Sun, 26 Sep 2021, 19:37 Re: EE306 - Semester Exam 1

My students,

I just got this question from a student, and decided it was worth sharing my
answer with the rest of the class.

A student writes:


> Professor Patt,
> 
> I am a student in your EE306 class. I have a commitment for October 13,
> the date the syllabus
> gives as our first exam. Because we are at least one lecture behind the
> pace the syllabus gives, would it be reasonable to assume our first exam
> would not be on the 13th, but later? I am sorry if this was not the correct
> way to find this information, but I did not want to take up class time for
> this.
> 
> Thank you,
> <<name withheld to protect the student who is trying to juggle commitments>>


First, let me assure you that sending me email is always OK for finding out
information.

As to your question, the short answer is, "No, the exam will take place on 
October 13 as shown in the course outline."  My reasoning is that students 
have lots of commitments and have to schedule their time accordingly.  It is 
unreasonable to move the date of exams in the middle of the semester since 
it could seriously disrupt students' schedules.  

It is true that we are behind schedule in lectures.  However, that is not
uncommon, since I often find myself going a little slower in the beginning
in order to help students build a stronger foundation.  Do not be concerned,
we always cover the essential concepts before we part company in December.

As for the exam, if we are behind schedule, I will simply only test you on
what we have covered up through October 8, and save testing on subsequent
concepts for the second midterm and final exam.  You can count on us having 
the first midterm on October 13.

Good luck with your other commitments, and the rest of EE 306.

See you in class tomorrow.
Yale Patt