While the ever-dreaded finals week has arrived, the number of exams students have may depend most on which college they are enrolled in.

With professors having the alternative choices of assigning term papers, take-home exams and group projects, not all classes require the traditional exam during finals week.

According to information from the Office of the University Registrar, 404 out of 689 class sections in the College of Engineering have exams scheduled during this semester's finals week.

This is a ratio of about one final for every 1.7 classes.

In the College of Communications, 38 of 167 course sections have exams during finals week.

This is a ratio of about one final for every 4.4 classes.

The College of Education has a ratio of about one final for every 12.3 courses, which is the lowest. Only 24 courses out of the college's 296 sections require a final exam this semester.

The College of the Liberal Arts offers the most class sections by far, and gives slightly fewer finals than does Engineering.

Matt Jackson, assistant professor of communications, said class size is a major consideration as to whether he gives students a final exam.

"It depends on the class whether or not I offer a final.

"When I teach a large class, I will have a final exam. If I'm teaching a smaller class with group projects and individual papers, I try to use those methods for evaluating student growth and performance rather than a final exam," Jackson said.

His Communications 381 (Telecommunications Regulation) class has about 110 students, who will be taking a final exam at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Jackson also teaches a Communications 385 (Broadcast and Cable Programming) class.

The class has roughly 40 students and uses group projects and papers for grading.

Penny Kowalski, scheduling coordinator for the registrar, said certain types of classes traditionally don't have a final exam.

Some examples of these classes are:

Speech Communication 100 (Effective Speech)

English 15 (Rhetoric and Composition)

English 202A (Writing in the Social Sciences)

English 202B (Writing in the Humanities)

English 202C (Technical Writing)

English 202D (Business Writing)

All Exercise and Sport Activities (ESACT) courses

as well as independent studies courses

"Because of the nature of the [courses] the college never offers a final exam," Kowalski said.

Jeremy Haken (senior-French) is currently a student in the College of the Liberal Arts, which this semester has a ratio of about one final exam for every four courses. He said that throughout his college career he has taken relatively few final exams.

"I haven't had many finals from semester to semester. Even as a freshman, the most I had was three in a semester," Haken said.

This semester, Haken is taking three French courses, an ESACT class and an independent studies course.

Of the five, Haken said he has only one exam.

Terry Engelder, professor of geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, teaches Geosciences 461 (Geology of North America) and Geosciences 465 (Structural Geology).

He intends to give both of the classes a final exam.

"The final exam offers a platform for the student to grasp an overview of the subject material that was covered during the semester.

"It more or less gives them the opportunity to put everything in place and gain perspective of what they were taught," Engelder said.

Rebecca Seidel (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said that in her first year as a Penn State student, she has already experienced many of the different options professors use in place of a final exam.

This semester she has one final during the scheduled exam period and one final on the last day of classes.

She also has one class in which students can choose between writing a paper or taking a final.

"My last semester I had two finals during the scheduled exam time and one take-home final," Seidel said.