This year, students in the College of Arts and Science (A&S) will not have their customary “dead week,” initially scheduled April 14-20, A&S Dean John Geer announced in an April 9 email. 

The change is taking place due to lost class time and “general disruptions” caused by the novel coronavirus, Geer said. This means that unlike other years, professors will be permitted to teach new material, assign homework and conduct tests and quizzes during this time. Usually, this week is set aside to allow students a reprieve from coursework in preparation for final exams, which begin April 22. 

However, Vanderbilt has kept its April 21 reading day untouched, similar to how its immediate peers have kept their reading periods. Notre Dame University has not made any public announcements about its three-day reading period and Cornell University is also still having the three-day study period it customarily provides, even after cancelling classes for three weeks on March 13.

Geer said that all final exams are expected to occur when they were originally scheduled. Despite the removal of dead week, faculty have been asked to be reasonable about expectations and flexible about due dates during dead week, Geer said.

No announcements have been made about the April 14-20 dead week for students in Blair College of Music. Students in Peabody College and the College of Engineering do not typically have dead weeks, according to the academic calendar. 

“I recognize that this highly unusual semester has been challenging and stressful for many of you. Your adaptability and perseverance throughout has been more than impressive,” Geer wrote. “Once again, I thank you for your understanding and flexibility. Best of luck with the last few weeks of the semester.”