Identify & Resolve Final Exam Time Conflicts Early

If you have not already done so, now is a good time to check your course syllabi to determine if you will encounter any time conflicts between your final exams at Blinn and A&M.

Even though you coordinated your Blinn and A&M class schedules to avoid time conflicts, it’s possible that you could have final exams scheduled for the same time at both schools. Final exams are not administered during normal class meeting times; your exams are likely to be held on different days, and at different times, than your classes meet during the semester.  It’s ALWAYS less stressful to resolve time conflicts in advance than at the last minute.

The final exam schedule for A&M is available here: http://registrar.tamu.edu/Courses,-Registration,-Scheduling/Final-Examination-Schedules#0-Fall2017

For the Blinn final exam schedule, go to:  http://www.blinn.edu:8765/cs.html?url=http%3A//www.blinn.edu/academics/blinn-final-exam-schedule.pdf&charset=iso-8859-1&qt=final+exam+schedule&col=blinn&n=1&la=en

If you discover that you have a final exam time conflict between Blinn and A&M, here is what to do:

1. Check the schedule of courses in Howdy and myBLINN to determine if either professor teaches more than just your section of that course.
2. If so, check the final exam schedule to see if a different section has its final exam scheduled for a time that would avoid a time conflict.
3. If so, contact the professor (in person) and explain your dilemma. Ask for permission to take the final exam with the other section.
4. If your professor wants a letter from your department to verify your request, let us know the details and we will gladly provide it.
5. If neither professor teaches more than one section, ask one or both if you can be allowed to take the final exam early.
6. If your professor agrees to allow you to test at an alternate time, it is recommended that you confirm this via email so that you will have a written record of the agreement.
7. If neither professor is willing to work with you, notify us of the details and we will appeal on your behalf.

If you have three or more exams scheduled for the same day:

TAMU Student Rule 8.4 states that A&M students are excused from taking three final exams on the same day. (Students are allowed to get one of them changed to a different day.) Most TEAM students are not enrolled in three A&M courses, so this rule rarely applies.  Additionally, there is no similar rule that protects Blinn students in this same way. However, if you discover that you have a total of three final exams scheduled for the same day between A&M and Blinn, please let your TAP advisor know so that we can assist with your appeal to your professors to have one of the final exam dates changed.

There have been incidents of students waiting until the end of the semester to discuss a final exam time conflict with professors. Some of those situations were not smoothly resolved. Especially during finals, be sure to check your email from both A&M and Blinn daily. If the location or time of an exam is changed at the last minute, you will be notified by email. There has been at least one incident in which a TEAM student missed a final exam because of failure to read email. The student was not allowed a retest because the student had been officially notified by email.

Beware Switching Schools During Course Sequences

TAP recommends that you complete any/all required course sequences for your intended major at the school where you initially enroll in the subject.  With registration approaching, now is the best time to address potential pitfalls of changing campuses (between A&M and Blinn) in the midst of a course sequence. If your intended major requires a sequence of courses in a given subject, please keep reading.

Examples of course sequences include (but are not limited to):
• CHEM 101/111 (1411), CHEM 102/112 (1412), CHEM 227/237 (2423), CHEM 228/238 (2425)
• SPAN 101 (1411), SPAN 102 (1412), SPAN 201 (2311), SPAN 202 (2312)
• MATH 151 (2413), MATH 152 (2414), MATH 251 (2415)

Perhaps the biggest consequence of changing campuses during a course sequence is when a student attempts to register for the subsequent course at a different campus. Below are several scenarios.

SCENARIO 1:  Worst Case Situation
This occurs when a first semester freshman is taking the initial course of a sequence at Blinn College and decides to take the subsequent course at A&M. For example, let’s say the student is taking Chemistry I at Blinn in the fall and decides to register for Chemistry II at A&M for the spring semester. The student will not be able to register for Chemistry II at A&M because the A&M system (“Howdy”) cannot verify that the student has completed (or is not currently completing) the prerequisite course at Blinn. Usually a TEAM student can avoid such a problem by requesting that Blinn send A&M a transcript before registration begins that shows Chemistry I in progress.  (Such a transcript received by A&M and posted in Howdy would allow the student to register for Chemistry II at A&M.)  However, Blinn does not send transcripts for students who have not yet completed any courses at Blinn. (If you think about it, this makes sense–why would a school send their transcript to another school showing that a student hasn’t completed any courses yet?)  First semester freshmen in this situation will be able to register for Chemistry II at A&M in January only after Blinn has sent a fall transcript to A&M showing that Chemistry I was completed.  (Exception:  First semester freshmen who completed dual-credit courses at Blinn College while in high school will be able to have a transcript sent to A&M during their first full-time semester.)

SCENARIO 2:  Most Common Situation
This occurs when a student is taking a course at A&M and decides to take the subsequent course at Blinn.  Let’s say the student is taking Calculus I at A&M and wants to take Calculus II at Blinn the following semester. The Blinn registration system (“myBLINN”) will not be able to verify that the student has completed (or is currently completing) the prerequisite course at A&M. Only after the semester has ended, and A&M has sent a transcript to Blinn showing that the student passed Calculus I, will the student be able to register for Calculus II. Of course, by that time there is a chance that Calculus II could have filled and become unavailable.  The Blinn system does not use “in progress” courses to satisfy prerequisites.

SCENARIO 3:  A Partial Solution
A third situation occurs if a TEAM student (not a first semester freshman) is taking a course sequence at Blinn College but decides to take the next course at A&M. For example, let’s say the student is taking the first Spanish course at Blinn in the fall and decides to register for the second Spanish course at A&M for the spring semester.  Texas A&M will allow the student to register for the second course in the sequence if Blinn has sent a transcript that shows the student is currently enrolled in the first Spanish course.  After a TEAM student’s first semester at Blinn, students may request (through myBLINN) that a transcript be sent to A&M showing in-progress courses.  These in-progress courses will satisfy prerequisites in Howdy for registration purposes.

Another reason for completing course sequences at the school where you started it is that you might not have as smooth a transition from one course to the next if you change schools.  The TAMU Admissions website states:  “Specific course equivalencies require review based upon the unique characteristics of each college and university and may differ from one institution to another.” This implies that courses with similar titles and content, although ruled “equivalent,” may differ slightly between schools.