Honor Code Frequently Asked Questions

The following procedures apply to all individuals taking final exams at Bryn Mawr College. Instructions for individuals with testing accommodations can be found on the Access Services webpage.

Self-Scheduled Exam Procedure: 

• Important Locations:
  • Exam Distribution & Collection Room located at Guild Hall, Room 203
  • Exam Locations:
    • Taylor Hall – Classrooms C,D,E,F,G and Seminar
    • Park Science Building—Rooms 243 and 338
  • Open Book/Note Exam ONLY Locations: Park 336, Park 337, and Taylor Hall Classroom B
• Prior to Exam:
  • Utilize Exam Schedules to plan ahead: Bryn Mawr Exam Schedule and/or Haverford Exam Schedule.
  • Plan to arrive at the Exam Distribution & Collection Room to collect your exam 15 minutes prior to the beginning of your desired exam session in anticipation of lines. Exams may be collected no later than 5 minutes after the exam session begins.
• Exam Distribution (Guild Hall, Room 203):
  • Complete a Self-Scheduled Exam Request Card located outside the Exam Distribution & Collection Room indicating the course, desired testing time and location, and exam type.
  • Present your completed Self-Scheduled Exam Request Card to the Exam Distributor in exchange for your exam envelope.
• Once you have received your exam envelope, report directly to your test location. If you arrive late for an exam, you may not extend time to make up for lost time. It is your responsibility to keep track of your exam time, proctors are not responsible for informing you of the start or end of any given exam session. 
• Exam Collections (Guild Hall, Room 203):
  • Report to the Exam Distribution & Collection Room to return your completed exam
  • Exams must be returned no later than 5 minutes following the end of the exam session.

Proctors are available in Taylor and Park during the exam periods – they are there to help you!

• If you notice an issue with the exam – missing a page, skips a question number, etc. – ask a proctor to call the Registrar’s Office – we will be able to assist you.
• If you feel unwell, DON’T WORRY
  • make a note of the time you stopped taking the exam on the exam envelope
  • tell the student proctor you are not feeling well and give them your exam
  • Return to your room – or the Health Center if appropriate
  • please email your instructor, dean and registrar@brynmawr.edu
  • Do not study further for the exam
  • We will be in touch to plan next steps

• Important Locations:
  • Exam Distribution & Collection Room located at Guild Hall, Room 203
  • Exam Locations:
    • Taylor Hall – Classrooms C,D,E,F,G and Seminar
    • Park Science Building—Rooms 243 and 338
  • Open Book/Note Exam ONLY Locations: Park 336, Park 337, and Taylor Hall Classroom B
• Prior to Exam:
  • Utilize Exam Schedules to plan ahead: Bryn Mawr Exam Schedule and/or Haverford Exam Schedule.
  • Plan to arrive at the Exam Distribution & Collection Room to collect your exam 15 minutes prior to the beginning of your desired exam session in anticipation of lines. Exams may be collected no later than 5 minutes after the exam session begins.
• Exam Distribution (Guild Hall, Room 203):
  • Complete a Self-Scheduled Exam Request Card located outside the Exam Distribution & Collection Room indicating the course, desired testing time and location, and exam type.
  • Present your completed Self-Scheduled Exam Request Card to the Exam Distributor in exchange for your exam envelope.

Note: Students receiving accommodations please visit the Access Services section to review self-scheduled exam times and instructions.

If you wake up on your scheduled exam day (self-scheduled or instructor-scheduled) with symptoms of COVID-19, you should stay home and contact the Health and Wellness Center. Requesting extensions and rescheduling exams require communication. Once you have determined that you have symptoms of COVID-19 and are going to stay home from your exam, email your dean and your instructor to let them know.

Note: According to college policy, if symptoms resolve within 24 hours, individuals can return to campus activities, and if symptoms persist longer than 24 hours, individuals should not return to campus activities unless cleared by a medical provider.

