Finals season can be a difficult time for students to perform at their best, especially in a fully virtual environment, but this doesn’t mean that students should give up. Here is a list of the resources available.
To start, students that are having issues with internet connectivity or access to the technology can request a space at Baruch College, which provides a stable internet connection and quiet environment.
Students that prefer to stay in their homes should request devices, like a router, from CUNY as soon as possible.
Getting in the headspace to prepare for finals, I want to remind you that self-care is important. It is okay to take a break from all the work and just breathe. By studying for too long, it may cause you not to retain any more information and can be detrimental.
Baruch’s Writing Center can be a great tool to utilize for end-of-semester term papers and final assignments through their one-hour sessions. Students that don’t have the time to attend an hour-long session can upload a paper to be edited and reviewed within 72 hours of uploading it.
This feature saved me during finals week a lot of times.
Another helpful resource to use is the Student Academic Consulting Center. It provide access to past final examinations for a variety of classes and, fun fact, familiarizing yourself with the exam format will make the final seem easier to complete since these exams are similar.
In addition to accessing previous assessments, SACC also has review sessions where they spend two hours going through each question of a full final with students.
Taking finals in a virtual space can lead to professors suggesting that students do different things in order to prevent cheating.
If a professor is attempting to do something that wasn’t initially stated in their syllabus or class objectives, voice your concerns to the department’s chair and Baruch’s vice president of academic affairs, James McCarthy.
Students can also contact Annie Virkus Estrada, the associate dean of students. This will alert Baruch’s key stakeholders to investigate the issue and bring awareness to any forms of academic unfairness.
Thank you guys for a great semester and good luck with finals!
