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case at other schools?

“T’ve taught at SFU.
When you register
you know when
your exam is,” said
Nicholsfigueiredo. “You
can also, as a student,
choose. If there are
[multiple] classes for the
same course, say one has
an exam date on the 20th
and one on the 5th, a lot
of my students chose the
one with the exam date
on the 5th so they could
fly home if they lived
somewhere else.”

“T have one student,
whose sister is at SFU,
and she picked all of
her exams so they’re
done about December 7
and she’s flying home,”
said Nicholsfigueiredo.
“Because he didn’t know,
he now has an exam on
the 20th and he pays
almost $450 more for his
ticket.”

Perhaps the most
competitive institution
to Douglas, and the
nearest to the New
Westminster campus,
Kwantlen Polytechnic
University, gives students
the option of knowing
when exams will be set.
Kwantlen also utilizes the
same software for most
administrative duties as
Douglas. Regardless of
that, students don’t even
have to be registered
to Kwantlen to peruse
the exam schedule.

The information is
readily available of the
Kwantlen website. This
gives Kwantlen a noted
advantage in prospective
enrollment, being a
similar entry-level,
largely diploma-based
post-secondary institute.
Should this be a rally

cry for the busy Douglas
student? But when the
option of knowing exam
dates upon registration
isn’t at the forefront of

a student’s mind, it’s
taken for granted that
exam date disclosure
happens halfway into the
semester—the alternative
isn’t considered.

The issue of exam
date disclosure is one
that I reckon, armed
with only my own
conjecture and anecdotes
I have provoked or
probed into, a majority
of students hold a
consensus view on. But
without being exposed
to a ready alternative, it’s
unlikely a position will
be affirmed with rally
cries, pamphlets, and
cardboard signs—yet
alone, casual discussion.

“We'll always listen
to students. If students
come to us with concerns
of the exam scheduling
and the length of time
that it takes them to
get noticed, then we
definitely bring that up
to the administrative
attention,” said Jenelle
Davies, Women’s Liaison
at the Douglas Students’
Union. “As of right now
we don’t have a formal
stance on it because
we haven’t heard of an
issue, but definitely if
students have a problem
they should come in and
talk to us about it and
that will definitely help
them get their question
or concern into the
proper person’s lap, so to
speak.”

Concerns on exam
date schedules are
not at the forefront of
discussions on how
Douglas could better
itself for the sake of
students. It should be.
Important issues for
students like the need
for lower tuition fees are
known, discussed, and
politicized but aren’t as
elastic to change at a local
level. I encourage you,
reader, to think about
how a better planned
semester schedule could
benefit you and your
peers.

With files from Steven
Cayer.

is

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Concerns on exam date schedules are not at the
forefront of discussions on how Douglas could better
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