Calculator Policy

In any given course, the decision to allow or forbid students to use calculators during quizzes, midterm exams, and final exams rests with the instructor(s) of the course. The instructor’s policy governing calculator usage must be stated clearly on the course outline. Collectively, the Department adheres to the calculator policy used for SAT examinations, namely that while every mathematics question on an exam can be answered without the use of a calculator, the use of basic calculators is generally permitted.

Permissible Calculators

  • basic scientific calculators

Non-Permissible Calculators

  • calculators in smart phones, tablets, or laptops
  • programmable calculators
  • graphing calculators
  • calculators that perform symbolic computations in calculus
  • calculators that communicate externally (infrared, wireless, Bluetooth, etc)

Other Devices

  • Hand-held translators are not to be allowed unless the instructor considers it necessary for a particular situation
  • You are not allowed to use laptops, tablets, cell phones or smart phones during exams

One exception is with Mathematics 101: No calculators allowed on the Final Exam.

In the case of other 100-level courses with multiple on-campus sections (such as Math 103, Math 110, Math 111, Math 122, Stat 100, and Stat 160) that have common final exams, the instructors are required to adopt a common policy for calculator usage at the beginning of the semester. If the instructors are unable to reach a consensus on a common calculator policy for a multi-sectioned course, the SAT policy (namely, basic calculators are permitted) shall be the default.

This policy applies to all courses offered by the Department, Luther and Campion Colleges, First Nations University, and the Centre for Continuing Education.