September 21, 2020: Exams

Dear Faculty,

We begin the sixth week of a semester that’s presented us with new challenges, but we are meeting these challenges and moving forward to continue quality instruction and maintain a safe environment for faculty, staff, and students. This is a testament to your dedication toward our students’ success. Thank you for your pedagogical creativity and flexibility.

Exam season is looming, which tends to be a stressful time for students even in the best of circumstances. As such, we have received some concerns from students who say they are not being adequately prepared for exams by their professors. I’m sure many of these concerns are due to the anxiety caused by taking exams, but please make sure you fully engage students in both your in-person and online classes.

As you design your exams, please remember that there are some great resources available on online exams. The Center for Teaching Excellence has constructed a new web page with these resources here. On this page, there are some excellent recommendations for building dynamic and engaging online exams, as well as suggestions for alternative assignments and assessments.

If you haven’t done so already, please discuss options, ideas, and concerns with your chairs regarding exams as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Carl L. Reiber

Provost & Vice President Academic Affairs

Last updated: 8/18/2021