Mississippi State University faculty and students are working to restore the pre-exam Reading Day to the exam schedule for the spring and fall semesters of 2002. At the Robert Holland Faculty Senate meeting on Feb. 15, the 40 members present (out of 48 total members) unanimously agreed with a report from the advisory body’s Ancillary Affairs committee that “Reading Day should be reinstated as occurring the day after classes end and before exams begin, and should not occur on Saturday.”
The senators present also agreed with the report that the final grade submissions should occur by noon on the Monday following exam week.
The report from the Ancillary Affairs committee was a response to a letter from Lorenzo Crowell, associate professor and faculty senator.
In his letter, Crowell discusses the reason for having a reading day, previous exam schedules and the current exam schedule.
“My understanding is that the point of a Reading Day is to provide students a period between the end of classes and the beginning of final examinations to review and prepare for their examinations,” Crowell’s letter said.
Because the exams for the most popular class times occur first in the exam schedule, Crowell said students, and even some faculty members, may be tempted to schedule classes based on when the semester will end.
Crowell asked in his letter that the Faculty Senate work to change the exam schedule for the next two semesters.
“I request the Faculty Senate determine who made the decision to have the Reading Day’after final examinations have already taken place, determine what the rationale for that decision is or was, and call upon the administration to change the planned schedule for the next two semesters so that the Reading Day takes place before the examinations start,” Crowell’s letter said.
Crowell also addressed the issue of grades submission in his letter. For the fall 2001 semester, final exams ended at 6 p.m. on Dec. 13 and grades were due no later than noon on Dec. 14.
“In past semesters, we have had two grade submission deadlines: one shortly after examinations end for graduating seniors and one later for the rest of the student body. Whoever established this deadline 18 hours after examinations end, including a night much of which we older faculty members will waste sleeping, has never read 30 or 35 blue books written during a three-hour examination period by students taking a substantive, comprehensive final examination in history,” Crowell said in his letter.
According to University Registrar Larry Dobbs, the decision to change the position of the Reading Day to a Saturday came from the office of the provost. Dobbs said the decision was made because of the difficulties surrounding exams on a Saturday.
“During the budget crisis, we don’t pay our custodial folks to come in on Saturday to make sure that the classrooms are open and the buildings are unlocked,” Dobbs said.
When asked about his opinion on the issue of the exam schedule and the Reading Day, Dobbs had little to say.
“I don’t have one (an opinion). It doesn’t make any difference to me if we have a Reading Day on the Saturday during exams or before exams start. It may be different for the university, but this is just my personal opinion,” Dobbs said.
According to George Rent, Associate Provost of Academic Affairs, the calendar committee makes the academic calendar and the exam schedule. The provost office must then approve the schedules.
George Verrall, interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, was not available to comment.
Ann Bailey, director of student housing and member of the calendar committee, said the committee has not met regarding the current exam schedule and they have had no discussions that she is aware of about the issues.
Not only are members of the faculty working to change the exam schedule and Reading Day, but Mississippi State students are also working for change.
The Student Association unanimously passed a resolution in January requesting “that the old schedule of Dead Days and Reading Days be reimplemented in which one Reading Day is scheduled immediately before finals begin and the other on Sunday during the week.”
The premises of the SA’s resolution say:
Students need more time to prepare for finals than the new Dead Days schedule provides; some classes have regular exams on the day before finals begin (even though this is against school policy), which inhibits students from being able to focus on final exams.
Having an efficient schedule of Dead Days is imperative because final exams are the most crucial part of the semester for students and their grades.
Some teachers give quizzes during Dead Days knowing it is against school policy.
Final exams are the most crucial part of the semester for students and their grades and an efficient schedule of Dead Days, Reading Days and final exams is imperative.
One Reading Day before finals begin and one Reading Day (Sunday) during finals is a much more effective schedule and allows students to prepare more adequately.
This resolution was sent to university administrators, the Faculty Senate and The Reflector.
According to Rent, they have received the resolutions from both the Faculty Senate and the Student Association in the Provost office, but have not discussed a response yet.
“I think they are scheduled to be discussed at the dean’s council on Monday (March 4),” Rent said.