Dreadful word called "exams"

During casual weekly conversations with my dad, he asks me "When is the final exam?". When I tell him that I don't have final exams this quarter, he wonders what kind of a course it is without a final exam. Currently I'm working on a business plan evaluation paper and trying to come up with a new business plan for my eBusiness Models course. These assignments demand a greater amount of effort and thinking than the conventional final exams that we are so used to giving after every semester.

One of the many good aspects I like about my PGSEM program at IIMB is the evaluation. In the past 1.5 years, I have done many group projects, individual assignments, case analyses, role plays, a couple of self reflective papers, two business plans, a movie review etc apart from a few exams/quizzes. I like this variety of options offered in different courses. Although it involves considerable effort throughout the quarter unlike the last few days of preparation in my engineering days, I am having fun as I work through these evaluations.

It would have been a different learning experience if a similar evaluation was adopted for Engineering courses as well. The one final exam where 100% is at stake does not auger well for our engineering education although people who write "Made Easy" books have become richer year after year.