Barnard College Barnard College

Spring 2024 Academic Policies and Procedures

Current as of May 6, 2024

Final Exams

All faculty at Barnard and Columbia have been asked to make final exams fully remote. Faculty may also, at their discretion, make adjustments to their syllabi and/or plans for assessments. Students should expect to hear from faculty members in the coming days regarding their updated plans for their courses, including updates to final exams and assessments.

All exams scheduled for Friday, May 3, will automatically be rescheduled for Friday, May 10. This applies to both Barnard and Columbia classes. Days/times for Barnard and Columbia timed exams--although please be sure to also reference any updated information provided by the course’s instructor.

Deadlines for Assessments

Any deadlines for final papers, presentations, projects, or take-home exams that currently fall during this week (through Friday, May 3), will be extended to at least Monday, May 6. Note that deadlines may not be extended after Friday, May 10. Please review the “Incompletes and Deferred Exams” section below if you have concerns about finishing your work within your professor’s updated deadline(s). If you fall ill on the day of an exam, please refer to the deferred exam process outlined below.

Pass/D/Fail

  • In alignment with Columbia, Barnard will change our Spring 2024 PDF policy to the following:
  • The deadline to finalize your P/D/F elections has been extended to Wednesday, May 22, 2024 for graduating seniors and September 13, 2024 for continuing students. 
  • Barnard students may elect up to two of their current courses Pass/D/Fail in any course, including in the major and minor, with the below exceptions: 
    • Students may not elect Pass/D/Fail in the Senior Capstone experience. We have made an exception to this policy for the senior capstone course because it is central to the Barnard experience and a cornerstone of many academic departments.
    • Students on the Urban Teaching certification track may not Pass/D/Fail any courses required for teaching certification. 
  • Continuing students will be given until the second week of the Fall 2024 semester (September 13, 2024) to elect or revoke/change the Pass/D/Fail option for a Spring 2024 class, including uncovering a P grade.  We will share further details on how to modify your P/D/F elections in early June. 
  • Students graduating in May 2024 will have until May 22, 2024, to elect or revoke/change the Pass/D/Fail option for a Spring 2024 class, including uncovering a P grade. Further details will be shared in a follow-up email later this week.  
  • It is important to remember that there are situations in which it may not be desirable or beneficial for students to use the Pass/D/Fail option for particular courses of study. The notation of a “P” on a transcript can be read differently by different audiences — e.g., within a department or program, within a school, by admissions programs of graduate and professional programs, by employers. Given the amount of time you will have to make these decisions, we strongly encourage you to talk with your academic advisers — including your pre-major or major adviser(s), class deans, your advisers for graduate programs and pre-professional schools, and your career advisers — about these choices to ensure that you're taking into account not only your current circumstances but also your cumulative record and your future plans.

Course Evaluations

Course evaluations for the spring semester 2024 closed on May 2, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. This deadline was announced several times in emails to students. In recognition of the difficulties students are facing this semester, all students will be able to access their grades for spring 2024 on the same timetable, regardless of whether they have completed the course evaluations. Please note that this exception is for the current spring 2024 semester only.

Honor Code and Academic Standing

We remind you that students are bound by Barnard’s Honor Code, which applies in situations of remote learning and assessments in the same ways it does for in-person exams.

Please be advised that all students should be aware of Barnard’s academic standing policy (please scroll down on this page to “Academic Standing and Degree Progress”) and how incomplete grades, deferred exams and/or withdrawal grades may impact a student’s academic standing. To discuss your academic standing, please contact your class dean.

Incompletes and Deferred Exams

Incompletes

Incompletes are to be given only in cases of illness, personal emergency, or other compelling circumstances. If you need to request an Incomplete, please be in touch with your faculty member via email to obtain their approval. From there, you will need to submit an Incomplete Request Form in Slate, including uploading email confirmation from your instructor.

For students who are not graduating in May 2024, the deadline to request an incomplete grade has been extended to May 10. Any graduating seniors who need to request an incomplete should be in touch with their class dean to discuss possible options.
 
As a reminder, the official College deadline for completing Spring 2024 Incomplete coursework is Tuesday, September 3, 2024. Individual faculty may also set an earlier deadline for the work to be completed. For more information, visit https://barnard.edu/registrar/grades-exams and scroll down to "Incomplete Grades."

Deferred Exams

Students may defer an exam due to illness or personal emergency on the day of the exam. If you need to request a deferral please fill out the Deferred Exam Form and review the procedures listed on Grades & Exams (scroll down to "Final and Deferred Exams.") Please be aware that deferred exams cannot be requested in advance of exam week.

Illness During Exam

If you become ill during an in-person or proctored remote examination:
a) inform the proctor
b) hand in the exam, and
c) call Primary Care Health Services at 212-854-2091 to make an appointment.

If you've completed less than 40 minutes of a two-hour exam or less than one hour of a three-hour exam, you qualify for a deferred exam (see above.) If you leave the exam more than 40 minutes into a two-hour exam or more than an hour into a three-hour exam, you'll be graded on the basis of the work you've completed to that point. If you are ill for any unproctored or take-home exams, please refer to “Deferred Exams” above.

Resources

Barnard is providing additional support for students’ emotional, academic and overall well-being as described below:

The Rosemary Furman Counseling Center:

Furman Counseling Center is located on the first floor of Hewitt Hall
Hours: Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm
Walk-in hours 10am to 4pm or call 212-854-2092
All other appointments as previously scheduled

Primary Care Health Services:

PCHS is located in Reid Lower Level (Basement)
Hours: Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm
Walk-in hours 10am to 4pm or call 212-854-2091
Other appointments as scheduled previously

Wellness Spot:

The Wellness Spot is located at 119 Reid Hall (first floor of the Quad)
Staff Open Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 1pm to 4pm

Deans’ Office for Advising and Support (Class Deans):

Students with an academic issue or who don’t know where to go are encouraged to reach out to their class dean by accessing this site https://barnard.edu/doas/staff, which includes links to individual youcanbookme sites for deans. If you cannot find an appointment online, please email dos@barnard.edu, and someone in the dean’s office will fit you in to an appointment as soon as possible.

Student Experience and Engagement:

Student Experience and Engagement (SEE), located on the 3rd floor of the Diana Center, invites students to drop in from 10:30am - 3pm on Thursday, May 2 for snacks and community.

Center for Engaged Pedagogy (CEP):

CEP will hold drop-in hours for students in 126 Milstein with snacks and study supplies from 2-4pm on Thursday, May 2 and 10am-12pm on Friday, May 3. Please also reach out to the CEP directly at pedagogy@barnard.edu (or by contacting a CEP staff member) if you have questions about where to go or who to contact about your questions navigating the end of the year. The CEP is there to support you as students (e.g., with studying strategies under challenging circumstances) and as people (e.g., how to prioritize self and community care).