Student Information

You must have a Queen’s Student Photo ID Card to gain entrance to an exam room for all of your exams.  

Missing Queen's Student Photo ID

Students writing an exam without a Queen's Student Photo ID card will be assessed an administrative fee of $50 per exam.

• Exception: Distance Studies students admitted prior to summer of 2020 who have not been issued a student card by the Office of the University Registrar will be subject to the process as outlined in Steps 1, 2, and 3 below, but if no student card has been issued, no charge will be levied
• Distance Studies students admitted summer of 2020 and after are sent an email asking them to upload their photos and an activity guide is assigned in SOLUS in their ‘To Do’ tile.  Their photo ID student card is mailed.  If students do not upload their photos the $50. per exam fee applies. 

Missing Student Photo ID Procedure

• If a student does not have a Queen’s Student Photo ID Card at an exam, the following procedure will apply:

1. The student’s attendance card will be stamped "NO QUEEN’S PHOTO ID"
2. The student will be directed by a proctor to the Head Proctor, or Associate Proctor, who will take a photograph of the student. The student will be asked to put their name, student number, course, and number of the exam on a form. The personal information on the form is collected under the Royal Charter of 1841, as amended. The information collected will be used by the Office of the University Registrar to verify the identity of students who did not bring their Queen's Student Photo ID to a mid-year or final examination
3. The Exams Office will have the photo checked against the University's Photo Identification computer picture to verify that the student is actively registered in the course. If any discrepancies are found, the Exams Office will notify the professor of the course
4. An administrative fee of $50 per exam will be charged and added as a debt the following working day after the exam(s) is written. The Senate Policy on Student Debtors applies. You may pay this fee:
   • In person in the Office of the University Registrar, Gordon Hall, Rm. 125 (cash, cheque, debit or money order only), or
   • By mailing your cheque to: Exams Administrator, Office of the University Registrar, Rm. 110, Gordon Hall, 74 Union St., Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6
   • Please make your cheque or money order payable to Queen’s University and in the memo section of your cheque indicate the
   • following ‘your student number/MID Fine’
5. Online, telephone, or ABM banking – details available at: https://www.queensu.ca/registrar/tuition-fees/how-to-pay 

Any student arriving at an exam hall after the beginning of an exam will receive only the remaining time in which to write the exam.

• The late student's paper will be marked only at the discretion of the faculty
• No student will be allowed to leave the exam hall within thirty minutes of the start time of the exam
• Students who have not left their exam table prior to the final fifteen minutes of the exam will be required to remain at their exam table until dismissed by the Head Proctor

A student shall not remove any material issued for the examination from the examination hall. Each student must submit all issued materials before leaving the exam hall.

Permissible Items

• Students should only bring essential items to the exam: student card, writing utensils, or authorized aids for that exam
• Beverages are permitted in an exam venue, provided the drink is brought in a re-sealable container (items such as cans and/or disposable coffee cups are prohibited)
• Coats are permitted into the exam hall as follows:
  • Students may wear their coats into the exam room, and they may be placed on the back of the chair
  • If for any reason the coat impedes traffic in the aisle behind the chair, students will be required to adjust the placement of the coat to ensure safety standards are met
    • Proctors may advise students of impediments, and students are to follow the direction of the proctors regarding coat placement
• Students are permitted only a Casio FX991 calculator for regular exams and only a Casio FX991 or Commerce-approved calculator for Commerce exams. For more information, please refer to this Senate Policy.

Non-Permissible Items

• Textbooks, notes, books of tables, data sheets, graphs, paper, written material, calculators, etc., may not be taken into the exam hall unless authorized by the instructor in writing at least 3 days before the exam
• Food is not permitted in an exam hall
• The use of communication and electronic devices with memory, audio capabilities, web access, or recording or playback capabilities are prohibited during an examination. All electronic devices must be turned off and placed underneath the student’s seat and must not be used for any reason
• All bags, including Queen’s red bags, handbags, purses and backpacks are not permitted in an exam room, and must be left in the hallway at your own risk. The university assumes no responsibility for personal property lost in or near an examination

It is recommended that students who are ill on the day of an examination not write the examination. Students should seek health services, if needed, and follow up with their home faculty/school.

In these circumstances, students must submit a consideration request to the relevant faculty of the exam in the course concerned. More information can be found on the Student Wellness Services website under Extenuating Circumstances (https://www.queensu.ca/studentwellness/forms).

• Students who experience an unexpected illness during an examination must notify a proctor prior to leaving so the student's home faculty/school can be informed of the event with an incident report
• When students leave an examination without notifying a proctor of an unexpected illness, it will be assumed that they completed the exam

Safety threats in exam halls will be thoroughly and diligently assessed and occupants of the building will be informed if the circumstances warrant.

