Honor Code Frequently Asked Questions

• Go to Guild Hall, 2nd floor for exam pick-up and return.
• Arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of the exam session. 
• You will be asked to fill out a blue card with your name and the course name and number for the self-scheduled exam.
• Go into room 203 where the exam envelopes are organized by department.  Hand your card to the proctor who will give you your exam.  Check the label on the exam envelope to be sure you have the exam you want. 
• Exams may be taken in Taylor Hall classrooms, or designated rooms in the Park Science Building. 
• Select a room, find a seat, and circle your location on the exam envelope
• Blank exam booklets are available in each exam room if needed.
• Wait until the beginning of the exam session to open the exam envelope. Indicate your start time on the exam envelope.
• It is your responsibility to keep track of your exam time. Note: If you arrive late to an exam, you may not extend time to make up for lost time.
• Once you have completed your exam, write the time you finished it on the outside of the envelope, put all exam materials – exam, blue books, scratch paper, etc – into the exam envelope.
• Return the exam to Guild Hall 2nd floor room 203
• You must turn in your exam within 10 minutes of 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

Pick up and return exams to the upper level of Guild Hall (Room 203).  Plan on arriving several minutes prior to your exam time to allow for time to go to the exam room.

Self-scheduled exams can be taken in the following rooms:

• Taylor    B*, C, D, E, F, G, & Seminar
• Park      180, 278, or 300*

*denotes open book/open note only

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 Procedures:

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 only in Taylor classrooms or in Park 180, 278, or 300.  Taking a self-scheduled exam anywhere else is prohibited.
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 300.  No books, notes, 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 proctors in Guild Hall. 
5. There is no talking in the exam rooms during exam periods.  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 proctors in Guild Hall.  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.
    • 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.
    • 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 overseeing the test session 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.
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!