Spring Break
Finals on...Saturday?!
Editorial Board
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: Ed-Op
Dec. 16, 2008 at 10 a.m. all Drexel students received an e-mail (which they may or may not have read) informing them that, "in order to satisfy Pennsylvania Department of Education requirements for the number of class hours per quarter credit hour, and to maintain the current schedule of holidays … the final exam schedule … has been expanded."
Now that the finals schedule for winter term has been posted, it is finally sinking in that many Drexel students this term will have to take final exams on the last Saturday of the term. According to the final exam schedule as of now, 89 course sections have a final that day, Mar. 21. Granted, many are lumped into common exams - but that's still a lot of students who are stuck on campus later than they should be.
Drexel students already have an extremely rigorous schedule, with our lightning-fast 10-week terms and year-round rotation between class and co-op. Especially in the break between winter and spring, we need those scant seven days to take a breather, visit family, trek across the country for co-op, or journey across the world for study abroad. Many students rely on these days to see family and friends that they have not seen since the last break and will not see until the next. It is even more difficult to do much with the break when finals finish late Saturday.
Also, how beneficial is it for us to have class on the Monday of finals week?
Many students use the weekend before finals week to study for their finals. How many students are actually going to show up for class? The looming threat of final exams and stress of end-of-term projects will surely distract students from learning in those last few hours of class if they even choose to attend.
And, since Monday evening classes are still required to hold their finals on that "make-up" day, they really aren't making up any hours of class, are they? They're the ones who lose the most time due to holidays, and they really aren't accommodated with this solution.
It may be too late for this term, but we hope that in the future the University will reconsider this "expansion" of finals week with more careful consideration for the students.
Now that the finals schedule for winter term has been posted, it is finally sinking in that many Drexel students this term will have to take final exams on the last Saturday of the term. According to the final exam schedule as of now, 89 course sections have a final that day, Mar. 21. Granted, many are lumped into common exams - but that's still a lot of students who are stuck on campus later than they should be.
Drexel students already have an extremely rigorous schedule, with our lightning-fast 10-week terms and year-round rotation between class and co-op. Especially in the break between winter and spring, we need those scant seven days to take a breather, visit family, trek across the country for co-op, or journey across the world for study abroad. Many students rely on these days to see family and friends that they have not seen since the last break and will not see until the next. It is even more difficult to do much with the break when finals finish late Saturday.
Also, how beneficial is it for us to have class on the Monday of finals week?
Many students use the weekend before finals week to study for their finals. How many students are actually going to show up for class? The looming threat of final exams and stress of end-of-term projects will surely distract students from learning in those last few hours of class if they even choose to attend.
And, since Monday evening classes are still required to hold their finals on that "make-up" day, they really aren't making up any hours of class, are they? They're the ones who lose the most time due to holidays, and they really aren't accommodated with this solution.
It may be too late for this term, but we hope that in the future the University will reconsider this "expansion" of finals week with more careful consideration for the students.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Francie Trout
posted 2/06/09 @ 11:53 PM EST
Don't complain about taking a final on a Saturday. When I was an undergrad in the 1980s, Saturday finals were common. In fact, I had back to back Saturday finals my sophomore year. (Continued…)
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