Syms Finals Rule Causes Confusion, Exams Set to Begin This Week

By: Emily Goldberg  |  December 22, 2024
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By Emily Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief

According to a rule in the Sy Syms School of Business (SSSB), all students and faculty members must be in their designated classrooms during the time slot of each class’s final exam, even if the professor is not administering a formal exam. Although students were confused when informed about the rule this year, Michael Strauss, Associate Dean of the Sy Syms School of Business, told the YU Observer that it has been in place for years. 

New York State requires full time students to be enrolled in 12 credits that last for a term of at least 15 weeks. Further New York State requirements sent to the YU Observer by Dean Strauss show that every one credit per college course must have 750 minutes of classroom instructional time, including a week of finals. Therefore, three credit SSSB courses, which meet for one hour and 15 minutes twice a week, must have 15 weeks of classroom based instructional time, totaling 2,250 minutes. 

Classroom instructional time is defined as time spent by both students and faculty in a physical classroom during a scheduled slot. It also includes having seated exams, papers and projects during a pre-scheduled exam period, according to the requirements sent by Dean Strauss.   

Data from the YU academic calendar shows that the fall 2024 semester lasted from Aug. 26 to Dec. 19. Beren campus students had remote instruction from Oct. 7 to 9 and all undergraduate students had remote instruction on Oct. 10 and from Oct. 13 to 15 because of high holidays. 

Final exams for all undergraduate schools will take place from Dec. 23 to 31 (excluding Dec. 25, which is a study day). Final exams in the SSSB last for two hours and 15 minutes.

“Every semester we inform our faculty and students of this rule,” Dean Strauss told the YU Observer. “This year we stressed even more the need to abide by this rule. As a result, we received a few inquiries from a few faculty members and from a few students.” 

Dean Strauss said that he has communicated the rule to all the department chairs, faculty members and students, and that professors informed students of this rule during class. An email, obtained by the YU Observer, was sent by Strauss to students on Dec. 9 informing them of the policy.  

“The policy is very clear,” the email stated. “All students and faculty must come, in person, to the designated room where their final exam is scheduled, whether they are taking an exam, submitting a project, or any other assignment that the professor expects them to do.” 

Dean Strauss said that the professor or proctor will be the one to decide how the designated exam time will be used. If they are not administering a test, professors should engage students in a discussion about their final projects or any other material, which should last for most of, if not the entire exam slot. 

When informed of this rule, students were upset by the requirement. “I might have to forfeit $500 flight and miss my best friend’s vort,” Samuel Huberfeld (SSSB ‘27) told the YU Observer. “Aside from the obvious logical issue, the fact that there’s literally no point in us being there, it shows a real lack of respect for the students from the point of view of the administration.” 

Students feel that if they are not being given a sit down exam, having to stay in school, especially for those who live outside the N.Y./N.J. area, just to turn in a project or essay is a waste of their time. 

“It is frustrating especially for those who live out of town and could have gone home earlier to be with their families,” Maya Peres (SSSB ‘26) told the YU Observer

Many SSSB students are also confused why this rule applies to them but seemingly not their peers in Stern College for Women or Yeshiva College. 

“This brings a bigger issue as it seems that Sy Syms School of Business generally enacts stricter policies as opposed to Stern,” Peres said. “It appears that Sy Syms students are not given the same advantages as their Stern friends. Are Sy Syms students perhaps placed on a ‘higher pedestal’ and must follow stricter policies to prepare them for the business world?” 

Dean Strauss, however, told the YU Observer that this rule applies to the entire university, but that he only has control over SSSB. At the time of publication, Stern College for Women and Yeshiva College students have not received any formal communication about such a rule.

Libby Vadnai (SSSB ‘26) found out about this rule through her professor. Her last exam is in the form of a paper, but she has to come in person to turn it in and is expected to stay in the classroom for the duration of the exam period. 

“It seems a little bit silly to come in and sit in the classroom for over an hour for a class in which we don’t have a written test,” Vadnai told the YU Observer. “If I didn’t have my sister’s wedding that day, it would have been my last final and I’d have had to wait until 1 PM to go just to hand in my paper and wait out the required time.” 

She continued, “As an out-of-towner, having to wait until later to catch my flights is always an inconvenience.”

However, Strauss said there is not much he can do to accommodate these circumstances. “This is their final exam,” he said. “It is only given in a different format; paper/project rather than an actual exam.” 

Photo Caption: The Sy Syms School of Business on the Beren Campus 

Photo Credit: The YU Observer

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