Grades January 9th? Also, College at Rindge open Friday 12/19…for 3-1/2 hours!

Well, power’s back on in Rindge and the campus is open this morning (Friday, December 19th).  Because of another storm, however, we’re going to close at 11:30!

The early closing of the school and cancellation of final exams has meant unprecedented complications for faculty calculating and submitting grades, and for the school administration in processing them and making available.  Right now the school is planning for semester grades to be available to students on CampusWeb by January 9th.   I suppose it’s possible there could be further snafus to keep grades from being available by the deadline, but I think it more like that grades will be available sooner than that target date of Jan. 9.  I’m sure that students and their parents are eager to learn how the semester panned in terms of grades. 

The staff at Academic Services extends our hopes that students and their families have a safe and happy December.  I hope that my students celebrating Hanukkah get to light candles by choice and tradition on Sunday, and not because they’re still without power!

School Closing Friday December 12th

The school is closing due to an ice story today (Friday, December 12). That means that no classes or tests will be held. Students should check their email (and Web CT if that’s how your prof communicates with you) to see if instructors have any special instructions. Generally you should plan on any important tests or work to be handed in at your final exam time.
If you have a car on campus, check here to make sure you’re not going to get towed: http://eraven.franklinpierce.edu/specanncmt/snow/Snow%20Emergency%202008-2009.pdf
If you aren’t sure when your final exam meets check here: http://eraven.franklinpierce.edu/specanncmt/pdf/f08.pdf
Good luck on your exams, everyone! Remember to get enough sleep and to have a healthy meal (ideally a light one with protein) before your tests.

Quick study tip: Break it up!

What's your best time?

Only three days left of classes here at Rindge, and the last day of finals is just a week from tomorrow on Wednesday, December 17th. 

Here is a study tip for students preparing for finals and completing final assignments: Break up your study time into manageable segments, an hour or less.  (For most people less than an hour is optimal.) Study or work for a while, then take a break, and then go back to work. 

You might think that you need to plan to spend all night cracking the books without out coming up for air, but that doesn’t work out for most students. If you plan to study hours at a time with no break, you’ll really only get a couple of  hours of work done. Figure out how long you can work without getting frustrated or inefficent–is it 20 minutes, 30, or 45? Then plan multiple segments of those 30 minute sesssions.

(Thanks to my car pool friends for suggesting this particular study tip.)

How Well Do You Study? An Online Quiz

Ohio University’s Academic Advancement Center has an online questionnaire you can take to see how effectively you prepare for exams. Check it out on their Exam Preparation Pretest page. If it turns out you need to sharpen your skills, the AAC has explanations and advice on their website for studying well for exams.

Study Tips for the Last Two Weeks of Classes

We have two weeks of classes left here on the Rindge campus of Franklin Pierce University. Here are five tips for preparing for exams:
1) Don’t wait until the day before the exam to study. Look at what you need to review between now and the exam and and do a little bit each day.
2) Make sure you know the format of the exam–will it be multiple choice, essay questions, or something else? Will you have to draw diagrams? Will it include material you’ve already been tested on? Look at the results of your previous work in the class. What did you do well on? What should you practice more? Use that information to prepare and practice for the test.
3) Form study groups with friends.
4) Go to peer tutor sessions for the class.
5) What do you still have questions about? Ask the professor in the last class session or during his or her office hours.

Happy Thanksgiving…and the big countdown!

Wishing students and colleagues a happy and safe Thanksgiving break. When we get back on Monday, there will only be twelve days until the last day of classes!

A note to students and parents–Franklin Pierce has exams on December 13th to December 17–that includes exam days on Saturday Dec. 13 and Sunday Dec. 14, so don’t make any plans for that weekend.