The life of convenience is trickling down to higher education.

Yep, students can now take exams by phone, or at least they can at Governors State University, University Park, Ill. It’s called telequize, and it’s as easy as calling a friend across town.

Students at the university in Psychology 519 took a 10-question multiple choice quiz by pressing numbers one through four for the answers. True/False quizes can be taken by pressing numbers one for true and two for false.

The quiz received some rave reviews. “I love it but I don’t know why,” said student Jean Pavlak. “Seeing things in print in front of you gives you more time to go back and change the answers. With this you really have to concentrate.”

The process is ridiculous. It seems teacher and students have become overwhelmed with the simple scantron syndrome. Simplicity is the key to this disease: darkening little holes to answer questions, and then sending the sheets through a computer, miraculously being graded within minutes.

Phone exams are the next step to oblivion in the chain of convenient life. Soon classes will be run in through computer modems, and the traditional classroom blackboard will be replaced by rock ‘n roll posters from the student’s room.

Too many benefits are lost by human teachers repalced by computers, videos and casette recordings. Learning needs feedback; human feedback, not electical.