for written work, the deadline for exams and paper in lieu of exams, and the Senior deadline.

The Deadline for Written Work (5:00 p.m. on the last day on which classes are held) applies to all written work assigned in courses except final exams or papers assigned in lieu of final exam.  All other essays, exercises, projects, reports, problem sets, and other forms of written work are due at this time.  The intention of this deadline is to ensure that students have only one major commitment in each of their courses during exam period and to protect their ability to concentrate on their finals. 

We strongly encourage you to make use of the exam period. Students have signed on for 15- or 16-week educational experience, one that extends beyond the end of classes.  If you have assigned students a final paper and no exam, we encourage you to allow students to work on that paper throughout the exam week and to set the last day of exams as the deadline.

Under faculty rules, all self-scheduled examinations and papers assigned in lieu of exams are due at 12:30 p.m. on the last day for exams.  If you assign take-home exams or papers in lieu of exams, please make them due at this time.  Doing so allows each student to take responsibility for organizing her own schedule and setting her own interim deadlines during the finals period.  Imposing earlier deadlines on take-home exams or papers in lieu of exams undermines this process, and the Dean's Office cannot help enforce such deadlines.

Senior Deadlines:  Each spring, the Registrar announces Senior deadlines which apply to any students enrolled in your courses who plan to take the degree in May.  These deadlines need to be earlier than the regular deadlines to allow for time to process senior grades before Commencement.  If for any reason you cannot supply a grade for a senior on time, she will be prevented from graduating.  It is useful if you remind seniors of this early and often.