Brenagh Sanford, Assistant Director for First-Year Experience, shares her extensive list of resources and strategies you can encourage your students to utilize on campus, as well as suggestions on how you can support them through this busy season:

Student resources:

• Attend residence hall and campus events: there are always a variety of activities planned for the last couple weeks of the semester to encourage students to maintain their wellness. It is important to take breaks for the brain’s sake. Studying straight for 8 hours will increase exhaustion and the likelihood of burn out. By stimulated other parts of the brain, it encourages better focus during their study sessions.
• Know your exam schedule: it is important for students to remember their final examinations do not take place at the same time as their classes have been for the semester. We encourage students to triple check they know when their exams are as this is going to dictate when they leave for summer break as well. Don’t book travel home too early! This link provides the final exam schedule for this semester.
  • Plan early: once students know their schedule, encourage them to plan ahead by mapping out when they are going to study for each subject and when they are going to utilize the available resources. This link is to a pdf of our Time Budget Sheet, a week calendar divided up by the hour that can be a helpful tool for this planning strategy.
• Final exam prep calendar: if your student isn’t sure how to break up their studying, suggest they use the exam prep calendar which helps students to identify specific tasks to complete each day to make the work more manageable. This is a link to the pdf document.
• Study groups: more brain power the better! When I meet with students, I highly suggest they study with classmates as they will each remember different parts of the material better and will be able to teach each other which is the best way to learn material.
• Professor office hours: if your student hasn’t attended office hours this semester, or if they have gone every week, their professor is a top resource to utilize when planning for finals as they know what they are expecting the best! Faculty are waiting for students to visit!
  • The Exam Error Monitoring Sheet (found through this link) is a really great tool to help identify the areas of information a students should focus on. Specifically geared towards reviewing test taking skills, it walks through options of why a student might have answered a question incorrectly. Bringing this to office hours will help their professor provide more direct suggestions on how to best study for the exam rather than talking through options more broadly.
• First Year Experience: if your student is in their first year at UP, I am their hub for all questions. I meet with students all year about every aspect of their transition to and experience on campus. I tell students all the time, I am the person to come to with your questions, and especially when you don’t even know what your question is. If your student isn’t sure how to start their studying process, encourage them to make an appointment with me to talk through the best strategies for their learning style and resources to connect with. This is the link for students to book an appointment with me.
• It’s never too late to visit a Co-Pilot: our tutoring services are open to all students, providing support in all disciplines. Co-Pilots can help students at any point in their studying process, from talking through how to review a larger amount of information, to developing a deeper understanding of a particular concept. The same goes for essay writing. Our Writing Center Co-Pilots work with students from understanding the prompt, to reviewing a final draft and all everything between! This is a link to the Learning Commons webpage where students can schedule appointments.

Family support suggestions:

• Care package: you know your students best, what treats or notes would make them smile during this busier season? Think about extending an invitation to your student’s wider support network from home asking others to send notes of encouragement. The Alumni and Parent Relations Office is offering a chance to purchase a Pilot Snack Pack for delivery to students prior to finals week. All include snacks and UP swag!
• Create a communication and support plan: each student is going to have different needs, and with the heightened stress that comes at this time of year, it is very helpful to provide them with options and agency. By having a conversation now, asking what would be helpful will assist in eliminating tension. Some questions that could be helpful to ask are:
  • What does your exam schedule look like?
  • How are you feeling about preparing for finals?
  • Who are the people you go to when you have questions about studying?
  • How can I best support you as you study?
  • When would you like to check-in?
• Create a move-out plan before exams start: students in the residence halls receive move-out instructions from their hall staff in April. It is helpful to create a move-out schedule for your family before the week of exams to avoid additional stress. If your student is unsure about the move-out requirements for their hall encourage them to talk with their RA.