• Exams that are evacuated with more than 30 minutes remaining in the exam period will resume if the venue is declared safe within a reasonable amount of time
• Instructors will be notified as soon as possible and will have the responsibility to decide how to deal with the interruption and its effect on the exam.
• In all cases, information will be posted on the departmental web site as soon as possible after a disrupted exam

Evacuation Policy

If your exam is disrupted please check your faculty website, email your instructor, or check the course website for any instructions. Access the different faculties and departments at Queen's.

Please do not email the Exams Office. We do not have any information.

Cancellation for Inclement Weather

If adverse weather conditions cause a closure of the university, then an announcement of the official decision to close will be posted on the university’s website at www.queensu.ca.   

A posted official announcement of the closure means that all examinations scheduled for that particular day (or part thereof) are also cancelled. 

If an examination is cancelled, the instructor of the course will have the authority to decide how to deal with the cancellation of the exam and its effect on the course. Information will be posted on the department/faculty website as soon as possible after the cancellation.

Queen's University Policy on Academic Integrity

The policy is intended to supplement the policy on Academic Dishonesty presently found in university calendars and posted at Academic Integrity @ Queen's.

• Breaches of academic integrity are considered unacceptable at Queen’s
• Students who commit such an offence face a range of sanctions including course failure or university withdrawal

The following are some examples of activities that are prohibited during an exam:

• Impersonating another student
• Copying from another student
• Making information available to another student
• Communicating with another student, or
• Using unauthorized material

All breaches of academic integrity will be reported in writing by the Head Proctor to the instructor of the course, the Dean of the relevant faculty, and the Exams Office.

Pillars of Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is fundamental to all scholarly activities, including examinations.

Queen's University adheres to the definition provided by the Centre for Academic Integrity, namely, that academic integrity is made up of the five core values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.

• Honesty appears in presenting one's own work and in acknowledging dependence on the words or ideas of another
• Trust promotes belief in the value and meaning of an institution's scholarship and degrees
• Fairness is embodied in clear standards, practices and procedures. Respect is shown by participating in academic activities to the best of one's abilities
• Responsibility requires one to accept personal accountability for upholding academic integrity

The Queen's University Policy on Academic Integrity is intended to supplement the policy on Academic Dishonesty presently found in University calendars and posted on the web at Academic Integrity @ Queen's.

Students can view their exam schedule in the SOLUS Student Centre by selecting the “Exam Schedule” tile. It contains both the times and on-campus locations of each exam session.

Off-Campus Locations for your Distance Studies Course

• Exam locations only reflect the Kingston location
• If you have arranged to write your exam remotely, check your class schedule to confirm your exam centre location is listed as “Online Proctor”
• Any questions about remote exams can be directed to aso.exams@queensu.ca

An Exam Conflict is defined by a student's exam timetable containing any of the following:

• Two (2) exams at the same time
• An exam in three (3) consecutive exam slots (see below)
• An exam at the same time as a religious observance

We do not make any accommodation for non-academic conflict (i.e. sporting events or wishing to return home earlier).

Examples of Consecutive Exam Slots

An exam slot refers to the morning, afternoon, or evening time of an exam sitting on exam day.

Examples of three (3) consecutive exam slots would be:

1. The morning (9 am), afternoon (2 pm), and evening (7 pm) of the same day
2. The afternoon (2 pm) and evening (7 pm) of one day, and the morning (9 am) of the next day
3. The evening (7 pm) of one day and the morning (9 am) and afternoon (2 pm) of the next day

This applies to both 2 and 3 hour exam durations.

Religious Accommodations

Students requesting accommodation on the basis of Religious Observance must read the information contained on Faith and Spiritual Life's Religious Accommodation webpage.

All requests for Religious Observance must be submitted to the Exams Office by the deadline date (see Exam Conflict Application and Deadlines below), and are authorized by the Office of Faith and Spiritual Life.

• To request a Religious Observance exam accommodation, please complete the Exam Conflict Application found below
• Students whose application has not been approved will be notified by email
• Students whose application has been approved will receive an exam accommodation notice by email with the details of the accommodation

Exam Conflict Application and Deadlines

Individual arrangements are made for each student.

To make arrangements regarding an exam conflict, a student is required to complete the Qualtrics survey here. 

The deadlines to apply for an official exam conflict are:

• November 15 (December Exams)
• March 15 (April Exams)

All exchange students whose first language is not English can apply to the Exams Office for an extra ½ hour of time to write final and mid-year exams. Students are also allowed to bring in one (1) paper language translation dictionary. Electronic dictionaries are NOT permitted.

