Exam manners

I'd like to start by apologizing for my behavior at the end of the exam. I admit that I got a little grumpier than I should have, and I will do my best to never let it happen again. Part of the problem is that I did not make my expectations clear about what I expect when students take exams in my class, so let me try to clarify.

As your instructor, I feel it is my responsibility to provide you the best possible environment in which to take your exams. We take our exams in a large room so that everyone has space. I try to be as quiet as possible while I'm walking around the room. I write time reminders up on the board for those of you who may not be able to see the clock from your seat. I try to provide an environment that is as free from distractions as possible without putting everyone in their own individual, noise-proof rooms.

In return, I expect a few things from you.
1. Arrive on time. It is disruptive to your classmates to have people trickling in, opening and closing doors, plopping down in their seats, and otherwise making noise that is distracting. I understand that there are legitimate reasons for being late, but I doubt that everyone who wandered in late had a good reason. If you KNOW you might be late for a legitimate reason, let me know in advance.
2. Turn OFF your phone. You're not going to answer it during the exam, are you? Many phones vibrate rather loudly when you're in a (hopefully) quiet room, so just turning off the ringer can still be very disruptive to the students sitting near you, trying to concentrate and perform well on the exam.
3. When you finish the exam, either leave or be silent. If there are still people taking the exam and you decide to have a chat with your friend in the exam room, you are being disruptive. In fact, you are being an inconsiderate jerk. In the future, if I hear or see anyone talking in the exam room, I will assume you are trying to cheat in some way and you will fail the course. Even if you've already handed in your exam, I will assume you are trying to cheat and you will fail the course. I understand that many of you have class in SL104 right after our class, so it seems natural to just stay in the room, but if you want to talk to anyone other than me, do it in the hallway.

All of these things can be pretty easily summed up as "Don't do anything that is intentionally disruptive to the other students in the room". That doesn't seem like an unreasonable request to me. I would hope that all of your classmates would behave similarly. If everyone is just a LITTLE considerate of the rest of the people in the room, then EVERYONE can have a more positive and productive exam experience. A couple other tips fall under the "Be prepared and responsible for your own success" category:
1. If you're taking an exam, there's a pretty good chance that you'll need something to write with. I do not use Scantrons for the regular exams in my Gen Chem classes, so it doesn't matter whether you use pencil or pen for regular Gen Chem exams. Pencils and pens are not all that expensive, so it's not a bad idea to have one of each with you. In fact, it's not a bad idea to have 3 or 4 of each with you.
2. If you're feeling a little sniffly or prone to coughing, bring a small pack of tissues and/or some cough drops with to class. {NOTE: If you're using tissues in class, please dispose of them properly. Every semester there's at least one person who throws used tissues on the floor or under their seat in SL104 and the janitors have to clean them up. That's gross. Don't do it.} If your cough or throat tickle is persistent, you might even bring a bottle of water to sip during the exam or class. Speaking of which...
3. Think before you drink. This applies to evening parties, but it's also good advice for early mornings. For most people, if you drink a quart of coffee or soda or juice or water or Red Bull, there's a pretty good chance that all of that liquid will require a stop in a restroom. It's best if this does not occur in the middle of an exam, especially when the exam only lasts 50 minutes. A quick stop in the restroom before the exam starts will let you think about the exam without wondering if your teeth really are literally floating out of your mouth.
4. Bring an appropriate calculator. My calculator policy is in the syllabus and is there thanks to one of your predecessors who downloaded most of the textbook into his TI-84 graphing calculator. In the middle of an exam, I stood looking over his shoulder as he scrolled through the text. I might have a "loaner" calculator with me at the exam, but don't expect it. Similar to the pen/pencil comment above, it wouldn't be the wackiest idea in the world to think about bringing 2 calculators to class, especially since the calculators you are allowed to use on my exams can cost less that $10. I noticed a couple people using extremely basic check-book style calculators during the exam that can't do anything more than add, subtract, multiply and divide. These probably cost $1-2 and would be a GREAT "backup" calculator to have in your bag.
5. Don't ignore the clock. But don't obsess about the clock for the whole 50 minutes. I typically don't audibly announce how much time is left until the 10 minute mark because it's disruptive to students. When I announce "10 minutes left", it means you have some time left to work through a problem or two. When I announce "2 minutes left", that means you might have time to finish the problem you're working on and give a quick look through the exam to make sure your name is on every page and you've answered any multiple choice questions that might be on the exam (even if you have to guess). If I have to announce "30 seconds left", that means you need to get out of your seat and bring me your exam NOW. There is another class waiting to come in the room, and I need to clear out to allow the next class to start on time. I will not come to you and take the exam out of your hands, I will just leave the room and you will earn a score of zero on the exam.

For those of you who have read this far, congratulations, you must actually care about your success in my class and in college and in life. In many cases, you are probably also not the students who really need to read this because you are already considerate of your classmates and doing your best to be prepared and responsible. The vast majority of you are good students, and I thank you for everything you do. You make class better by being there. Have a good weekend and I'll see you on Monday.