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Monday study day provides one last chance for exam prep

By Kimmi Batson managing Editor 6 min read

The last days of classes are winding down, only to be replaced by a week filled with hours of studying and exams that assess what students have learned this semester.

The end of every semester brings four days of final exams; usually, tests are scheduled Monday through Thursday, and Friday is a make-up day for missed exams and a travel day for students to move home for Christmas break.

This year, however, finals week looks different than ever before.

Monday will be a study day for students. Finals will commence on Tuesday and continue through Friday, and residence halls will close on Saturday, Dec. 20.

According to Dr. Jamie Jacobs, dean for institutional effectiveness and planning, the study day is a time when no student is required to engage in any academic activity for a grade. Instead, it will be a day to refresh before exams and reinforce material learned throughout the semester.

Jacobs and Provost Dr. Jacquelyn Core met with all academic department chairs, the registrar, Student Services and senior staff members during a month-long process that resulted in the creation of the study day. The decision was related to the addition of the weeklong fall break students saw this semester, which Jacobs said was borne of the university’s commitment to faith, learning and serving.

“We had a lot of mission trips going over Christmas Break and over Thanksgiving Break,” said Jacobs. “As a Christian institution, the time when people should be home with their families was when we were sending people away. We thought that a fall break would be good for people doing service trips. But also, students were really dragging by Thanksgiving.”

Jacobs said many instructors have commented on students’ lack of energy during fall semesters with no break until Thanksgiving, which also motivated the addition of a fall break.

Jane Owen, director of the Counseling Center, believes getting two weeklong breaks made a significant difference for students and faculty this semester.

“By the time finals run around, students and faculty alike are tired,” said Owen. “I feel like students have been given more opportunity to get caught up. I think just having those two weeks to get away has been helpful.”

However, adding fall break left the university with one less week of instructional time than the 15 weeks federal accreditation standards require.

“We found ourselves wanting to [add fall break], but then we had a short semester,” said Jacobs. “It turns out that if you have a study day in a week of exams, it counts as an instructional week.”

The make-up day for exams was eliminated by the addition of the study day. Students can determine make-up times with their instructors if they have a circumstance preventing them from attending a scheduled exam period.

“It was really so under-utilized that it didn’t really make sense to hold it out as a make-up day,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs hopes students use the study day as a time to attend extra review sessions that won’t conflict with classes, or simply as a time to rest and refresh for exams.

“Our intent is really to get the students an opportunity to review and get ready for exams,” said Jacobs. “I hope that the students make good use of that day.”

In addition to review sessions coordinated between professors and their students, the Knox Learning Center will be offering numerous subject-specific study tables on Monday, each manned by a different tutor.

Pam Abbe, director of the Knox Learning Center and tutor coordinator, said the day will be helpful for any student looking for assistance in reviewing class material.

“Having a study day is nice because we’re able to do these general content areas [in which] tutors can be available,” said Abbe. “I think it gives students a good opportunity just to refresh and review, as opposed to just sitting in their room struggling through something on their own. They’ll have someone who has some expertise to go over the material.”

In addition to struggling with material, Owen said test anxiety is an issue for students at the end of the semester.

“Over the years, I’ve seen a number of students who really do suffer from test anxiety, and they work themselves to such a level of anxiety that they sabotage themselves,” said Owen. “That’s ongoing, and I think that’s one of the biggest issues.”

Owen said the study day is likely to help alleviate some stress that students typically feel along with anxiety during final exams.

In addition, she emphasizes the counseling center’s availability for all students with anxiety.

“If they are feeling anxious to the point where they’re not functioning well, we are here all finals week,” said Owen. “Even if they’ve never set foot in the counseling center before, we’re still here for them, and sometimes that can be really helpful.”

Like Abbe and Owen, Jacobs said many faculty members and students have commented positively about the addition of the study day.

“Most of the feedback that we’ve gotten has been positive,” said Jacobs. “I’ve heard from students and professors that they were really glad to have the break because people had energy. So, with using the study day in combination with that, I think we’ve really achieved our goal.”

Any concerns that have been expressed dealt with getting used to a new schedule and eliminating conflicts.

“The main negative feedback has just been that it’s different,” said Jacobs. “Mostly, the complaints that we’ve had have been minor logistics, and they’ve all been worked out.”

Jacobs said that although adding the day helped with scheduling issues, the overall goal is for students to take advantage of study time.

“The point of the study day is to prepare students for finals, but it also helps us with scheduling,” said Jacobs. “It’s good for students; it gives them some time to prepare and maybe just even a couple of days to rest. My advice to students is always that the best thing you can do for your exam is to make sure you get a good night’s sleep and eat breakfast.”

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