Fall 2025 Exam Period is December 6th – 15th

Exam Schedule (will be posted in October)

Seating Plan (will be posted in November) 

Accommodations Request for Accessibility Services

Students registered with Accessibility Services who require exam accommodations must submit the Final Exam Accommodation Request Form by March 15th for April exams and November 15th for December exams. Requests submitted after the 15th of March/November cannot be taken into consideration.

If the following content is not accessible to you please contact accessibilityservices@msvu.ca

Final Exam Accommodation Request Form (link now closed)

Final Examinations and Power Outages

If a final examination is cancelled due to a documented power outage, the Registrar’s Office will reschedule the cancelled examination in collaboration with the course instructor as soon as possible after the original examination.

If a final examination is impacted by an unexpected wide-spread power outage while the examination is in progress, a course instructor must advise the Registrar’s Office if a full or partial sitting of the scheduled examination must be rescheduled. Registrar’s Office staff will work collaboratively with the course instructor to reschedule the exam (full or partial) as soon as possible after the original examination.

If a final examination is impacted by an unexpected localized power outage while the examination is in progress, a student must advise the course instructor by email and the Registrar’s Office (exams@msvu.ca) as soon as possible. A student will be required to provide evidence (NS Power -confirmation of power disruption) of the power outage. If appropriate, Registrar’s Office staff will work collaboratively with a course instructor to reschedule the exam (in full or partial) as soon as possible after the original examination.

If you miss an examination, you must inform the Registrar’s Office by completing the Missed Exam Report (link below) within 48 hours of the missed examination and provide valid supporting documentation to the Registrar’s Office.

Missed Exam Report (link now closed)

Please email any questions to exams@msvu.ca

The procedures relating to the administration of final examinations are detailed in Senate Policy – Final Examinations, Policy and Procedures (policy Number: CAPP 2022-01). The policy can be found on the University website under Senate Policies.

The Final Examinations, Policy and Procedures policy details the following:

• scheduling of final examinations;
• final examination scheduling conflicts;
• missed final examinations;
• rescheduled final examinations;
• accommodations for final examinations;
• preparation and distribution of final examinations;
• proctoring of final examinations;
• canceled final examinations.

Final Examinations (General Information)

• The Registrar’s Office is responsible for managing the administration of final examinations. Please email exams@msvu.ca if you have any questions regarding the administration of final examinations.
• In accordance with Senate Guidelines for Setting Academic Calendar Dates, a final examination period of between eight and ten days will be scheduled in both the Fall and Winter terms.
• No formal final examination period is scheduled for Summer Session courses.
• No tests or exams worth more than 20 percent of a course grade shall be held in the last two weeks of classes in the Fall and Winter terms prior to the scheduled final examination period.
• A final examination must never provide more than 50 percent of the total mark for a course.

1.   An examination will normally be required for every course taught at the University.

2.   There will be an examination period at the end of each term during which all examinations will be written as scheduled by the Registrar’s Office. Instructors may not schedule examinations outside of this examination period including the reading day. Please note: The Registrar’s Office administers examinations for the fall and winter terms. Examinations during the summer terms are managed by the individual faculty member.

3.   The value of the examination must be at least 30 percent of the work of the term, the exact value of each examination to be determined by the instructor in consultation with the department.

4.   An examination must never provide more than 50 percent of the total mark for a course.

5.   With the exception of Practica, Co-op, Internships and Work Experience terms, all students, including those in labs and pass/fail courses, must receive written feedback from instructors before the deadline for withdrawing without academic penalty.

6.   The form of the examination—oral, multiple choice, open book, essay, etc.—will be the prerogative of the instructor in consultation with the department.

7.   Exemptions for giving an examination in a course are subject to departmental policy on examinations and reporting. If a course is exempt from examination, this must be stated in the course outline, and the Registrar’s Office must be informed of the exemption.

8.   No tests will be held nor assignments made due during the final two weeks of any academic term unless these tests and formal assignments are included on the course outline distributed at the beginning of each academic term. Examination scheduling is covered in items 2 and 7 above.

9.   Grades for all courses having examinations must be received in the Registrar’s Office five days after the scheduled examination day.

10. Students are cautioned to not make travel arrangements until exams are completed during the examination period as end of term travel plans are not a valid reason to miss an examination.

11. Students are not permitted to write examinations prior to the regularly scheduled examination for their class. In the case of online courses with proctored exams, students who live within 100 km of the Mount must write their examination(s) on campus during the scheduled time.

