Temperatures are rising, the birds are singing and the air is becoming crisper; summer is on its way. The break for all of us students is just around the corner, and as we prepare for a well-deserved break, one thing remains in our way. Exams.
We are two weeks out from exams, and as students begin to cram for our final presentations, essays, projects and tests, we can get burned out.
This semester has been quite a doozy. Like any semester, the last three weeks are always chaotic, but the winter weather we’ve experienced hasn’t made them any easier for us students.
Days taken off while nice in the short term have put an extra strain on the end of the semester.
It’s safe to say that students and faculty are burnt out right now. Having to cram double the content into class periods has put a strain on students’ brains. We’ve had to work overtime to learn the necessary information in a little time to make sure we’re prepared for exams. But the students were not the only ones affected by the number of snow days we received.
Professors have the added stress of preparing us for final exams with less time.
In addition to having less time, NMU’s growing number of students is not only impacting the dorm life on campus, but also the classroom size.
If you’ve taken a look around your classrooms recently, you probably noticed you have more students to interact with. Growing acceptance rates mean the ratio of students to faculty members has been altered. Having more students in classes means more work for professors to grade.
Students are burnt out at the end of the semester, but some also worry about their grades.
All professors work differently; that being said, some do not input grades until the very end of the semester. For students, this can be troublesome for many reasons. For some North Wind staff, they’re worried that the lack of grades being input may have a negative effect on their grades. Some are worried they received bad marks and won’t know until it’s too late to attempt to make up for it. On the other hand, some North Winders struggle to lock in until they see a grade they don’t like; for them, it’s hard to know when to do so when there is a lack of input put into the grading system.
NMU’s growing class sizes may have a direct impact on this; with more students, it can take more time to grade, which can lead to grades being put in later in the semester.
Some students are growing worried for other reasons. When grades are posted later, students fear the looming deadline to withdraw from classes if needed. It stinks, but sometimes taking a W in a class is all you can do to protect your GPA.
In general, we’re all burnt out. Sometimes looking forward to summer is the only thing that gets some of us through what some call the hardest three weeks of the semester.
If you’re a professor reading this, think back next semester when it comes to grading and try to put grades in a little sooner; it can help give students a piece of mind. Overall, we students need to hear your feedback because we are learning from you and the mistakes we make. If we can’t fully grasp our mistakes, we cannot continue to learn. While you’re grading our work, remember, we understand your struggles too. With more college kids running around, you have more work to do; many of us understand that. Professors are human, and so are we students. As the semester wraps up, we need to work together to have a successful end to the school semester and successful start to summer break.
