With just two weeks to go before the semester ends for most universities in our region, students are preparing for final exams. However, in order to get there, they’ll first have to power through what’s known as dead week.
Typically just before final exams are administered, dead week is the time where term projects, papers, and more are all due.
Murray State Provost Jay Morgan says he’s encouraging staff to let students breathe a bit.
“Just today, a memo was sent out to all of our academic deans letting them know to talk to their faculty about trying to limit some of the work this week,” Morgan said.
“And really, that’s to protect the student.”
MSU Senior Tyler Payne suffers from chronic anxiety, something he says the stress of dead week exacerbates.
“It’s an awful time for me. I’ve had trouble sleeping,” Payne said.
Most other schools in our region don’t officially recognize dead week, with a couple exceptions.
The University of Tennessee at Martin gives students an extra day off before Thanksgiving to complete projects and study for exams.
The University of Kentucky has strict guidelines for the week leading up to final exams.
