University of Memphis students and professors are preparing for final exams as the fall semester comes to a close.
The semester marks the university’s first full in-person semester since fall 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing classes to be held online.
Mason Sanders, a sophomore biomedical engineering major, said he feels more prepared for this year’s finals because he is back on campus to complete them.
“I focus better in an in-person class,” said Sanders. “I feel like it’s helped me better prepare for these finals compared to last year’s.”
While a lot of students will be doing their exams in-person, others will still be completing them online.
Justin Harris, a senior international studies major, said most of his classes are online. He sees this as being beneficial because he is able to study and perform better through his exams being web-based.
“It’s good for me because I have more time. It’s not like a set time limit in class where I have to do it within one or two hours,” he said. “I have time to really just look at the question and think about it without rushing just because of a class period.”
Harris goes to the Ned R. McWherther Library on campus everyday throughout the week to study for two hours. He believes it is very important to take breaks from studying in order to make sure his mental health is in check.
“I enjoy going to the Recreation Center to lay off some steam,” Harris said. “That kind of helps my mind to rewind.”
Kylie David, a freshman dance major, said she spends time with her friends in order to take breaks from studying.
“Hanging out with some of my friends allows me to keep my mind off of it and to work myself to look at the material,” she said.
David said transitioning from high school to college has been an adjustment since there are not as many finals in college.
“In high school, I had a lot more classes, and a lot of stuff was required,” she said. “In college, sometimes your last test or paper can be your exam for the class.”
Jerome Cusson, an instructor in the department of English, makes sure his students are clear on expectations for exam week.
“I send emails out, remind them as often as possible about upcoming dates, have clear language about how grades are going to be handled, but I also make sure that I’m pacing them well,” he said.
Cusson teaches entry-level English classes at the University of Memphis. A lot of U of M students take the class in their freshman year. Because of this, he has been able to see how the fall semester affected the university’s freshman class.
“I think that every semester with the pandemic has presented some form of challenge. I think what has made this one particularly unique is this freshman class because they’ve had so many disturbances,” Cusson said. “You look at the fact that their junior and senior years were severely disturbed by having to go virtual for almost that entire time.”
Recognizing this, Cusson eliminated a number of assignments for his online classes in order for students to focus on the major assignments that are due for his class. Through doing this, he wants to help students who have been greatly affected by COVID-19 and make sure their mental health comes first.
“I hope it makes a difference,” he said. “We’re going to find out shortly how much of a difference it makes.”
A student studying on campus
