To: all Yale College instructors
Summary: Weekend final examinations are eliminated starting fall 2025

Dear Colleagues,

I have recently approved a recommendation from the University Calendar Committee to eliminate weekend exams during the final exam period beginning this coming fall term. Weekend exams have long presented conflicts for religiously observant students and instructors, as well as for instructors with childcare needs or family commitments on the weekend.

The date of the last day of finals will not change, but to allow for the elimination of exams on the weekend, the final exam period will be split into two halves, separated by a weekend, according to the following schedule:

• The first part of reading period will run four days (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday).
• The first eight final exam slots will fall on the next three days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday), beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday and ending at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
• The second part of reading period will follow (Saturday, Sunday).
• The second eight final exam slots will fall on the next three days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Monday and ending at 5:00 pm on Wednesday.

Reading period will officially end on Monday at 9:00 a.m., when the second half of final exam period resumes. That date and time, which will be announced to all instructors each term, will serve as the final deadline for all end-of-term work besides final exams.

The number of reading period and final exam period days remain the same as they have been in recent years, and the last day of finals is no later than our current schedule. If you do not have any scheduled classes or review sessions during reading period, you will not need to make any changes to your meeting schedule. However, if you do hold any required meetings during reading period, please note that they may take place only on the Monday and Tuesday of that week.

If your course offers a final exam, the designated slot for that exam is determined by your class meeting schedule and will be published over the summer by the University Registrar’s Office.

With best wishes for the summer,

Pericles Lewis
Dean of Yale College
Douglas Tracy Smith Professor of Comparative Literature 
Professor of English