Faculty Rejects Request for Extra Time to Organize Exam Answers

University officials have refused a request by Donald C. McKay, professor of History, which would allow students in his courses an extra 15 minutes to think over final exam questions before beginning to write their answers.

McKay had proposed that proctors distribute the exam questions before giving out blue-books so that students can "read the question thoroughly and think out and organize their answers."

Dean Bundy turned down the suggestion in a recent letter to McKay, citing as precedent a refusal by former Provost Paul H. Buck, made on the same request in 1952. Prior to that time some courses had used a similar procedure.

Sargent F. Kennedy '28, registrar of the College, said "We can't let just some people in a big examination room have 15 extra minutes. In a place like Memorial Hall it would distract people in other courses if we were to pass out some blue-books 15 minutes after they started writing," he added.

"We try to make exams as quiet as possible," Kennedy said. "McKay's idea would cause too much confusion. It would be a different story if we had enough space to have every exam held in a separate room."

McKay said, "Students think that they'll get a good grade if they put down on paper as much as they possibly can. They should have an opportunity to think out answers before writing."