My neck started to hurt. My eyes lost focus; medically speaking I might have refractive errors. On the same day, I took three final exams — nine hours in total. 

This past quarter I enrolled in two math and physics courses to fulfill my major requirements. However, all three of them fall into one single day. Not just I, people in my class who had similar issues talked with their instructors and none were willing to accommodate. That is why I am petitioning for  a change in our final exam scheduling process that grants students rights to reschedule their final exams if they exceed 6 hours or two consecutive exams in a single day. 

Why should we do so? Researchers at Des Moines University have shown that students performed worse in back-to-back exams with only a 15-minute break than those in spaced-out exams (research paper here). A 15-minute break between exams is exactly what I had. This is scientifically proven to be an effective method to assess students’ academic ability. Moreover, this does not even account for the fact that some candidates have to walk to the other side of the campus.  I could not even get lunch between my first and second exams. It is preposterous that we do not even have a chance to eat, when we are supposed to be supported in taking the exams. 

I am proposing The "Bunching" Rule, which has been implemented across different college campuses in the United States. Bowdoin College, a liberal arts college in Maine rules that “students with three or more final exams in two consecutive days may reschedule one for a day mutually agreeable to the student and the instructor.” In the University of Colorado, Boulder, they have a similar policy that “When students have three or more final examinations on the same day, they are entitled to arrange an alternative examination time for the last exam or exams scheduled on that day.” University at Buffalo in New York even defines a final exam conflict as “Three or more final exams scheduled on the same day.” Makes sense! The Wake Forest College Faculty in North Carolina already established a policy back in 2010 that “Students should have no more than two exams in a 24-hour period.  They should be allowed to reschedule exams in excess of two in a 24-hour period.” In University of Nebraska-Lincoln, they have a policy that mandates faculty to accommodate students, “The instructor(s) of the third and subsequent final examination is (are) then obligated to provide an alternative final examination time during Final Exam Week.” 

It makes sense to let students rest and perform to their best ability rather than stressing out and intensely working for 9 hours and possibly longer for those who have classes starting at 4:30 any day (that adds up to 12 hours straight testing). How can we expect students to sit in the classroom and head down for 12 hours for the heaviest weighted exam in the quarter? 

If you experienced similar scheduling issues and want to share your voice, fill out this Google form for testimony. Thank you!