The following FAQs are intended to serve as guidelines both when classes are canceled due to a change in campus operating status and after classes resume.

Academic senate leadership has posted Frequently Asked Questions for Instructors. We thought it might be helpful to rewrite them from the students’ perspective (see below).

Frequently Asked Questions for Students

During the time when classes are canceled, can my instructors expect me to do out-of-class work?

Yes. Instructors can provide online learning materials, such as recorded lectures or course notes, when classes are canceled. As best practice, instructors should not hold you responsible through examination or graded work for learning these new materials until at least 48 hours after classes resume.

Instructors can also expect you to be working on longer-term assignments, such as research papers or problem sets, if those assignments were (1) specified in the syllabus at the start of the term and (2) do not require access to materials first provided during the time when classes were canceled. If either of these conditions is not met, then deadlines should be extended.

Important: Your instructors can only give you examinations once classes resume. Your assignments can only be due once classes resume.

After classes resume, when can my instructor hold an exam?

If your instructor decides to reschedule an exam, the exam can be held during a regularly scheduled class period, given during an out-of-class time that you agree to, or switched to a take-home exam due during a regularly scheduled class time. Instructors have been asked to try to notify you at least 48 hours prior to the updated exam date. 

Can my instructor choose to drop an exam and put more weight on the rest of the graded material for the quarter?

Yes. This is at the discretion of the instructor. Instructors are encouraged, for the least disruption, to try to minimize major changes to how you will be evaluated.

What should I do if I missed an exam scheduled with the Testing Services Center (TSC) during the time when classes are canceled?

If you missed an exam scheduled with the Testing Services Center (TSC) during the time when classes are canceled, your instructor should contact them to coordinate new examination schedules. Check with your instructor to confirm that this has been done.

Can my instructor change how many hours they expect me to work?

UC Davis follows the Carnegie rule which prescribes that students are expected to complete three total hours of work per week (including in-class and out-of-class time) for each course unit. Thus, for a 4-unit class, you are expected to complete a total of 12 hours of work per week. Instructors must continue to respect the weekly work expectations for their courses once classes resume. As a result, if your instructor plans to add activities or material from canceled class days to the remaining two weeks that classes are in session, they have been asked to adjust (if necessary) the expectation of time planned for their originally scheduled activities.