APPENDIX D
Summary of Violation Reports
Fall Semester, 1998
During the Fall 1998 semester, most students
reported violations of academic policies to the Chair of the Faculty
via email to feedback@mit.edu. The chair also received some
additional messages forwarded from SCEP (the Student Committee on
Educational Policy) and a few telephone calls.
A review of the 33 messages sent to
feedback@mit.edu reveals that some students were knowledgeable
about the Faculty regulations, some were confused and uncertain as to
whether or not there had been a violation, and some were mistaken.
The students questioned procedures in 21 different subjects. The
Chair of the Faculty, Professor Lotte Bailyn said that the messages
in this sample are typical of all of the messages she received that
fall or in the prior year.
What follows is a breakdown of complaint types.
Some of the 33 messages concerned more than one violation, so there
were a total of 37 complaints/questions.
EVENING EXAMINATIONS -11 complaints/questions
Complaints/questions about time allotted to an
evening examination (8 complaints)
- 1 complaint that examination could not
possibly be interpreted to fit into a normal class period.
- 3 complaints about one evening examination
which was extended during the examination itself, placing at a
disadvantage students who had to leave because of other
obligations.
- 3 complaints that showed a misunderstanding of
the policy. Students thought the evening examination should only
last for as long as a normal class period.
- 1 question about whether the 7:30-9 time slot
for an evening examination was against policy.
Complaints about the scheduled class or
assignments during the week of an evening examination (3
complaints)
All 3 complaints concerned scheduled presentations
of some sort when no class/lecture/recitation, etc. was cancelled.
(In these situations, students were making the assumption that these
presentations were the equivalent of an examination).
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ASSIGNMENTS AT BEGINNING OF TERM-10
complaints
Complaints about instructor changing quiz or
final examination dates (7 complaints)
- 5 complaints that instructor changed the
examination date (not the final examination) well into the
term.
- 3 concerned the same subject in which the
instructor moved the quiz date to an earlier date at the last
minute due to unforseen holiday conflicts.
- 2 complaints that an instructor did not have
an official examination time registered and later in the term
decided to set an examination date.
Complaints about length of final examination (1
complaint)
1 complaint about a final examination being
scheduled to last for 4 hours.
Complaints about changes in grading policy
after term began (2 complaints)
Both complaints dealt with the same class in which
a decision was made later in the term that a portion of the problem
sets would count toward the final grade.
SCHEDULING OF ACADEMIC EXERCISES-3 complaints
- 1 complaint that a laboratory was running
later than 5 p.m.
- 2 complaints that a review session and an
activity linked to an evening examination were scheduled for a
Monday night.
END OF TERM REGULATIONS-10 complaints
- 7 complaints that assignments were due during
last week of classes in subjects with final examination.
- 3 concerned same class; 4 concerned different
classes.
- 1 complaint that an optional problem set was
due during last week of class, and the instructor was to grade
this problem set and drop lowest problem set grade for term.
- 1 complaint that presentations were due on the
same day as final. For this same class, there was an additional
complaint that presentations were changed to the week before the
final (counted in 7 complaints above).
- 1 complaint that there was an examination
during the last week of class as well as homework.
MISC. - 3 complaints
- 1 complaint about an unreasonable workload
during a short period of time (paper, problem set, group
presentation, take-home test).
- 1 complaint about review sessions on Monday
nights.
- 1 report in which student confused the rules
governing evening examinations and regular examinations taking
place during normal class period.