With about one month until the end of the spring semester, both students and professors are scrambling to get all their school work done.

Carl Jacobson, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, said while students prepare for finals week, professors also prepare by looking over all their lecture notes and trying to decide what to put on their final exams.

Most professors already are preparing their final exam questions, said George Brown, professor of zoology and genetics.

“Most are thinking about it now,” Brown said.

Professors also are experiencing the added pressure of deciding what material to put on the final exam, Brown said.

“The final has questions dealing with the main principles or meat of the course,” he said.

Jacobson said he has a specific method for determining what to include on final tests.

“I try to emphasize the new material that hasn’t been tested over yet, and a certain number of questions from each part of the course,” he said.

Jacobson said the type of test given depends on the class.

He recommended that students review material from the beginning of the course before taking the final.

“It’s hard in introductory classes when the professor covers a wide range of material,” he said. “But the student is able to see how the material of the whole semester makes sense and fits together.”

Some professors said their end-of-the-year pressures are different than those students encounter.

“[Professors] need to prepare exams, do reports and get ready for the next semester,” Brown said.

Jacobson said professors have a variety of stressors, including getting grades done, writing proposals and grants and helping with graduate student committees.

“It is a hard time for everyone,” Brown said.