By Benjamin Passty, PhD

I never look forward to giving exams. I suspect most professors share this view. We enjoy the activity of teaching, the performance, the chance to explain our insights to our charges every day in the classroom; nevertheless, something about judging these same students seems a little unfair.

In a lecture setting, I feel as though I have complete control: The outline for the day, what goes on the board, even funny anecdotes are all things I can select, and over time–with experience–my ability to select the proper ones has almost become razor sharp. When it comes time to give an exam, I feel more like I create a monster that I then have to send out into the wild, with the students’ own inquiries representing my only opportunity to clarify and help them.

The biggest problems occur at the end of exams. Some students continue working after time is called. Others take advantage of the TA’s being distracted by those students turning in their work in order to cheat as well. The last five minutes are inevitably a zoo. For a long time, I was convinced there must be a way to regain calm and control.

As far as dealing with those last few minutes of an exam, I think I’ve found a method that works quite well: I give students extra credit for submitting their exams early.

by our new yet anonymous “Points of View” professor

It takes a couple of years for new faculty to feel as though we’ve established a routine and have truly become part of the university. Tenure-track junior faculty have to find ways to balance life and work; and somewhere in the midst of publishing, teaching, and service, we have to acclimate ourselves to a new town and a new university, establish new routines, and build new friendships. 

 I’m lucky to have a host of colleagues to help guide me along these ways, and I’m even luckier that some of these same colleagues have become wonderful friends.  Last fall, my newfound friends convinced me to go to the gym with them. They argued strongly with the familiar refrain that exercise positively benefits all aspects of life.  So I relented, and three times a week since October, I’ve been regularly working out with the same group of people. As many of you know, when you first return to serious exercise after a long absence, the road back is hard—it takes work, commitment, and dedication—and the road was made much easier because I had others helping me.