this whole situation that Dean O. has put us all in is horrible!!! I liked Iris's propsal.

I would LOVE a PHARM shelf.... but guess what... I am NOT that lucky... so it will probably be micro. Actually, since I'm a pharmacist, i would prefer a shelf in another subject.

I would really like to know their final rationale for not administering all shelfs to each student. Is it really because shelfs provide no feedback (it is just a number)? In that case, why make students even take one random shelf? How much benefit can that provide?

Personally, I would like to take all of the shelfs, and I would even pay an additional fee (if reasonable) to take it. Not only that, they should allow students the opportunity to take the comp also, and not use it only to see who moves on to Miami and who does not. In the previous semesters, I used the shelfs to see how well I had progressed in each subject. Even if it is just a number, the number DOES mean something. And now in the new scheme, being a 4th semester student, I will not be able to gauge my progress in 3 of 4 important courses (keep in mind that pharm, micro, and path are all 2 semester courses), and Step I is just around the corner.

As for shelfs counting as part of our grade. In this new scheme, the shelf score should only count for that particular course. It is completely ludicrous to even think of counting course "A" shelf score toward course "B's" grade. Who in administration came up with that suggestion?

As for my suggestion, I would say throw out counting the shelfs as part of the grade. Just count M1, M2, Local Cumulative Final (and any lab, oral, ect...) toward the grade. However, allow students the option to take the shelfs if they wish (preferably without an additional fee).

in the meeting, dean obenshain said it's because we're wasting one whole week taking all the shelves when we could be using that week to study and think more about what we learned--pull things together in our heads. he also said he personally wants to get rid of it altogether, but members of the faculty expressed concern over doing that. he said that he thinks there's no advantage to taking the shelves because we don't get any feedback, just a number.

the shelf is just a number, just like our mini scores. We never see that and hardly ever get anything back. Unless we pull someone's leg to have something done.

Make it all or none. Either bring back the old system of having shelfs in every subject or have no shelfs at all for this semester. As far as why the new Dean changed the old policy??? Money ofcourse. Loans from undergrad, professional school, and now foreign medical school is piling up...last time I checked sallie mae, my debt is over 130,000 U.S.D. I am 4th and the only thing I am looking forward to is getting out of this island soon and in one piece. Students come and go, deans come and go, policies keep changing...I guess we just gotta roll with the punches and take it up the @...

the faculty has finally made their decision: the shelf will count for 15% and the final exams for the subjects where you didn't take the shelf will count 15% more than usual.

in micro, for example, someone who takes the micro shelf will have their final exam count for 21% of their grade, while someone who didn't take the micro shelf will have his final count for 36%.

15% difference! for some people, that can mean the difference between moving on and repeating. pray that you get the shelf for the class you're strongest in!

lakeforest,

you owe that much?!?!?! do you have a family to support too that's why your loan is that much? you are only half way through! I'm also forth and I take the maximum out every semester and i only owe around $70,000!