Evening midterms test students’ scheduling ability

As midterms approach, some students are finding that they have
to change their schedules in order to accommodate evening midterms
conflicting with their class schedules.

Yasmin Bholat, a second-year neuroscience student, dropped her
Life Science 3 course which had an evening midterm so she could
continue to take a chemistry lab course scheduled for the same time
as her midterm.

Bholat said she was unaware of the evening midterm scheduled
outside of class time until the professor announced it on the first
day of class.

“The professor made clear that he wasn’t going to
accommodate students who had conflicts,” Bholat said.

Several students like Bholat are experiencing scheduling
conflicts ““ something that the members of the Academic Senate
have tried to ease in the past.

Evening midterms can be scheduled only if the course meets
several requirements.

Last year, the Academic Senate’s undergraduate council
approved a policy allowing for certain courses to hold evening
midterms as long as they comply with certain guidelines.

The Academic Senate decided to look into the issue of writing a
policy concerning midterms because of the high number of complaints
students brought to the senate about professors who were unwilling
to accommodate their scheduling needs, said Kathleen Copenhaven,
assistant registrar for publications and scheduling.

According to a UCLA policy passed by the senate, in order to
hold an evening midterm, the professor must have a large class with
multiple sections. The professor must post the midterm date and
time in the schedule of classes and URSA before enrollment
begins.

“Instructors should make a good-faith effort to
accommodate alternate examinations times for students with course
conflicts,” the policy states. Some professors’
policies say the students are more responsible for making this
effort.

“If there is a conflict with other commitments this must
be resolved by the student … No early or late exams are given
under any circumstances (incompletes will be issued for medical
excuses and will require documentation),” is what is stated
on a course syllabus written by Ralph Robinson, a professor of
microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics.

Though several students believe their professors are not making
a “good-faith effort” to accommodate their needs, some
professors say they have legitimate reasons for choosing to conduct
midterms during the evening.

“Mainly, I schedule evening midterms in order to deter
cheating. The class I teach is large, and if I hold the midterm in
several different classes, I can deter cheating. However, it is
difficult to get extra rooms during the day and it is much easier
in the evenings,” Robinson said.

Still, the time overlap caused by evening midterms and evening
courses is an inconvenience to some students who have limited
options in their course schedules.

“I’m taking an extension class for sports medicine
training, and the class is mandatory. My LS midterm and the sports
medicine midterm overlap by 30 minutes, but I have no option other
than to take them back to back,” said Kristoffer Orocio, a
third-year anthropology student.

Other professors say they try to be more flexible and do the
best they can, but are unable to accommodate everyone.

“If students had conflicts with my midterm in class, I
would definitely give it in the evening. I would even allow
students to take it Saturday or Sunday morning, if that’s
what they want. If enough students wanted the midterm in the
evening, I would change it. It’s completely up to the
students,” said Larry Simpson, a professor of microbiology,
immunology and molecular genetics.