For those who have seen the film “The Princess Bride,” the hero Wesley is rescued and brought to the home of Miracle Max after having his life sapped out of him in the Pit of Despair. Miracle Max declares that Wesley is in luck, because it just so happens that Wesley is only “mostly dead.”
“There’s a big difference between being mostly dead, and all dead,” Miracle Max explained.
The week prior to finals week, affectionately nicknamed “dead week,” can leave many students feeling mostly dead and thus seems aptly named. Despite this coincidence, the term refers to the idea that during the week before finals, it is prudent for instructors to avoid putting excessive amounts of strain on students, who are studying for the imminent exams.
Many students feel that this should involve instructors refraining from having any exams or large projects due, and classes reviewing material that has already been covered, rather than presenting new material. In December 2014, UW student Charis Holscher posted an idea to WyoVocal to implement a “true” dead week, which would involve professors not having class, or if they choose to do so, no new material can be presented.
According to the post, many students have projects and papers in addition to final exams, and this makes it difficult to prepare when class is still required. The post said that having a true dead week would give students more time to prepare and perform better on their finals, papers and projects. The idea received over 200 votes, however, this did not meet the necessary threshold of 400 votes for the ASUW Student Government to perform more reach and development on the issue.
UW Regulation 6-403, “Final Examination Policy,” is the official policy on finals and also covers protocol for dead week. It states that an examination or graded exercise can be given during the last week of classes, if “it is essential for the effective functioning of the course.” The regulations state students should be notified of these in the syllabus at the beginning of the semester. According to the regulation, at least one day free of classes should separate the last day of classes and the first day of final examinations.
Matthew Britz, a sophomore at UW, said he does not think this is enough time to prepare for finals.
“I think they should give us a whole week off and only have review sessions in classes,” Britz said.
Britz said he has never experienced a “good” dead week.
“I’ve never studied during any dead weeks. I’m always running around trying to get this project done and that paper done,” he said.
Britz said he thinks the current UW policy has a lot of loopholes and is not fair towards the students, allowing for instructors to give out weighty assignments during the last week of classes.
“I had a mid-term scheduled once, during dead week,” Britz said.
Dalyn Grindle, a junior, thinks that the policy is vague and ought to be better defined, so the instructors have something to adhere to.
“As long as they put it in the syllabus, instructors can do whatever they want. It’s nice for teachers, but not for us as students,” Grindle said.
Grindle said he is fine with having papers due during dead week, but thinks classes should not present any new material.
“If papers were not due during dead week, one of two things would happen: all papers would be due a week earlier or a week later,” he said.
Jazlynn Hall, a senior, also thinks the policy should be more precisely defined.
“The way that the policy is worded, it is so broad that it doesn’t eliminate anything,” she said. “The wording should be changed to give it some degree of authority.”
Hall said she is uncertain, however, that a universal policy would be a benefit to all students and courses.
“Implementing a universal set of policies makes it difficult to suit all situations. It would seem as though finals are weighted differently in some courses,” Hall said.
David Jones, vice president for Academic Affairs, said that ultimately, it is the university’s responsibility to enforce the UW regulation, but that students are not powerless.
“Students who have concerns about what may be scheduled in their classes during dead week should review the UW regulation and perhaps speak with the department head,” Jones said. “The office of Academic Affairs can answer any questions about this as well.”
