Harvard Ditching Final Exams?

itwbennett writes "According to Harvard magazine, Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted at its meeting on May 11 to require instructors to officially inform the Registrar 'at the first week of the term' of the intention to end a course with a formal, seated exam, 'the assumption shall be that the instructor will not be giving a three-hour final examination.' Dean of undergraduate education Jay M. Harris 'told the faculty that of 1,137 undergraduate-level courses this spring term, 259 scheduled finals — the lowest number since 2002, when 200 fewer courses were offered. For the more than 500 graduate-level courses offered, just 14 had finals, he reported.'"

It's ok...

[Anonymous Coward]

It's OK, it's not like they were real exams...they were only McDonald's applications. 100% if you filled it out completely.

What a shame

[Yvan256]

If only they had 200 more undergraduate-level courses.

Missing out

[oldhack]

Can't say it's good or bad, but these kids will miss out on the cathartic drunken debauchery on the weekend following the finals.

Kids these days... buncha pussies.

Re:Other Finals

[brian_tanner]

and a few stranglers might show up only to find out there's no exam.

How very disappointing for the stranglers. I'm assuming they were hired to deal with the cheaters?

Re:one step closer to drive thru degrees

[Anonymous Coward]

I've seen the documentary known as "The Departed".

Re:one step closer to drive thru degrees

[Kristopeit, M. D.]

ah yes... i remember students who had the "take-home" math classes... i wonder why they were always giving me things after i solved the fun puzzles they would bring me.

Re:What a shame

[Anonymous Coward]

Peter: Okay, guys. We're playing Texas Hold 'Em.
Ted Turner: Are aces high or low?
Peter: They go both ways.
Bill Gates: He said, "They go both ways."
[All laughing]
Ted Turner: Like a bisexual.
Michael Eisner: Thank you, Ted. That was the joke.

Re:Bring back the oral exam

[ascari]

Oral exam? That would really suck. I mean blow. Never mind.

Re:one step closer to drive thru degrees

[mysidia]

Is there even such a thing as a 'classroom' that can properly accomadate 200 students, and not just be a professor in a fishtank talking to the wall?

Sounds more like a theatre, concert hall, place where attendees of a show might sleep while a suit gives a keynote, presidential address, or a church, than a classroom...

Professor: This is the gospel according to (book publisher)
Students: [eyes glazed over] Glory and praise to you oh Calculus
Professor: [canned speech]
Professor: The word of Leibnitz
Students: [barely awake] Thanks be to Math

Re:one step closer to drive thru degrees

[h4rm0ny]

the only impediment to attending Harvard is their academic performance.

You were really getting my hopes up there, until that last sentence.

Re:prove it

[Capt'n Hector]

Anyone who tells you there's grade inflation at Harvard is lying. Put the best students from all of the world in a university, where most work their asses off, all of whom have fantastic educations prior to arriving, and these students are going to get good grades. There's not a single student at Harvard who got an A or an A- (they don't give out A+'s) who didn't deserve it. Granted, it's hard to get a C grade, but that's to be expected considering how fucking amazing these students are. Compare a student who has an "A" average from Harvard to a student who has an "A" average from a state school. They are both probably great students, but which one do you think is better? (Achieving a 4.0 from Harvard is almost unheard-of) How about comparing "B" students? Do you think a B student from Harvard is worse than a B student at another institution. I doubt it. And the "remedial course" you're talking about is probably Expos 10. It's not a remedial course, though most students test out of it. There aren't any other courses one can test out of (there may be department-by-department policies), besides a language, but a first-year language course is hardly "remedial". Honestly, I have no idea what that article you quoted is talking about. That student you quoted? Probably very smart but lazy, and can get by without working very hard. Good for him. Maybe he has very high standards for himself. Most Harvard students do. He was also probably bragging, in some convoluted manner. Again, most Harvard students do. Finally, your statistic on honors is out of date. Far fewer students receive honors now. I did, and I'm damned proud of it.

Re:prove it

[Capt'n Hector]

Not because I say so, because of the arguments I laid forth in my reply.

I wonder what percentage of administrators, professors and students at other universities also speak of grade inflation. Maybe less, maybe more, but I don't see why Harvard is getting singled out. You say "various studies have demonstrated this to be true." What studies?

I actually think the Harvard classes of late are getting even better. 20-30 years ago, they weren't nearly as competitive as they are now. Where is the proof that the class of 2007 has higher grades than the classes of 1990? What about *in comparison to other schools*? This is really the point that matters, not inflation over time. It's really the exchange rate that counts.

Finally, careful who you call a Harvard alum. I am speaking only about Harvard College, not HBS or the law school. And yes, most of our congressmen and senators are pretty fucking educated, actually.

Re:one step closer to drive thru degrees

[tehcyder]

Well. if you think it's tough being a white middle-class male, just try being a white upper-class male with film-star good looks, a trust fund valued in the billions, a brain like Einstein's and a cock like John Holmes's.

It's a fucking nightmare, honest.