Changes made to fall 2013 finals

The academic affairs committee is taking up a change for next semester’s finals schedule.
At this week’s Faculty Senate meeting, Mary Macmanus Ramsbottom, associate provost for student academic affairs, showed staff the proposed schedule change.
The schedule, as it originally stood, had finals running Dec. 16-21, with the due date for grades at 10 a.m. on Dec. 24.
Ramsbottom said since Dec. 21 is the beginning of the university holiday, a minor change is proposed to take away the Saturday finals and move them all to that Friday.
Finals week would then end on Dec. 20, with the due date for grades being Monday, Dec. 23 at 3 p.m.
Twenty-five exams scheduled for Saturday would be moved to that Friday, Ramsbottom said.
“We’re trying to do something that’s supportive of both faculty and staff,” Ramsbottom said at the meeting.  “This allows us to have the university holiday observed.”
Ramsbottom said the academic affairs committee will take this up and go forward with the schedule change unless there are any objections.
Ramsbottom said opinions on the change are welcome.
“We want to get the information out,” Ramsbottom said, “so that faculty and staff are well advised on what the calendar will look like well before they start working on their syllabi.”