Two tests, a paper and a project due next week. Or maybe it’s three tests and a portfolio due within the next two weeks. Sound familiar?

While this Editorial Board understands that professors want their students to get the most out of their education, it can be especially difficult to manage everything when many professors act as though their class is the only class a student is taking.

Many students take between four and six classes each semester while also balancing jobs and extracurricular activities, such as RSOs and athletics.

Many high schools and universities have a policy that prohibits teachers and professors from assigning additional work during finals week. Final projects, tests and papers are allowed, but additional readings or other assignments are forbidden.

Illinois State University’s policy states, “The last examination of a course shall not be given during the week prior to the final examination period without the approval of the department chair or school director.”

That being said, why doesn’t a policy exist for the week of midterms? Many professors have assignments due that week and the week prior that could be eliminated in order to give students the opportunity to prepare better for each examination.

While many students’ jobs understand such scenarios, other jobs still expect to be first priority. RSOs typically are even more understanding than jobs, but students often want to put their best effort into those activities that are fun and of interest to them.

Attention needs to be cast onto the professors. When students are involved in so many activities, they become spread too thin and are unable to put their best work into any of their demands.

This Editorial Board believes that a policy should be considered for revising ISU’s midterm schedule.

While there is no official “midterm week,” like there is for finals, it can safely be presumed that many professors are aware of what week is the middle of the semester when creating their lesson plans.

Creating a policy that would allow students to only have midterm assignments throughout a specific week would lead to better results and more studying done on the part of the students, versus having many of them wait until the last minute to cram without getting much sleep.

While this is one side of the coin, the other is that a student’s job and extracurricular activities need to remember that education comes first. It is hard to determine what to focus on when a job provides a student with immediate gratification through paychecks, and may be fired if they are unable to work a specific shift. Many students choose to go into work instead of studying, so pulling an average grade and an all-nighter may seem worth it.

A lot of RSOs and student organizations are obviously run by students, so they should understand when someone says they have to study or that they have a prior commitment. Jobs, on the other hand, do not usually have this set up, and therefore, it is important that businesses around the area and jobs on campus allow students the time they need to study and receive a proper education.