The Office of the Registrar recently announced its decision to change the first semester exam schedule from one week of reading period followed by one week of exams to a new two-two-two-two schedule. By this timetable, there will be a repeated pattern of two days of reading week followed by two days of exams.
According to the Office of the Registrar, the decision to alter the fall 2008 reading week schedule was made over a year ago by the Educational Policy Committee, whose members include Registrar Anna van den Burg, members of the faculty, and three student representatives from the WSA. One of the key responsibilities of the committee is to review and revise the academic calendar every five years to ensure that the winter recess always occurs before the holidays begin.
“The school year always starts the Tuesday after Labor Day and generally ends before Dec. 22,” van den Burg said. “In years when Labor Day starts late, it’s a real logistical problem to get the required number of classes in before the holidays begin.”
To resolve these logistical problems, the Committee decided to shorten and alter the reading week schedule, allowing the fall term to end a few days earlier than usual. Under the new schedule, classes will end on Monday Dec. 8, and exams will end the following Tuesday, on Dec. 16. Students will have the Tuesday and Wednesday after classes end to study, and then they will have Saturday and Sunday free to study again.
The Deans, as well as faculty, were enthusiastic about the new schedule, stating that all of the extra time that students had during reading week only distracted them from their studies.
“The Dean’s Office was concerned about all of the free-time that students had,” van der Burg said. “It was way too long and many students would even go home and come back during that time. This new schedule allows students to leave in a timely manner and not get caught up in holiday traffic.”
Professors also shared similarly optimistic views on the new calendar, believing that it will encourage students to better organize their time.
“Students will most likely do better and concentrate more,” said Government Professor Mary Haddad. “Lots of students come up to me during finals and ask for extensions because it is physically impossible to do that amount of work and cramming in three days. With all of those tests and essays due at the same moment, students get crunched. I’m sure with the new schedule, fewer students will have to ask for extensions.”
This sentiment, however, is not necessarily echoed by the student body. Many students resent the amount of control that the administration is exercising over their study time, claiming that the alteration of the calendar is less a logistical victory than it is a reversion to high school.
“By assigning such and such exams to be held on Thursday and Friday, the school is essentially telling us that on Tuesday and Wednesday, we better study for those subjects,” said Fareed Sajan ’09. “I thought I came to college to manage my own time and my own schedule, not to be watch-dogged by the administration as if they’re my parents.”
Some students, such as Ezra Nachman ’11, enjoyed the freedom and flexibility that the reading week afforded because it allowed them to focus on multiple subjects at once, which often came in handy when writing essays.
“A lot of times my classes have had inter-related subjects and for me, it’s easier to remember something if I can connect it to something similar,” Nachman said. “It’s also nice to be able to study for what you want when you want. If I’m not in the mood to study for biology one day, it’s not a problem because I have a whole week to do so. Now with the new calendar, I’ll have to study a certain subject, regardless if I’m having an off day.”
Two other schools that hold reading weeks, Brown and Yale, have opted not to shorten their old schedules, despite the change in calendar dates.
“[Members of the Wesleyan administration] just don’t want to have to pay for heating bills,” said Whitten Overby ’10.
As for now, the success or failure of the new reading week schedule is still a mystery. The spring reading week will remain untouched and continue to afford students a week of studying before exams.
“I am remaining cautiously optimistic about the winter reading week schedule, but at least I’ll have the following spring reading week to compare it to,” said Stephen Schwartz ’10.
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