The Unofficial Guide to First Year - University of Oklahoma Health ...

UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
“What do you mean that’s not correct?!
That was the most ideal submandibularfreakin-fossa
I have ever seen!
-Class of 2011 student after the Anatomy
practical
CHAPTER
3
Exam Review Committee
WHAT IS IT?
The Exam Review Committee (ERC) was set up to help facilitate the exam review process and to
bridge the communication between the students, as a class, and the faculty. This limits the number
of students contacting professors individually, often to discuss the same concerns over and over
again and wasting a lot of time. Furthermore, not everyone is comfortable approaching a professor
with their concerns, and this system allows them to turn in appeals to a fellow student.
WHO IS IT?
Typically, the ERC consists of a chairperson (who is selected during student elections), and a
committee of students representing the class. The members of this committee should be
determined as soon as possible in the school year, if you decide to have a committee at all. You can
have a standing committee or rotate responsibilities among people so that more people are able to
serve on the ERC. It’s up to the ERC chairperson to decide the system that works best.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The way the ERC works is basically up to the members of the committee to decide each year, with
the basic outcome that the chairperson and maybe a committee member meet with the professor to
discuss the appeals. Here’s how the class of 2012 does it: The ERC chair oversees the review of all
exams for every subject and all appeals must be turned in to him or her, usually via email. All
concerns presented to the ERC must be accompanied by an explanation regarding the aspect of the
test called into question, along with the test form and question number. It is important to note
that it is NOT the responsibility of the ERC to develop legitimate arguments to exam questions
presented to the committee. However, it is extremely helpful so remember that when you are
electing your ERC chair. It is the job of the ERC chairperson to set up appropriate meeting times
with each of the course directors to discuss such aspects of the test the committee has deemed
worthy of presenting for review.
A few words of advice… do not abuse this system or the professors willing to participate in it. Much
deliberation should occur before submitting questions to professors for review. Submit only those
concerns that the committee deems have legitimate arguments to them. All of the professors want to
help us do well, but nobody likes to feel like they are being taken advantage of. Also, be careful about
your postings on the discussion boards. Professors read these and you don’t want to offend any of them
by making comments that seem to question their intelligence. Your class will undoubtedly discuss
possibly flawed questions in the discussion boards, but try not to make it obvious that you are writing
down questions on your answer sheets. Technically this is not allowed because the questions could be
passed on to subsequent classes. But during the test if you feel a question is poorly worded or there is no
correct answer- come back to it! Chances are you are not reading it correctly and you are tired from the
40 pages of testing and/or 4 hours of sleep. Once you have returned to the question if you still feel it is in
error, mark it on your answer sheet and jot down a word or two to jog your memory after the test. Then,
once you have left the lecture hall, quickly write down what the heck you were thinking so you can email
14