At some point, every UNA student will have to take an 8 a.m. final exam. While some students can function perfectly fine in the early morning, others would much prefer to take exams later in the day. Some students have questioned the validity of 8 a.m. exams, especially for classes that occur later in the day.

Due to time constraints, establishing a new time for 8 a.m. exams would prove to be difficult during exam week, said Vice President of Academic Affairs John Thornell.

“There are only a certain number of hours in a day,” Thornell said. “We have multiple numbers of exams to administer, so it’s just a mathematical issue of how to schedule all of the exams, and also trying to do it within five days.”

There have even been concerns raised amongst faculty members about the times exams are currently administered, Thornell said.

“A faculty member has requested that the Student and Academic Affairs Committee look at the final exam schedule to see if there’s a way to reorganize it,” Thornell said. “(She asked), ‘Why don’t we try to figure out a way to match up when the class is offered and when the exam is offered?’”

Shilpa Dasgupta, assistant professor of mathematics, believes some of the 8 a.m. exam times are inconvenient for students, especially commuters, she said.

“(For) students who stay away from campus, it might be difficult to make it on time,” Dasgupta said. “For people who have jobs, it would be difficult for them, too. Personally, I don’t mind, but if it can be avoided, I would go for a 9 a.m. (exam) instead of an 8 a.m.”

Students seem to do worse on 8 a.m. exams, said psychology professor Gabriella Carrasco.

“If people purposely are not taking 8 o’clock classes because they’re not awake, then to give them a final exam that might be comprehensive at that time is almost setting them up for failure,” Carrasco said. “If they’re not awake during the semester, they’re not going to be awake for finals.”

Some students, like freshman Alex Byan, have said they would rather not have exams that early.

“(The exam) is earlier so I feel like I would be more prepared for it,” Byan said. “But at the same time, I study later for 8 a.m. exams than I would for any other exam, because it’s the first one I have. (I would) have to study until two o’clock in the morning and then have to be up at 8 o’clock to take that exam.”

Due to time constraints, the exam schedule must be different than the typical class schedule, Thornell said.

“You can’t administer a final exam in the same amount of time the classes meet, he said. “However, it’s time for us to take a look at our exam schedule, and hopefully we can find a solution that everyone can work with.”