Students who had been charged twenty dollars for each final make-up exam they took in January were pleasantly surprised by an email from the Stern College administration just a few weeks ago. The email informed them that they are being refunded for their payment of multiple exams and are now only being charged a flat rate for their tests.
The policy moving forward will be a flat rate per student, even for those taking multiple make-up exams. For this past semester, the rate was twenty dollars, although the administration is considering reducing the rate to its previous price of fifteen dollars.
According to Dr. Katz, the administration reevaluated the policy, because it was seen by students as a hardship. “The policy was never meant to be punitive or in some way overly burdensome. It was just a token of the extra administrative effort,” said Katz, continuing, “If it is imposing an undue hardship–and for a student taking 3-4 make up exams this can most certainly be the case–then the policy needs to be reconsidered in light of what was originally intended.” In recognizing that the additional fees make a difference for people taking more than one exam and hearing complaints about the fees, the administration reevaluated this policy. They also found older forms indicating that the policy had once been a flat rate, and decided to revert back to the original.
A new document is in the process of being formalized that will have space for students to list all of the exams they will need to make up. In order to streamline the process, students with minimal make-up exams will be given a date to take the test, and in order to ensure academic integrity, multiple students taking the same make-up exams will be required to take it at the same time.
Orly Benaderet, SCW 13’, made up five finals last semester and so was happy to receive a refund for the multiple exams she had to make up. She also appreciates the timely manner in which the issue was dealt with. “After the article came out and people were informed, a week later, we received emails to pick up refunds. I was happy that the university did really care about the situation and that it didn’t go unheard. The fact that the newspaper publicized this issue that students weren’t aware of helped the problem be solved in a more positive light,” explained Benaderet.
The fact that YU students are reading school newspapers and expressing concerns about issues that affect the student body helps spread awareness and can create change.
According to Dean Bacon, the newspaper is very valuable, because it is “a vehicle for information. Often people aren’t aware of opportunities that are available and of the goings-on in which they can be involved.” With an overload of information and announcements, Dean Bacon believes that students are more inclined to read what other students have to say, and the newspaper serves the important function of “student-to-student communication.”