By Adrienne Andros
With only one reading day this semester, some students are worried about how they''ll perform on their finals next week.
'The fact that we have only one reading day will affect my bottom line - my GPA,' said Andrew Leinweber, 25, a junior from Orem majoring in microbiology. 'And I care about my GPA.'
The week-long Olympic break that students got off in February made it necessary to make some readjustments in the scheduling of finals, said Ron Bybee, BYU academic scheduling officer.
Bybee said there are a specific number of class days the university is required to hold in a semester to get accreditation. Because of the break, the lost days needed to be made up somehow.
Leinweber said the biggest problem he sees with the cut in the number of reading days is that it gives students less time to prepare for the week of finals.
'A lot of students also work,' he said, 'And that makes it even harder for them to organize their schedules.'
Heather Eastley, 21, a sophomore from Provo majoring in European studies, said she''s worried about the affect one less reading day will have on her as well.
'Taking out a week in the middle of the semester seemed to make teachers frantic and rush through things,' Eastley said. 'And now students are pressured because they have one less day to prepare.'
Eastley said reading days are definitely an important break for students to have before exam week.
If there weren''t that space between the final projects and exams, students would be forced to study and work on those projects at the same time, she said.
'There''s a limit to how much you can take,' Eastley said.
But reading days aren''t always used for studying, and some students don''t think that it will affect how they do on their finals.
'I honestly don''t think it will affect me,' said Connie Cannon, 18, a senior from Denver, Colo., majoring in near east studies. 'I don''t think it''s fair, but I don''t think it will affect my finals.'
Cannon said she uses reading days to do things other than studying. She said she thinks it''s important to have the extra time at the end of the semester to do whatever you want to do.
Bybee said because students have become accustomed to having these reading days, or exam preparation days, they have become quite attached to them. Whether using it for studying or taking a break from school, students have found them to be very valuable, he said.
'There will be some students who will be disappointed,' Bybee said.
However, Bybee said next semester, BYU will go back to awarding students the usual two reading days before finals.