<p>Last week I had an exam scheduled in one of my classes. It's not technically a "final", but just rather our 2nd and last exam. On the syllabus it has the two test dates and the date our paper is due (this Tuesday). Tuesday was supposed to be the last day according to the syllabus.</p>
<p>On the exam day last week, the professor just never showed up. The class waited for around a half hour and we, angrily, just decided to leave. He's almost never on time for class in general, and for one class earlier this year didn't show up at all. This is apparently nothing new for him.</p>
<p>A bunch of students went to the department to complain, and the department head emailed us later that day saying they'd figure out what to do. I got an updated email from the department today, saying they decided to make us take the exam we were supposed to take last week during the official final exam period. To make it worse, they scheduled it on the last day of exams, the 19th.</p>
<p>I was planning to go back home this Wednesday because I'm totally done, but now they're making us stay a whole week later because of our professor's incompetence.</p>
<p>Do you think there's anything we (the students) can do about this? Luckily I'm in-state, but I can imagine the students who are out of state and had already booked flights are even more angry than I am.</p>
<p>How in the world is this fair? I bet there's going to be some intense emotions tomorrow in class.</p>
<p>I can see both sides of the argument, but I don’t think there’s really anything that can be done if the scheduled final exam day just happens to fall on the last day of finals. I can see the department allowing specific OOS students (with flights) to perhaps take the final early, but they could probably only schedule it during the scheduled final to ensure that it wouldn’t conflict with other classes.</p>
<p>This was at UM? Plz tell me which class so i can avoid this whole department if at all possible. What i understand though is “finals” on the last day of class are discouraged. They prefer it’s done during the exam period so it’s spread out. It’s supposed to be to our benefit, but i would be angry beyond belief if i prepared, showed up, and the test doesn’t happen.</p>
<p>^ OP is saying that most people in the class did not have finals scheduled on the last day, meaning they had already made travel plans (you know, like booked plane tickets and what not) to leave before the last day. At my school, when you have finished all your exams, you leave. You don’t (you CAN’T) stay more than 48 hours after your last exam (at my school). Generally, people leave the day of/after their last exam. </p>
<p>Because the professor did not show up for his own test, the department rescheduled the test to the final day of the exam period, which is after most people in the class had already made plans to leave. That’s why OP is upset. And I would be, too. I would definitely see if you could take it early, OP. It is absolutely not acceptable for the professor’s lack of professionalism to cost his students money.</p>
<p>You’re right, I apologize. I misread. I thought this was already the scheduled time of the final and that the prof decided to make it a week early. </p>
<p>Since you are in state, you are probably not in as bad a spot as some classmates who have plane tickets. I was always bugging D1 about confirming her finals schedule so I could get her plane tickets booked. Because of course you can’t wait until December to do it, unless you want to pay $800 a ticket!</p>
<p>If I were one of your classmates with a plane ticket, I would go see the department head and ask to take the exam early if possible. You could possibly go home and come back if you aren’t too far away.</p>
<p>That sucks… Yeah, mind sharing any information about what class, professor, department this was? </p>
<p>I’ve always seen professors be pretty accommodating about this type of thing when there’s a conflict like this that isn’t the student’s fault. Obviously they can’t just say “Well, no final.” But they can probably find another time to schedule it if you need it and have a flight out before the final.</p>
<p>Just be careful when throwing names out there. There’s always the small possibility the professor Googles his name, sees this, and decides to try to take civil action for libel. Yeah, it’s up to him to prove it’s false and caused damages, but even failing, you have to pay for an attorney. </p>
<p>I definitely don’t like it, but it happens.</p>
<p>lolwut? He’s not bad mouthing the professor at all. He’s just saying the situation sucks. Also, why would he sue for libel if everything is true?</p>
<p>Because he could be an idiot. People do it. </p>
<p>I already said he’d fail, but a civil defense attorney still charges you. A professor can try to sue for the statement, “He’s always skipping class.” That could affect his professional reputation. Topix has shown they’d hand out information with the right court order. CC isn’t necessarily different.</p>
<p>That said, OP could just get behind a truly anonymous proxy and not reveal his own name. Or just not worry about it. Maybe I’m just venting about the legal system.</p>
<p>There are sites like ratemyprof devoted to warning against profs like this, so the rest of us aren’t stuck with them later. CC isn’t the first place anyone would look, although if you’d rather PM, i would appreciate that.</p>
<p>BTW a prof can be sued for never showing up as well, since you’re paying his/her salary. I know it’s been done before here. The prof needs to focus on sucking less, not reputation.</p>
<p>The guy has a PhD. Sure, people do make baseless lawsuits they can’t win. I’ve seen it plenty of times on People’s Court. But they don’t usually have PhDs.</p>
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<p>Yeah… That’s nonsense. If you were to sue you’d sue the University for a refund of tuition. The prof as an employee of the University does not have liability for a service the University supplies.</p>
<p>Doi! Of course! Since the guy has a PhD, no one files questionable lawsuits with that exact amount of education ever. A Master’s, maybe, but definitely not a PhD. You said it yourself that you saw it on People’s Court, with all the high-dollar lawsuits on there and all.</p>
<p>You can almost always take a final exam early if you ask. Ask your prof, or advisor, or department head. Anybody who says “no,” just go over their head, but if you explain that you have plans to leave and need to take the exam, I’d be shocked if they didn’t let you take it earlier. Usually this means taking it with another section of the class, or it could mean taking it in the professor’s office or some other space by yourself but where you can be observed.</p>