Due to the necessary response to the COVID-19 global pandemic which has resulted in our academic instruction remaining online for the rest of the semester, students are losing the opportunity for personal engagement in their courses. Virtual instruction will never be a suitable replacement for in-person instruction within a classroom or lecture environment. Many students have already experienced a variety of technical and connection issues with the online learning platforms being used for the rest of the semester, and in many cases, platforms such as Zoom are inefficient once reaching a class size of 20 students. Students are struggling to learn through frequent video pauses and screen freezes which are a huge distraction and will negatively impact retainment of course material and thus academic success. Many students believe there are more adjustments that need to be made due to the significant impact this global pandemic has had on our academic instruction---one of these being a possible opt-out option for final examinations as a result of the dramatic change in academic instruction that we are experiencing.  

Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary solutions. In light of the current crisis, it would be wise of the University to make all final exams optional. Students who are content with their grade prior to finals should have the option to opt out while students who are dissatisfied with their grade can use the final exam as an opportunity to receive higher marks. It is only fair for students to have this option because preparing for final examinations that will greatly impact our overall grades for the semester while also adjusting to the online learning platforms we now have to use will create a lot of unnecessary stress and worry during these trying and unsure times moving forward in the wake of this pandemic.  The University prioritizes diversity and as such, has students who come from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Many students do not reside in household areas conducive to studying, hence leaving them in unfavorable stances and making it inappropriate to require these students to partake in three-hour final exams. While the University is currently offering a credit/no credit policy, many students don’t feel comfortable with buying into this option due to competitive graduate and professional schools that may perceive such students as weaker candidates, thus making acceptance into these programs less likely. 

Having already lost almost an entire week of academic instruction due to the global pandemic, faculty of the rigorous courses provided by the University will spend too much time worrying about covering all of the material that is expected to appear on final exams. This, in turn, will decrease the quality of both the lectures and the overall learning process for students. Furthermore, many professors have already made the decision to omit the final exam for their respective courses, putting their students in an advantageous position in comparison to students in classes that still plan on administering final examinations. Let’s work together to make this transition smoother and more tolerable for both professors and students alike.