2008 Woodie Awards
Students not only ones stressed during finals
By Alyssa McCormick
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: Focus
Other professors, such as William Boggs, also a professor from the English department, feel that tests are easier and quicker to grade than written work or projects.
"Finals week is hectic, but most weeks are," Boggs said. "I realized that I put in 65 to 75 hours a week during normal weeks. In finals week, we are released from the regular class meetings. However, the work that comes in has a tight deadline for grading and submitting final grades. Written work cannot be machine graded like bubble test sheets."
Boggs said he views exams as evaluative tools and a good learning experience. He said he believes that because the semesters are relatively short, a finals week is necessary and he always has some sort of exercise, exam, writing assignment or presentation planned for his students.
Whether professors want to give their students a final is entirely up to them. But, final or no final, they are still obligated by their contracts to show up on finals week and hold office hours.
Many professors said they agree with their contracts and have no problem complying with them.
"Our contract provides very clearly defined work rules," Boggs said. "We expect management to hold up their end of the agreement and faculty members should honor their part."
Others, like Schaffrath, abide by their contracts, but don't necessarily agree with them.
"I personally think that it should be left to the professor's discretion whether to meet on the final exam day," Schaffrath said. "I believe that every class has very specific needs. Some classes are mostly lecture and others are more about getting students to learn by hands-on experience."
Schaffrath said he feels this way because he believes in more flexibility and giving students more responsibility.
"I am a proponent for flexibility in the curriculum," he said. "College instruction can take many forms. Sometimes the traditional classroom setting can be an impediment for learning effectiveness. I believe in setting high standards for our students, and these high standards are best met by giving our students as much responsibility and as little hand-holding as possible. That's the difference between high school and higher education. I am not a teacher. I am an instructor."
"Finals week is hectic, but most weeks are," Boggs said. "I realized that I put in 65 to 75 hours a week during normal weeks. In finals week, we are released from the regular class meetings. However, the work that comes in has a tight deadline for grading and submitting final grades. Written work cannot be machine graded like bubble test sheets."
Boggs said he views exams as evaluative tools and a good learning experience. He said he believes that because the semesters are relatively short, a finals week is necessary and he always has some sort of exercise, exam, writing assignment or presentation planned for his students.
Whether professors want to give their students a final is entirely up to them. But, final or no final, they are still obligated by their contracts to show up on finals week and hold office hours.
Many professors said they agree with their contracts and have no problem complying with them.
"Our contract provides very clearly defined work rules," Boggs said. "We expect management to hold up their end of the agreement and faculty members should honor their part."
Others, like Schaffrath, abide by their contracts, but don't necessarily agree with them.
"I personally think that it should be left to the professor's discretion whether to meet on the final exam day," Schaffrath said. "I believe that every class has very specific needs. Some classes are mostly lecture and others are more about getting students to learn by hands-on experience."
Schaffrath said he feels this way because he believes in more flexibility and giving students more responsibility.
"I am a proponent for flexibility in the curriculum," he said. "College instruction can take many forms. Sometimes the traditional classroom setting can be an impediment for learning effectiveness. I believe in setting high standards for our students, and these high standards are best met by giving our students as much responsibility and as little hand-holding as possible. That's the difference between high school and higher education. I am not a teacher. I am an instructor."
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