As finals approach the question posed is: why are final exams not given on a day class usually meets?
Senior Associate Provost Dr. Joan Guetti said that scheduling the exams this way has proven to be very efficient.
"The exam schedule must provide for room assignments that avoid conflicts between classes that meet consecutively in the same room during the semester," she said. "Therefore, your class might meet on Monday, but the exam is scheduled for Thursday for this reason."
However, classes where the exam is not formally proctored do not have to meet on the scheduled exam period. Faculty member Dr. Andrew Brereton teaches a Journey of Transformation course. He has made the decision to assign his students a reflective paper. Although he will not be meeting with his class the day of his scheduled exam, Brereton said that the exam scheduling still affects his class.
"I still have to submit my final grades by a specified deadline and that deadline is tied to the exam schedule," he said.
According to Guetti, exam week in some institutions was not always the week before winter break. Several years ago, finals for the fall semester took place between Christmas and the spring semester. Eventually, colleges felt it would be more efficient if they moved the exam dates before Christmas break. This way students could come back in the spring semester with a clean slate.
Freshman Larissa Gonzalez said that she is content with final exam scheduling.
"Honestly, the scheduling doesn't matter to me," she said. "I live 20 minutes away, so it does not matter if the exam can't be taken early because I don't have to book a flight. I can leave whenever I want."
As Gonzalez pointed out, the inability to take final exams early puts students who have to catch a flight home at an inconvenience because they are unable to book early flights.
According to Guetti, this scheduling method will be place for the spring semester.
"The exam schedule is a longstanding tool that allows the University to efficiently bring the semester to an end by providing longer periods for taking exams as well as assignments of classroom spaces," she said. "It typically works well."
Rachel Hasset can be reached at rachel.hasset@student.shu.edu.