Honor Code Exam Policies:

1. Don’t open exam envelopes or write in bluebooks until the 3-hour exam period officially begins.
2. Self-scheduled exams must be taken in Taylor C,D,E,F,G and Seminar or in Park Science Building Room 243 or 338 only; all other locations are prohibited, unless you have documented accommodations that include a separate test-taking environment
3. Exams requiring books, notes, foreign language dictionaries, or other materials are considered “open book exams” and may only be taken in Taylor B or Park 336 or 337.  No books, notes, laptops, or other materials are allowed in the other Taylor or Park exam rooms.  However, calculators are permitted in all exam rooms. 
4. Exams must be picked up at the beginning of the exam period. Self-scheduled exams are three hours long unless your instructor has specified a shorter time limit.  If you finish the exam early, return your exam to the Exam Distribution and Collection Room. 
5. There is no talking in the exam rooms during exam periods.  To respect the concentration of other exam takers, please try not to make a lot of noise.
6. Either when you are finished with the exam, or at the end of the exam period, put all of the used bluebooks and exam questions (including the bluebooks in which you have written any notes during the exam) back into the exam envelope and return the envelope to the Exam Distribution and Collection Room.  If you fail to do so, you will receive an incomplete in the course and will be asked to report yourself to the Head of Honor Board.
7. According to faculty rules, failure to take or return a final exam results in an automatic failure of that exam, not necessarily the course. Please consult with your professors for course-specific information regarding when your exams are due.
8. You may leave the exam room to take a break during the exam.  However, you may not take any books, notes, or exam materials with you, nor may you add any time to the end of the period in order to recover lost time.
9. Typing of exams may be done only in designated rooms and only by prior arrangement with the Registrar’s Office.

10. Once you have opened your exam envelope, you are required to turn in the exam at the end of the period, except under the following exceptional circumstances: (a) illness, (b) an incomplete or wrong exam.

1. If you become ill while taking an exam, do not panic.  Record the time at which you had to stop taking the exam and report the situation to the proctor in your examination building.  Give them all your used bluebooks, the exam questions, and the envelope. Next, you must report to the Health Center.
2. If you receive an incomplete exam or the wrong exam, record the time at which you stopped and report the situation to the proctor in your examination building.  The proctor will notify the Office of the Registrar to get you a complete and correct exam.  Please make sure you record the time you reported this to the proctor. Once you are given a correct exam, you will be allotted the same amount of time that remained in your prior exam period.

11. All Haverford, Swarthmore, and Penn students, special students, post-bacs and grad students who take undergraduate courses at Bryn Mawr are subject to Bryn Mawr’s Honor Code.  Similarly, Bryn Mawr students taking courses at other institutions are subject to their honor codes and/or exam procedures.  If you are taking a course at another institution, you should find out what the exam rules are before taking your exam. Haverford Honor Code policies can be found at the following link: https://honorcouncil.haverford.edu/the-code/

12. Arrangements for the distribution and collection of take-home exams should be made between the student and their instructor.  No work should be sent through campus mail or left outside of office doors.

13.  The Honor Code applies to all take-home exams and papers given in lieu of exams.

SELF-SCHEDULED EXAMS ARE A PRIVILEGE.  If we abuse this privilege, we will lose it.  Let’s all do our part to maintain our unique system by observing the rules of the Honor Code and by proctoring.

If you suspect that an Honor code violation may have occurred, follow the appropriate procedure outlined below.

1. Positively confront the problem by initiating a conversation with the person whose actions you question by stating your observations and asking clarifying questions in a private setting, if possible.  Listen to what they have to say in response. After the conversation has concluded, (1) if no violation seems to have occurred, there is nothing more that you need to do, or (2) if you have reason to believe that an Honor Code violation may have taken place, proceed to step two.
2. Ask the person to report themselves to the Head of the Honor Board within the next 48 hours.  If you have not received an email from the Head of Honor Board within 48 hours of the confrontation, you should contact the Honor Board Head yourself. An Honor Board report consists of a brief explanation of the confrontation and an description of the alleged violation, written in an email to honorboard@brynmawr.edu. The co-heads of the Honor Board will inquire about the situation and determine the best path forward to address the situation.
3. Remember!  Confrontations should only occur between the parties involved.  It is not in the spirit of the Code to discuss possible violations with anyone other than the student directly involved or an Honor Board member.  Remember, not every confrontation results in a hearing.  It is important to clear up misunderstandings quickly, especially since finals period is a stressful time for everyone!