[Engg-enci-l] Calculator Stickers information (1st and 2nd year students)

[engginfo at ucalgary.ca]

Hello all,
Thank you all for your comments and concerns regarding the Schulich
Calculators. I have heard from many students and I appreciate that you
have taken the time to provide constructive criticism of our new policy
and choice of calculator in particular, during this busy time. I felt it
was time to provide background information to everyone to clarify how and
why the policy came about.

The calculator policy arose from a meeting of the common core professors
in late June and was not, as many have suggested, being imposed from
above.  The calculator was not originally on the agenda of that meeting
but came out of a discussion of exam etiquette and cheating through the
use of programmable and/or communicating calculators. It was the general
consensus of those professors that we should have a common exam calculator
and as a result we proceeded to look at options.  Each professor had a
chance to comment on the calculator and there was agreement that this
calculator was suitable. The original one was a made in China battery
powered unit and we moved to solar powered Casio for environmental and
quality reasons.
Professors were given the policy wording and asked to include the policy
on the course outlines, if they allowed calculators in their classes.  Not
all courses require a calculator in the exam (and in fact, some do not
allow it at all) and therefore the policy is absent from those course
outlines.  Each professor has been given a calculator to familiarize them
with its functions so that they can frame their exam questions with the
understanding of how it works.  I recognize that many students are very
adept at using a calculator (such as the TI83) and having to learn a new
calculator is frustrating.  Many of you have expressed concern that you
will make calculator errors during the exam without your current (and
familiar) calculator, but even with multi-line and/or programmable
calculators mistakes can (and have) been made. Showing your work, approach
and interim calculations are generally how marks are assigned to answers -
the final number is worth a small fraction of the grade in most cases.  IF
you have the calculator policy on your outline, you MUST have the official
calculator at the exam; if you do not have the official calculator, you
will be given one at the exam.  Obviously, learning how to use a new
calculator takes time, it will be more stressful to have to learn how to
use it during the exam so getting the official one sooner rather than
later is your best option.

Many students have commented on the cost and I have been told it can be
purchased at Staples for $9.99.  You may of course, buy the calculators
elsewhere, but we locked in our price in order to secure supply.  Staples
may not have 1,500 calculators in the city let alone at any one store, and
if we had told you all to go and purchase it elsewhere and then you were
not able to find it all, you would have been stressed out even more.  Our
calculator was logo-ed and supplied directly to the School and there is no
excuse for not being able to find the official calculator before the
exams.  If you have the EXACT same calculator (either from before or from
Staples), bring it to me in the C Block foyer on Wednesday Oct. 24th from
4:30pm-6:00pm or Thursday Oct. 25 from 4:30pm-5:00pm and it will be made
official with an official SSE sticker. If neither of these dates work for
you, you can go see Diana in the Civil administration office (EN F262)
starting Thursday Oct. 25th and she can supply you with a sticker.
Rest assured, we are not trying to make life difficult by imposing a
calculator rather, we are trying to make things fair by leveling the
playing field for all students in the exams.

Dr. Lynne Cowe-Falls