Medical School Academic Resources: Quiz Deferral Policy

Student Organizations

Academic Resources: Quiz Deferral Policy 2000-2001

University of Michigan Medical School
Office of Student Programs
1301 Catherine Street
C5105 Medical Science Building I
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0611
(734) 763-2172

The expectation is that all students will prepare for and take all quizzes as scheduled. The faculty and administration realize that circumstances do arise in students' lives that may at times interfere with an individual student being able to take a quiz at the scheduled time. For this reason the following quiz deferral guidelines have been written.

Reasons for deferral
Students may defer a quiz for any of the acceptable reasons outlined below. The student must supply the Office of Student Programs with the reason for the quiz deferral, and must follow the guidelines outlined below.
Acceptable reasons for quiz deferral can be divided into those that happen emergently and cannot be planned for, and those for which we expect you to make arrangements ahead of time.

Emergent reasons include:

Illness
Death of a family member or close friend
Family emergencies
Births
Personal emergencies or traumas
Conference attendance
MSTP activities
Religious Holidays or other religious obligations
Planned travel or personal events (such as weddings in the family or of close friends).

The faculty will not accept being unprepared or oversleeping as a reason to defer a quiz. The expectation is that students will prepare for and take their quizzes and exams as scheduled. The quiz deferral policy was created for students who have legitimate reasons to delay taking a quiz whether these be due to illness, emergencies or personal plans. It is not designed to give students an extra few days to study for a given quiz. B. Procedures for deferral

Emergency deferral

If an emergent reason for a deferral arises, the student must notify the Office of Student Programs as soon as possible, but no later than 5 PM the day of the quiz. Upon the student's call, a pink quiz deferral request form will be initiated. This form will be reviewed and signed by one of the academic counselors. If for some reason the counselor denies the request, it will be forwarded to the Associate Dean for final approval/denial. The expectation is that if the reason falls into the general categories listed above, it will be approved. Except for extraordinary circumstances, if the Office of Student Programs is not notified by 5 PM on the day of the quiz, the student will not be allowed to take the quiz and will receive a score of 0%.

Planned Deferral

In all other situations, deferral requests must be completed and signed by one of the academic counselors prior to the quiz, and the expectation is that deferrals for these planned events will be made far in advance. For Monday morning quizzes, this must be done before 3 PM Friday. The student should come to the Office of Student Programs and fill out a pink quiz deferral form, with an explanation of the reason for his or her request. This form must then be approved by one of the academic counselors. It is the student's responsibility to initiate this paper work in a timely fashion. If the form is not completed by 3 PM Friday, deferral of the quiz will not be allowed.

Students who are allowed to defer a scheduled Monday quiz are expected to take the quiz at noon on Thursday in the OSP conference room unless notified otherwise.

While there is no limit on the number of deferrals any student will be allowed, the faculty expect that no student should need more than two quiz deferrals in the course of a school year. The Associate Dean for Student Programs will monitor all deferral requests and will meet with students who request three or more to discuss the student's professional responsibilities.

There is no formal policy for Exam deferral. All requests to take an exam at other than the scheduled time must be discussed directly with the Associate Dean for Student Programs. The Associate Dean will decide on a case by case basis whether the student will be allowed to take the exam at an alternate time.

Additional policies related to examinations are found in the Policies and Procedures for Medical Student Evaluation, Advancement and Graduation. If you have questions, call your academic counselor at 764-0219.