IBA’s Final Exam Decision

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Yes, you read the title correctly. The decision is here and IBA’s final exam decision has caused a frenzy among the students. And the decision is – drum roll please – to not take a decision for now and transfer the burden onto the faculty. Trust me when I call it a burden. Because till this semester ends, the faculty members’ (and of course, the poor TAs’) inboxes are going to be flooded. Flooded with requests to hold online exams (against faculties’ personal wishes of trying to hold them physically). Some would even emotionally blackmail the teachers with the sob stories of being unable to leave homes. While others will be genuine in such requests. Because of course, the Covid threat is a real thing. But all in all, the final exam debate, as discussed by Sarah Imran, is far from over.

What Did the Issued Notification Say?

IBA’s final exam decision, which was notified via an email dated 7th December 2020, highlighted the academic council’s meeting. The office of the registrar has decided to devolve the final grading mechanism to the faculty members. Students are expected to stay in touch with their course instructors (meaning: keep praying for your fate is now in the hands of the teachers). The instructors need to allot final grades within the time frame of the semester (till the 2nd week of January at max). Hence, they have requested the students’ cooperation. But are they willing to cooperate?

This also brings us to the next question. If the semester is supposed to end before 11th January (till the government announced holidays last), can there even be a physical exam? However, do not get excited yet. The teachers certainly have to give a grade this time. Which means they would try their best to hold exams on campus.

For Fall 2020 all students would be assigned marks and a final grade and there would not be a Pass or Fail assigned for Fall 2020.  

Dr. Mohammad Asad Ilyas – In email notification dated: 7th December, 2020.

So What Can Be Expected?

In light of the issued notification, faculty members are now holding meetings with the department heads. Everyone is busy trying to figure a way out. Some instructors are adamant about physical exams while others have already announced online exams for their respective classes. Is it sane to say that maybe some angelic instructor is also considering take-home assignments? Nevertheless, a competition between the students has arisen; my instructor is better than yours!

If physical exams are taken, they would need to ensure that all government ordered are kept in mind. This includes the fact that only 30% of total students enrolled are allowed on campus at one time. And only 30 students (or less) can be in an exam room, at one time. Can IBA manage to hold this many variants of an exam? If online exams are opted for, the teachers are not going to be satisfied with the assessment. Not to mention the disadvantage this brings to some students.

From a holistic perspective, things are not looking good, especially after the issued notification. Like we expected earlier, there is no right or wrong decision that can be taken at this point. At the end of the day, we all will have to give in to the decisions of the faculty. This might mean a hard turn for the GPAs of many students who relied on a better possible decision. This might also mean a ray of hope for the people working hard. In the end, after all of this pandemic-frenzy is over, the dean’s list is going to be another real surprise!

What Do You Think?

Let us know your thoughts about IBA’s final exam decision in the comment section down below. This way, maybe some instructor actually reads this and delivers your concerns to the meetings!