General Exam Rules for Students

1. Nothing may be taken to the student’s seat except materials authorized for the examination.
2. Anything which is not authorized by the instructor or chief proctor must be left at the front of the examination room. Such items include (but are not limited to) jackets, backpacks, textbooks, notes and purses.
3. Unauthorized computing, data storage, and communication devices must be turned off and left at the front of the examination room.
4. In the case of open-book exams, students will be permitted to have material at their seats that has been pre-authorized by their instructor.
5. Calculators may be used only at the discretion of the instructor.
6. With the exception of clear plastic water bottles with no writing on them, food and beverages are not permitted in the examination room.
7. Students are not permitted to wear brimmed hats while writing exams.
8. There will be no talking in the examination room.
9. Students must display their valid Mount Saint Vincent University Student ID Card during each exam.
10. Students may begin their exams as soon as they are seated; however, shortly after they begin their exams, a sheet will be circulated on which they must write their name beside the appropriate seat number.
11. No student may leave the examination room during the first twenty minutes of the exam. Latecomers will be admitted to the examination room only during the first twenty minutes.
12. Students requiring assistance should raise their hands and not leave their seats.
13. When students have finished their exam, they should write their row and seat number on the cover of the examination booklets, hand their exams to one of the proctors and sign the attendance sheet for their course. Students may be required to show their valid Mount Saint Vincent University Student ID Card at this time.
14. Students found communicating with one another in any way or under any pretext; having unauthorized books, papers, electronic computing devices, data storage, or communication devices in view, even if their use is not proved; or found cheating in any way will be reported by the Chief Proctor to the course instructor and the Registrar’s Office. Procedures for Academic Offences will be followed.
15. If a student misses an examination due to illness, she/he must inform the Registrar’s Office within 48 hours of the missed examination and submit a medical certificate from a physician, directly to the Registrar’s Office.

Download the PDF version of these rules.

Accommodations Request for Accessibility Services

Students registered with Accessibility Services who require exam accommodations must submit the Final Exam Accommodation Request Form by March 15th for April exams and November 15th for December exams. Requests submitted after the 15th of March/November cannot be taken into consideration.

If the following content is not accessible to you please contact accessibilityservices@msvu.ca

Final Exam Accommodation Request Form (link now closed)

Exam Conflicts

An exam conflict is when you have

• two exams scheduled to be written at the same time
• a work commitment or medical appointment that cannot be changed (supporting documentation required)
• are scheduled to write three exams in a row (three consecutive writing times – morning, afternoon, evening or afternoon, evening and the next morning or evening, the next morning and afternoon)

An exam conflict form must be completed and submitted to the Registrar’s Office prior to the deadline.

Complete the Exam Conflict Form and submit by March 15th for April exams and November 15th for December exams. Please note that documentation may be required. Once the form has been completed, you will receive an email confirming it has been successfully received. If you do not receive an email confirmation, please contact the Registrar’s Office immediately.

Exam Conflict Form  (link now closed)

External Exam Time-slots:

• Fridays – 9:00am – 12:00pm
  
  (Please note that we do not book external examinations during our formal exam periods.)

Invigilation Fees:

The standard charge for invigilation services (payable by cash, credit or debit on exam day) are:

• exams up to 3 hours = $80 per exam*
• exams exceeding 4 hours = $140 per exam*
  
  No Shows and cancellations with less than 48 hours notice are subject to 100% fee. This fee is required to be paid prior to scheduling any future exams with our test centre.

As per the invigilator agreement between you and your home institution, you may also be responsible for the cost of postage or courier fees.

*fees may vary

How to Book an Exam Time

To request an exam time please email exams@msvu.ca and include the following information:

• your name
• the name of the institution you are taking the course with (please note that we are unable to invigilate online exams. The exam must be a paper-based exam.)
• the duration of the exam
• when you would like to write the exam (date preference)
• contact phone number

You will receive a confirmation email with the exam date and time and any necessary instructions once we have booked your exam.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your exam is delivered here.

You must arrange for exam materials to be delivered to the Functional Analyst at:
Registrar’s Office
Mount Saint Vincent University
ATTN: Functional Analyst
Room 207, 166 Bedford Highway
Halifax, NS B3M 2J6
Fax: (902) 457-6498

Or by email to exams@msvu.ca

What to do on Exam Day

A day or two before your exam day, contact the office to ensure that your exam has arrived from the other institution. On the day of your exam, you must arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled start time and report to the location indicated in your confirmation email. View campus map

We require government or institution-issued photo identification (driver’s license, passport, student ID card) and some institutions require us to view two pieces of identification. If you are writing an external exam at our test centre, please check with your home institution and come prepared.

Parking on Campus

The Mount’s new parking app, HotSpot, lets you pay for parking from your phone, fast tap sign or computer. No more waiting in line, just pull up the app and put some time on your virtual parking meter. For more information on parking on campus, please click here.

Please note: Mount Saint Vincent University campus is private property. Mount Security staff are authorized to issue tickets to enforce parking regulations. The minimum fine for parking infractions is $20.00. 

Still have questions? Please feel free to email exams@msvu.ca

Please refer to the Writing Exams at a Proctor Site webpage for step by step instructions.