By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
Yesterday marked the last day of classes for the spring semester, as well as the transition into finals. Springfield College finals often take place in the very first week of May, however this year’s exams fall into the second week of the month. This doesn’t sound like a problem, but having to take exams on the following Monday means students have to miss an important holiday – Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day is a holiday that celebrates motherhood and the influence mothers have had in our world. The celebration takes place on the second Sunday of May where children give their mothers and grandmothers flowers and gifts as a thank you for the impact they have had on their lives.
By the time Mother’s Day falls on the calendar, Springfield College students are home for the summer. With how the finals schedule plays out this year, students with finals on Monday and Tuesday will have to stay on campus for the weekend or travel back on Mother’s Day. Students that don’t live close to school – like those in Massachusetts or Connecticut – won’t have enough time to travel home on top of having to study for exams.
My solution to this predicament is to have finals conducted all in one week. Instead of splitting the last day of classes and first batch of exams into the same week, the last day of classes take place on Thursday and Friday. The change gives more time to study instead of only one reading day.
The second change is to have finals start on Monday and Tuesday. Then keep Wednesday as a reading day to give students time to prepare for the second half of exams. Lastly, Thursday and Friday would wrap the exam schedule and school year. With this change, students could arrive back home to celebrate Mother’s Day without finals looming over them. Finals would still span across the same four days but all within the same week.
Other schools already have implemented this formula. Just a mile away from Springfield College, Western New England University started their exams on Monday and will finish them on Friday. Other NEWMAC schools also have their finals period in the same week, like Salve Regina (May 5th-10th) and Wheaton (May 5th-8th).
This issue will run into next year as well. Mother’s Day in 2026 falls on May 10th, smack dab in the middle of Springfield’s final exam period again. The spring 2026 exam schedule starts on Thursday, May 8th and ends on Tuesday, May 12th.
What’s interesting is that for the Fall 2025 semester, the exams are in the same week. They start on Monday, December 15th and end on Thursday, December 18th. Hopefully, that formula can be considered in future calendar schedules so that students can spend Mother’s Day weekend celebrating the important holiday.
Photo Courtesy of TheCub