Final exam time slot policy questioned

According to University policy, it's manda­tory for professors to hold class on the date of their final exam time even if they are not issuing an exam, which, according to some students, is irritating.

Sophomore education major Nicole Paluzzi called the set final schedule "a pain in the neck."

"There are classes I've had where they don't have finals and I've had to show up anyway," Paluzzi said. "There's no point."

According to Paluzzi, most of her classes are not test based, but based on either a proj­ect or a paper.

Paluzzi added that she doesn't have a prob­lem with teachers who don't follow the rule.

Freshman Katherine Kirk had similar thoughts about the rule.

Kirk said she thinks it really depends on the class and that she's had professors put finals on different days and never had a problem with it.

"I think it's not necessary, because some­times the way the class works out it can be possible to take on the last day of class or on a different day," Kirk said.

"If a professor feels that it's in the best interest of their class to take it on the last day or change it for any reason they should be allowed to do that," Kirk added.

Seton Hall professors, however, thought the rule was necessary.

Communication professor Anthony De­Palma said he thinks the rule is necessary but feels that there can be exceptions to it.

"I tend to keep the schedule but some­times I've had requests from students who don't want it to be on that day," DePalma said.

However, DePalma said that exams should not be rescheduled just for the con­venience of the professor, because that could inconvenience the students.

"The rule should be followed with the understanding that we're all humans and sometimes there need to be adjustments," DePalma said.

History professor Maxim Matusevich, Ph.D., did not see a problem with the rule either.

"If we all come up with our own rules, it's going to be very confusing for stu­dents," Matusevich said.

He said he has been experimenting with online testing though because he doesn't want his students just throwing informa­tion back at him.

Matusevich added he does however al­ways give the online test the date of the as­signed final in order to avoid bewildering his students.

Kelly Carroll can be reached at kelly.carroll@student.shu.edu.