Next semester, students will have an extra day to answer that crucial question: to drop or not to drop?
Thomas Rodgers, Student Government assistant director of academics, said University Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jack Hamilton signed the proposal Monday evening to change the date to drop a class without a “W” from six days after classes start to seven.
Rodgers said the policy will go into effect by at least fall 2012.
Rodgers said SG members plan to meet with the registrar next week and the Bursar’s Office in the coming weeks.
He said the meetings are necessary because the Bursar’s Office offers students a 90 percent tuition refund for classes dropped within a certain period, and that date will be pushed back to accommodate the new policy.
Rodgers said SG waited to schedule the meetings until after the changes were officially passed.
Rodgers said he’s excited the changes were passed because of the amount of time he and other SG members have invested in getting this accomplished.
“It’s nine months of hard work coming to an end,” he said.
Rodgers said it’s important for students to have more time to make a decision about whether they’ll drop a class.
“Every teacher is different,” Rodgers said. “You never know how a class will be until you take it.”
Jane Cassidy, vice provost for Academic Affairs, said she was impressed with the way SG accomplished its goal.
“You have really great student leaders right now,” she said.
Cassidy said a major reason this policy is necessary is that under the old policy, Tuesday-Thursday classes only met twice before the date to drop without a “W” — not enough time for students to make an informed decision.
“The first day, most teachers just go over the syllabus,” she said. “You don’t really get a feel for it.”
Cassidy said she hoped the new policy will make it easier for students to make crucial decisions.
Ophelie Marek, sociology and wildlife ecology senior, said she could have used the extra 24 hours during her time at the University.
“I’ve been through all different levels,” she said. “The first day, no one really does anything.”
Marek said the extra 24 hours may give students more time in class, but it will also give them more time to get in touch with teachers and read the course materials to get a better feel for the course.
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]