diff --git a/ci_cd/lab0.yml b/ci_cd/lab0.yml
index e884f29ca616794eccd8c2ffe4640d4af0245ba2..7b54e1558a2b104e88c326dd57558e703e361481 100644
--- a/ci_cd/lab0.yml
+++ b/ci_cd/lab0.yml
@@ -24,8 +24,15 @@ prebuild_lab_0:
     paths:
       - base_0
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab0.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "lab0"'
+  tags: [c++-17]
+
+prebuild_lab_0_alt:
+  stage: labm1
+  script:
+    - echo "Skipping Lab 0 checks because the branch name is not lab0"
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab0"'
   tags: [c++-17]
 
 compile_lab_0:
@@ -37,8 +44,7 @@ compile_lab_0:
     paths:
       - base_0
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab0.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab0"'
   dependencies:
     - prebuild_lab_0
   tags: [c++-17]
@@ -53,8 +59,7 @@ lint_lab_0:
     paths:
       - base_0
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab0.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab0"'
   dependencies:
     - prebuild_lab_0
   tags: [cppcheck]
@@ -68,8 +73,7 @@ test_lab_0:
     - cd base_0/tests
     - make lab0
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab0.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab0"'
   dependencies:
     - compile_lab_0
   tags: [c++-17]
@@ -83,7 +87,6 @@ internal_tests_lab_0:
     - cd lab-tests/internal_tests
     - make lab0
   rules:
-    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event" && $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME == "master"'
-      changes:
-        - lab0.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab0" && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event" && $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME == "master"'
+
   tags: [ c++-17 ]
diff --git a/ci_cd/lab1.yml b/ci_cd/lab1.yml
index 8ebe9099fd3529608eb1cd8cea21e0e38783abd4..10951f57104725148dfb33ad9534d22d82eae3cf 100644
--- a/ci_cd/lab1.yml
+++ b/ci_cd/lab1.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 prebuild_lab_1:
   stage: lab1
   script:
-    - echo $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE
     - echo "Changes Detected (if any):";
     - git diff --name-only $CI_COMMIT_SHA~ $CI_COMMIT_SHA || echo "No changes found";
     - |
@@ -25,9 +24,15 @@ prebuild_lab_1:
     paths:
       - base_1
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab1.cpp
-    - when: never
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "lab1"'
+  tags: [c++-17]
+
+prebuild_lab_1_alt:
+  stage: labm1
+  script:
+    - echo "Skipping Lab 0 checks because the branch name is not lab1"
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab1"'
   tags: [c++-17]
 
 compile_lab_1:
@@ -41,8 +46,7 @@ compile_lab_1:
   dependencies:
     - prebuild_lab_1
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab1.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab1"'
   tags: [c++-17]
 
 lint_lab_1:
@@ -57,8 +61,7 @@ lint_lab_1:
   dependencies:
     - prebuild_lab_1
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab1.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab1"'
   tags: [cppcheck]
 
 test_lab_1:
@@ -72,8 +75,7 @@ test_lab_1:
   dependencies:
     - compile_lab_1
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab1.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab1"'
   tags: [c++-17]
 
 # trigger internal tests only upon a merge request into master
@@ -85,7 +87,5 @@ internal_tests_lab_1:
     - cd lab-tests/internal_tests
     - make lab1
   rules:
-    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event" && $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME == "master"'
-      changes:
-        - lab1.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab0" && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event" && $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME == "master"'
   tags: [ c++-17 ]
diff --git a/ci_cd/labm1.yml b/ci_cd/labm1.yml
index d925a183f14f763e72cc97316262b281142267fe..5bcd975642b240ebadcfba77aea9c065a6f8be99 100644
--- a/ci_cd/labm1.yml
+++ b/ci_cd/labm1.yml
@@ -2,16 +2,21 @@
 prebuild_lab_m1:
   stage: labm1
   script:
-    - echo "Changes Detected (if any):";
-    - git diff --name-only $CI_COMMIT_SHA~ $CI_COMMIT_SHA || echo "No changes found";
     - |
       if [ ! -f 'lab-1.cpp' ]; then
         echo "ERROR - could not find file lab-1.cpp";
         exit 1;
       fi
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab-1.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "lab-1"'
+  tags: [c++-17]
+
+prebuild_lab_m1_alt:
+  stage: labm1
+  script:
+    - echo "Skipping Lab -1 checks because the branch name is not lab-1"
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME != "lab-1"'
   tags: [c++-17]
 
 compile_lab_m1:
@@ -20,8 +25,7 @@ compile_lab_m1:
     - echo "Compiling lab-1.cpp"
     - g++ -c lab-1.cpp
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab-1.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "lab-1"'
   tags: [c++-17]
 
 lint_lab_m1:
@@ -31,17 +35,14 @@ lint_lab_m1:
       - cppcheck --enable=all --inconclusive --error-exitcode=1 lab-1.cpp
   allow_failure: false
   rules:
-    - changes:
-        - lab-1.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "lab-1"'
   tags: [cppcheck]
 
 # don't run the test in the master branch
 test_lab_m1:
   stage: labm1
   rules:
-    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH != "master" && $CI_COMMIT_TAG == null'
-      changes:
-        - lab-1.cpp
+    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "lab-1" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH != "master" && $CI_COMMIT_TAG == null'
   script:
     - echo "Testing Lab -1";
     - |