“So Dave, what did you think of Comprehensive Exams?” I asked.
He pauses for a minute, takes a deep breath and rants, “there’s no incentive to study. If everyone eventually passes what is the point? At what other point in your life will you do something for three months, do it well, and four years later be tested on it again? That’s not much different than asking, what did you eat in the cafeteria on January 16, 2004? You care when you are taking classes, but if it’s not related to what you are going to do in life, what’s the point? I could have spent all the time I spent studying for Comps,” pause: laugh, “studying for my Series 7 exam, instead. Really, what’s the point of me studying the ISLM curve? No one is going to come into my office next year asking about the long run equilibrium of money supply and money demand in the economy. It seems like another thing that K throws at you to seem like not everyone can make it here.”
Dave Kelly, a senior economics major, who has a job working for Edward Jones Investments in Chicago starting in July, took comprehensive exams three times before finally passing. For him, it added stress to an already busy Senior Spring for, seemingly, no reason.
Most departments allow their students to retake comps as many times necessary to pass. As the number of do-overs increases, the amount of information students must know decreases. This practice of “dumbing” down the content begs the question: if everyone eventually passes, why have them in the first place, it only wastes, both students’ and faculty members’ time?
Thomas Evans, Music Professor, and member of the Committee for Kalamazoo College Future’s (CKFC) Distinctive Task Force Initiative sees Comps as another graduation requirement. He said, “If you can take them [Comps] as many times as you need, it dilutes the purpose. They have no teeth.” He recalled his experience at the University of Michigan for his doctorate and remarked, “there if you didn’t pass you didn’t graduate, you better believe people prepared for them.” He agrees with Kelly, in that, students have no real incentive to study and it just ends up another hurdle, through which, to jump to obtain a diploma.
Paul Sotherland, Biology Professor, and also member of the CKFC’s Distinctive Task Force Initiative, argues that comps are also a good way to measure professor aptitude in terms of preparing students on a national scale, while comparing current students with past results. It provides a standardized scale and performance can be judged against other schools, instead of comparing students within one department.
The Biology Department, for example, uses a standardized test similar to subject exams on the GRE in conjunction with an oral examination to help students hone their ability to verbally express themselves.
Sotherland comments, “oral exams scare a lot of students. Others rise to the occasion and surprise themselves. For those who go on to grad school they help them to pull stuff together and make connections that the SIP does not always do.” For him, SIPs are specialized and generally cover one area of research. Comprehensive Exams, on the contrary, force students to consider four years of acquired material.
Students tend to have a different and elevated opinion of their SIPs because of the tremendous amount of work required. Jennifer Thomson, Chemistry major, who plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall, says, “I loved my SIP. You need math and English on the GREs. Comps in the sciences do nothing, except waste time” she laments. She sees her SIP as an integral part of her K-Plan, whereas many other students cannot see the same value of Comprehensive Exams.
In comparison, the SIP, for many, represents hundreds of hours of work experience and/or research connected to knowledge attained during their individual K- Plan. Contrary, comprehensive exams are nothing more than a superficial regurgitation of information. Religion majors, for instance, answered prompts written by professors, on a Moodle site. Since students submitted their responses over the internet, they could prepare essays or outlines ahead of time, from the privacy and comfort of any computer. Without a uniform structure it places into question how useful Comps can be to determine either professor’s or student’s abilities.
However, regardless of the structure or department, students have the opportunity to earn Honors for an outstanding performance on the exam. Doing well on the exam shows a particular student’s aptitude for their field, while giving the school another opportunity to venerate the hard work of an undergraduate.
“So Dave, what about students who achieve Honors for Comps?” I asked.
Kelly jokes, “I have problems with those people in general. We’re just not on the same wavelength. If they can’t sleep at night until they have honors on Comps for grad school, all the power to them. I know I got honors on the third try. I got at least 44 of 50 multiple choice questions correct.” The question arises in the legitimacy of achievement: are we testing an individual’s grasp complex material or just a particular student’s willingness to take the extra time study? Does the drive towards Honors, indicate a greater tendency of stress on campus due to high the expectations and aspirations of students on campus?
The future of comprehensive exams hangs in the balance. CKCF will continue to review what aspects makes this college distinctive from other schools. Currently, each department is expected to provide assessment plans to the committee for evaluation. Hopefully, members will reach a conclusion about the value and necessity of Comps; answering an age old question do Comprehensive Exams enhance the experience of students or do they only add to “the pressure cooker” high stress culture that defines K College?
For years, rumors have raced around campus saying, that with each graduating class, comprehensive exams will be abolished. Depending on the decisions of administration students may or may not have to waste their time preparing or not preparing in the future. However, one thing remains certain, each graduating member of the Class of 2007 will, indefinitely, have passed Comps by Sunday, June 11: Graduation Day.
