Fretting over Friday finals?
By Diana Elliott
Of th« P.mitrald
It’s certainly not a new story.
The last plane going to Palm Spr
ings leaves Wednesday morning, and
you have a biology final Friday after
noon. You know telling the truth and
hoping for sympathy will prove
futile, so you lie and say your sister is
getting married and moving to Peoria,
111. You’ll never see her again, you
say. But it doesn’t work. You end up
taking the Friday final and spend the
week in Springfield.
Although it is not an original
scenario, it has become more common
this past year — a result of a different
scheduling policy for final exams.
Before the change in policy, which
occurred about 1 Vi years ago, final ex
ams were scheduled on the basis of
popularity of class times, registrar
Herb Chereck says. Classes held dur
ing priority times (between 9 a.m. and
1 p.m.) had finals scheduled at the
beginning of the week.
And because large classes are
usually held during prime times, pro
fessors with the most students had
their exams earlier in the week, giv
ing them more time to grade exams,
scheduling coordinator Kathy
Heinrich says.
But that system was unfair to many
people, so a new, more equitable pro
cedure was developed, Chereck says.
One problem was that faculty
members began requesting classes
during the 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. time
frame, Chereck says. “It got to be
such a problem that professors even
requested to be put on a waiting list,”
he says.
So the new procedure encourages
professors to schedule classes during
less desirable times, Chereck says.
The University is always looking
for ways to encourage students and
faculty to schedule classes during off
times, Chereck says.
“It’s traditional to go to school bet
ween 9:30 and 1:30,“ he says. “But
when the rooms are filled, we have no
other option than to offer classes
earlier and later than the regular
times. It allows us to increase course
options for students.”
Another problem with the old
system is that it caused many students
to have all their finals at the begin
ning of the week, Chereck says.
“Most students don’t want their ex
ams bunched into a three-day
schedule,” he says. “They were con
cerned about having their tests ade
quately spaced.”
With the new finals schedule, all
class times rotate equally so no par
ticular class time will consistently get
the best exam time.
"Everyone will eventually get a
Monday morning exam," Heinrich
says.
Although students who prefer early
finals may just want a jump on spring
break, many faculty members seem to
be concerned for a different reason.
Having a late final on Friday after
noon allows little time to adequately
review essay exams and have grades
turned in by noon Monday, says
history Professor Daniel Pone.
But Chereck thinks the oest solu
tion would be to allow professors an
extra day to turn in grades.
"If we can arrange it so they can
turn in their grades on Tuesday, that
might alleviate the problem," he
says.
Some professors have devised their
own solutions to the problem,
however. English Professor Clark
Griffith is giving his students the op
tion of taking an in-class final Friday
or taking a take-home test and turning
it in Wednesday.
"I think it's a legitimate option,”
Griffith said. “If it is, in fact, only an
option, and students have the choice
to take the in-class final.”
Griffith isn’t too worried about hav
ing a Friday final, however.
"Somebody has to be last,” he said.
"And I won't complain if it has to be
me.”
Smithsonian exhibit
showing free tonight
Willamette Science and Technology
Center will be giving a free showing of the
Smithsonian traveling exhibit. ' Yester
day’s Tomorrows: Fast Visions of the
American Future” tonight from 7 to 10.
In addition, at 7:30, 8:20 and 9:10 p.m.,
Peter Caddy, the founder of Findhorn Com
munity in Scotland, will speak on "Foun
dations of the Past and Visions of the
Future.”
The Common Foundation, a Kugene
based charitable organization, is sponsor
ing the evening’s events.
Caddy is “a major teacher in the new
wave human-potential type movement,”
says Patricia Frishkoff. Common Founda
tion member.
Frishkoff says about 120 people at a time,
the number of people that the WISTEC
planetarium can hold, will be allowed dur
ing each Caddy lecture and each viewing of
the show.
The Smithsonian exhibit will be
displayed in Eugene through April 14.
Regular admission is $2.50 for adults and
$1 for children during normal viewing
hours, from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays
through Sundays and from noon to 9 p.m.
on Fridays.
Eugene is lhe only location in the Nor
thwest where the exhibit will be shown.
et al.
MEETINGS
SUAB MEETING tonight at 7 in Century
Room F. EMU.
GAI.A BUSINESS MEETING today at
3:30 p.m. in Room 109 EMU.
LESBIAN DISCUSSION GROUP meets
tonight from 8-10. Call Gala for location at
686-3360.
ALCOHOL AWARENESS GROUP meets
today at 2:30 p.m. in Room 42 Gilbert. All
students interested in starting a group
please come.
MADCAAPS MEETING today at 6:30
p.m. in Century Room B, EMU.
CIRCLE K SERVICE CLUB is having
weekly meeting tonight at 6:30. Meeting
are held at 1653 Agate St. Will hold elec
tion of new officers followed by ice cream.
All interested welcome.
LECTURES
LUNCHBAGGER SEMINAR: Professor
Jane Gray of the biology department will
speak on “The earliest life on land” today
at 12:30 p.m. in Room 307 Volcanology.
GREG RETALLACK will speak on
changing prehistoric environments of the
John Day region, north-central Oregon.
SOFIA PAINIQUEO will discuss “The
Struggle for Survival of the mapuche In
dian in Chile” tonight at 7:30 in the
EMU Forum Room.
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