Deans to create new policy for old exams at mtg. today

Faculty permission for students to obtain copies of old exams from the Tutoring Center will be discussed at today's meeting of the Council of Undergraduate Deans. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Matthew Santirocco initially announced the policy decision on February 1 which requires that students enrolled in College classes obtain permission from their professors to get copies of the old exams. Santirocco said he hopes to formalize different aspects of the policy at the meeting. The formation of a consistent University policy regarding old exams is at the top of Santirocco's agenda for the meeting. As of now, the required permission only applies to College courses. Courses taught in the Wharton School, the Nursing School and the School of Engineering and Applied Science have not been affected by the changes. Santirocco said he would like to see the burden of obtaining permission taken off of the students and placed on faculty members. With faculty members more responsible for the process, Santirocco said he believes a better relationship can be fostered between them and the Tutoring Center. "The faculty needs to be partners with academic support services like the Tutoring Center," Santirocco said. "A partnership can't exist if the faculty exams are being sold without permission." But Santirocco insists the main issue is not specifically the old exam file, per se. "What is really important here is that I would like to open the conversation on the campus to the larger issue of assessment," he said. "On a campus that is so grade conscious, we have to have conversation between faculty and students on what is the best assessment of a student's progress." Whatever the case, many students are still skeptical or outright opposed to the policy. "I think that since the Old Exam File has been around for 10 years, it becomes a fundamental right," said College senior Pilar Ramos, manager of the Old Exam File. "The fact is that the exams are not used for cheating, but they are used as study aids, like notes." Earlier this month, History Professor Bruce Kucklick said using old exams amounts to cheating. Many students, however, have said that they do not share Kucklick's sentiments and are worried about the difficulty they will encounter obtaining exams.