As final exams approach, time constraints are putting students under more pressure than usual.
Due to scheduling changes, classes will be held Friday, which was designated as a reading day in previous fall semesters. The alteration has left students scrambling to complete work for Friday classes before immediately beginning preparation for next week's finals.
"I have papers and tests due until Friday," said sophomore Caitlin Williams. "What we had last year was perfect. It gave you time to focus on exams."
The revision to the schedule was necessary to facilitate a longer Thanksgiving Break, said Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services. This year, the holiday began Tuesday night instead of Wednesday afternoon.
The change was implemented to allow equal class time for Wednesday morning and afternoon classes.
To make up for the full Wednesday of vacation, students must attend classes Friday, Dec. 9. "We needed to regularize the number of minutes that classes meet," said Ruderman. "We had to find another complete class day to substitute for the half-day that was Wednesday."
Although several students said they feel cheated of a full free day to study or rest before finals, Ruderman said this year's reading period is actually no shorter than last year's.
"There is a basic lack of understanding," Ruderman said. "We did not shorten the reading period."
Last year's reading period included all of Friday and the weekend preceding exams, as well as a mid-week break early Wednesday. This year, to compensate for Friday, students will receive Monday morning and afternoon as well as Thursday morning as free study time.
Although the new schedule affords students the same number of hours to prepare for exams, several said they would prefer those hours to be allotted to one full day. Under the current plan, they only have the weekend completely free.
"I don't think it's fair because it's assuming that we don't need a weekend," sophomore Katie Hutcheson said. "I think two or three days is enough, as long as it's days we don't have class."
Many students have also indicated that in comparison to schools that provide extended periods without classes or tests, Duke's individual blocks of free time do not constitute a sufficient reading period.
Students at Yale University, for example, receive a full week to prepare for their finals, and a policy at North Carolina State University mandates that professors cannot schedule tests or quizzes the week preceding exams.
"All these really prestigious schools that Duke is just as good as or better have a reading period," sophomore Caitlyn Toombs said. "In a school with such a rigorous academic schedule, it's necessary."
Ruderman said such a long reading period would be impossible without major modifications to the academic calendar.
"There just aren't enough days," Ruderman said. "We'd have to have a radical change in our schedule to find those extra days."
Ruderman said such alterations, including a shorter summer vacation or elimination of Fall Break, might not be palatable to students.
"It's a trade-off for students," Ruderman said. "If we're going to have a longer reading week, we either have to cut the instructional period or have students give up something."
Several students said they would be willing to make the sacrifice.
"Personally, I'd rather just start a week early in the summer," Toombs said. "For mental health reasons, you just need a reading period."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.