Stressing about exams is typical for the average college student, yet with finals dates still listed as they were originally scheduled (Dec. 15-18) students should only be questioning what is on the exam. Instead, some are questioning when they will be.
Due to factors associated with the late end of the fall semester, there has been confusion amongst faculty and students about whether or not the president has given permission to move exams.
In her nearly 24 years at Sam Houston State University, registrar Teresa Ringo said she is unaware of finals’ dates ever being changed, and does not know why the dates would be changed now.
“I haven’t heard anything as of this moment to that effect,” Ringo said. “I don’t know if it is confusion or not, but we did change the day that grades were due in. Grades are now going to be due on Friday Dec. 19 at 5 p.m.”
Some faculty said they have not heard anything about the president giving permission to the university, but that perhaps professors could individually change their exam schedule.
Yet with just one day to grade and record finals, some professors have chosen tom move their finals up in order to provide themselves ample time to meet the new deadline.
“That is a possibility. [The exams] fall under academic affairs, which reports to Dr. Eglsaer, so that is a detail [professors] would have to work out,” Ringo said.
The university is restricted under the guidelines from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
“They tell us is that our classes need to have 45 contact hours. In the long semesters, that excludes registration and final exam days,” Ringo said.
Contact hours are the actual in-class time with professors.
“What we try to do is make sure that the traditional classes get to 45 contact hours; beyond that there is really not a stipulation,” Ringo said.
To clear the confusion, Ringo offers some words of advice to professors and students with questions.
“Without speaking to the provost, my advice to them would be to speak to the provost because I have not heard anything to that effect at this time,” she said.