Faculty Senate Suggests No on 7 a.m. Finals

The Utah State University Faculty Senate approved a motion Monday to recommend a revision of the final exam schedule and grade deadlines.

With the proposed revisions, final exams will begin no earlier than 7:30 a.m. during university business days, and the deadline for faculty members to turn in final grades will be extended to 168 hours after their last final exam.

During final exam week, testing begins at 7 a.m. to allow enough time for the students to study between each final. Many members of the senate are concerned, however, with the availability of resources and the overall performance of the students at that hour.

Heidi Beck, associate registrar, said, "The biggest concern is whether or not students are able to function at a finals level at 7 a.m."

Janice Boettinger, senate member, said, "I've noticed the decrease in student performance on the final exam [because of the early time]."

If the exam schedule changes are made, they will go into effect Fall Semester 2003. The rotation of the exam schedule will remain the same, Beck said.

Members of the Associated Students of USU Executive Council are also looking into forming a resolution in support of the changes to the exam schedule.

Kristen Taylor, ASUSU Business Senator, said, "Students just have trouble getting to school that early in the morning."

Whether and when changes toward grade deadlines will be made has not been decided.

Faculty members are required to submit their students' final grades to the registrar 96 hours after their last final exam. By extending the deadline to 168 hours, faculty members hope to have enough time to grade each final.

Some faculty members feel a test that proves a student's knowledge base cannot be given on a Scantron. Rather, it must be given in essay form. This requires more time to grade the tests.

Bill Strong, Faculty Senate member, said, "I just can't do it. As a result [of the deadline] I'm changing a testing style that is less optimal for students."

Beck said there are two reasons why final grades need to be submitted early. Some students may be waiting for a copy of their transcript and/or the Registrar's Office needs to determine whether students who are doing poorly will be allowed to register the next semester.

"As we move towards diplomas for graduation, we are going to need 96 hours or less. I'm not prepared to say 96 hours is the golden number, but as far as leaving it open beyond deadline, that is a possibility, assuming we follow through with department heads," Beck said.

Senate members suggested waiting a week to hold graduation ceremonies to allow time to receive the diplomas.

Celestial Bybee, ASUSU president, said, "If students plan for [graduation a week later], they can handle it."

The senate also made suggestions on revising a resolution about the budget that will be sent next week to the Legislature.

"We want to let [the Legislature] know that we've had enough cuts and we can't endure anymore and still maintain a high level of education at Utah State," Martha Dever, senate president, said.

Within the changes of the resolution, the senate agreed on eliminating words such as shortsightedness and narrow-mindedness, which may imply they are criticizing members of the Legislature. The senate also wanted to stress how USU compares to other higher-education institutions throughout the state. Open enrollment should not be expected if USU is not receiving sufficient funding, members said.

By Marie MacKay; mmackay@cc.usu.edu