By Eva Yeo
Dec. 11, 2018
The Academic Department Chairs’ decision to end finals week on Thursday, Dec. 20, instead of Friday, Dec. 21, is expected to help students and Community Assistants in accommodating their travel plans for winter break. Although finals at St. Lawrence University are nearly a week later than some other schools in the area, this schedule change is a compromise for the week’s proximity to the holidays.
Vice President of the university and Dean of Academic Affairs Karl Schonberg attributed the decision to issues with finals week that the university has previously faced. “Last year, the time between the end of final exams and the Christmas holiday was very short, and a snowstorm on the last day of finals made traveling home difficult for some students. The recent change to the academic calendar was made in an attempt to stop these issues from recurring this year,” Schonberg said.
Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Evelyn Jennings said that during a department chairs meeting, some faculty members brought attention to the fact that the semester is ending later than in past years—making it hard for students, especially international ones, to travel or book flights closer to Christmas. “So we discussed and voted to end the week earlier in an effort to help,” said Jennings. “We are hopeful that students will be able to make travel plans and save money if they are flying.”
The registrar is responsible for configuring the finals week schedule and the academic calendar is planned three or four years out, according to Jennings. “It was not a conscious choice to make finals week later than past years, it is just the cycle of the calendar that plays out,” she said. The Academic Department Chairs are planning to analyze the effectiveness of the schedule change this year in order to determine whether the outcome makes a difference or whether students should be allotted more time for exams.
Community Assistant and sophomore Sarah Stewart is one student who appreciates the schedule change. “This semester, since my last final is on Thursday, closing has not been of any inconvenience to me,” she said. “When exams ended on Fridays, Community Assistants were not getting home until sometimes as late as Dec. 23, depending on where the days fall on the calendar. I think the new change is good.”
Community Assistant and sophomore Dani Anjeh, who is studying abroad in China next semester, said that she is also happy about being able to leave on Friday instead of Saturday. “I really can’t complain,” she said. “I am just balancing moving out of my room, being a resource for residents, hunkering down for finals and finally closing rooms on Friday.”
There is hope that this decision will affect all students positively. Finals week will last from Monday, Dec. 17, to Thursday, Dec. 20.