Spring Break
Senate: report finals schedule violation
By: Melissa Appel
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: News
Texas A&M Faculty Senate is encouraging students to prevent professors and faculty from violating the final exams schedule by reporting the problem before it prevents them from performing to the best of their ability.
According to the rules set by the Registrar's Office, all finals must be proctored during the allotted time, which is set according to class time. The only classes exempt from this rule are labs or one hour classes. Professors are not allowed to give final exams during reading days of dead week.
However, there are some occurrences within Texas A&M faculty when professors will change final exam times in order to better suit schedules or grading needs.
Members of Faculty Senate stressed that the final exam schedule is constructed in a way to benefit students, and should not be compromised by any faculty member.
"It's to help spread your finals over a few days; it enhances your chance to perform to your optimum ability," said Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Chairwoman Melinda Grant. "If it even affects one student and affects that student to not perform to their optimum, then we've done a disservice."
Grant emphasized that it is the job of the professors to make a student's education easily accessible.
"We can't put a student at a disadvantage for our own convenience," Grant said.
The problem of a faculty member violating the final exams rules is one that is known to occur in the University. However, due to the large numbers of faculty and staff, it is impossible for deans to account for the practices of each individual course and professor within their college.
"There was never a way administratively to police that," said Kolin Loveless, academic affairs chairman in Student Senate. "There was no way for deans to watch over that."
Therefore, in order to improve the flow of communication, Faculty Senate is urging students to be the ones watching for faculty violators.
"We can't fix a problem that we don't know is broken, and we don't know it's broken if students don't tell us," Grant said.
According to the rules set by the Registrar's Office, all finals must be proctored during the allotted time, which is set according to class time. The only classes exempt from this rule are labs or one hour classes. Professors are not allowed to give final exams during reading days of dead week.
However, there are some occurrences within Texas A&M faculty when professors will change final exam times in order to better suit schedules or grading needs.
Members of Faculty Senate stressed that the final exam schedule is constructed in a way to benefit students, and should not be compromised by any faculty member.
"It's to help spread your finals over a few days; it enhances your chance to perform to your optimum ability," said Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Chairwoman Melinda Grant. "If it even affects one student and affects that student to not perform to their optimum, then we've done a disservice."
Grant emphasized that it is the job of the professors to make a student's education easily accessible.
"We can't put a student at a disadvantage for our own convenience," Grant said.
The problem of a faculty member violating the final exams rules is one that is known to occur in the University. However, due to the large numbers of faculty and staff, it is impossible for deans to account for the practices of each individual course and professor within their college.
"There was never a way administratively to police that," said Kolin Loveless, academic affairs chairman in Student Senate. "There was no way for deans to watch over that."
Therefore, in order to improve the flow of communication, Faculty Senate is urging students to be the ones watching for faculty violators.
"We can't fix a problem that we don't know is broken, and we don't know it's broken if students don't tell us," Grant said.
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