Eligible students will be contacted after the exam schedule has been posted with instructions on how to apply. If you have not received this communication by the end of October (for December exams) or end of February (for April exams), contact the Exams Offices (exams@queensu.ca). Students must complete and submit their request by the following dates:

• November 15 (December exams)
• March 15 (April exams)

The deadline dates are firm. No applications will be accepted after the deadline date.

Students with short-term medical conditions (for example, a broken arm, sprained wrist, etc.) that require an exam accommodation should visit Health Services to determine the required accommodation.

Refer to the Student Wellness Services website for more information on Academic Consideration for Extenuating Circumstances.

Within Ventus, assessment refers to any quiz, test, or midterm.

Ventus is an opt-out system for assessment accommodations. Students are automatically opted into their accommodations and need to opt out of their accommodations if they are not required.

The Exams Office uses Ventus to manage accommodations for assessments during the term. This provides a portal for instructors to enter details of planned assessments and a portal for students registered with Student Wellness Services to manage accommodations for their assessments The Exams Office collates this data along with students’ accommodation requirements and schedules to accommodate assessments accordingly. Depending on the student’s accommodations and the format of the assessment, the accommodated assessment may be administered by either the Exams Office or the instructor; see Administration of Accommodated Assessments below.

Submitting an Accommodation Request

Your instructor will submit all assessments requiring accommodation to Ventus. This may include quizzes, tests, midterms, and any other timed assessment. This does not cover essays, group projects, or assessments that are untimed..Instructors have 2 weeks to enter assessments into Ventus, and students have 10 days to opt out of their accommodations.

Unlike previous semesters, students requiring accommodations for final and mid-year SOLUS-listed assessments will need to log into Ventus to manage their accommodations. These assessments will be entered into Ventus by the Exams Office

Accommodated assessments are scheduled at the same date and time as the rest of the class (generally during class time) unless a student's accommodation prohibits us from scheduling at that time. If an accommodated assessment must be moved, it will be moved to the nearest possible time following the originally scheduled assessment date and time. Assessments cannot be moved to accommodate personal conflicts.

Accommodations are managed through the Ventus Portal.

• Ventus
• Ventus Support

Midterm exam accommodation and Ventus info for faculty

Administration of Accommodated Exams

Paper-Based Exams

The Exams Office will administer all in-person accommodated assessments. If an instructor has not entered their assessment into Ventus by the deadline, then it is assumed that they are administering their own accommodations, and the student should reach out to their instructor to ensure they are accommodated.

All accommodations are eligible for Exams Office administration even if you do not intend to use all of your approved accommodations (e.g. you do not intend to use a computer for a math-based or multiple-choice assessment but require your extra time).

You will be writing in-person in one of the accommodated venues (Mitchell Hall or Gordon Hall). Accommodated date, time, and location will be finalized in Ventus a week (5 business days) prior to the assessment, and a reminder email will be sent to students 2 days prior to the assessment.

Cancellation Policy

If, for any reason, you will not be attending an accommodated assessment, you must cancel the assessment in Ventus at least 24 hours in advance of the start time. Students are solely responsible for making this cancellation. Failure to cancel and failure to appear may result in a charge of $45 per exam missed.

Not Approved for Exam Office Accommodation

If you have not received any communication regarding accommodations at least 5 days prior to your exam, please contact your instructor.

Online Exams

The Exams Office is unable to administer online exams in our accommodated venues. Your accommodations will be communicated to your instructor through Ventus. Please refer to information from your instructor regarding your arrangements (e.g. email, onQ announcement, etc.). If you have not received any communication regarding accommodations at least 5 days prior to your exam, please contact your instructor.

Making accommodation arrangements info for faculty

If a student does not require their accommodations for their final exams, they must opt out at least 10 days in advance of the exam date. Your exam(s) will become available through Ventus at least 3 weeks in advance of your exam date

Details regarding your accommodated arrangements will be published in Ventus 1 week prior to your exam.

Deadlines to Register for Accommodation​ for Centrally Scheduled Exams

If you require accommodations for final exams, please ensure you have registered with Student Wellness Services no later than the following deadlines:

• November 15 (December exams)
• March 15 (April exams)
• May 29 (June exams)
• July 10 (July / August exams)

It is recommended that students arrive at their exam 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

Accommodated Exam Scheduling

Accommodated exams are scheduled at the same date and time as the rest of the class unless a student's accommodation prohibits us from scheduling at that time. If an accommodated exam must be moved, it will be moved to the nearest possible time following the originally scheduled exam date and time.

Cancellation Policy

If, for any reason, you will not be attending an accommodated assessment, you must cancel the assessment in Ventus at least 24 hours in advance of the start time. Students are solely responsible for making this cancellation. Failure to cancel and failure to appear may result in a charge of $45 per exam missed.

Students having a final exam in December or April that does not appear in their SOLUS exam schedule must contact their instructor to receive accommodation.