SA votes to table add/drop

By Amanda MacDonald     4/4/13 7:00pm

 

The Student Association resolution regarding proposed changes to the add/drop process has been tabled until next fall, according to student representative to the University Committee on the Undergraduate Curriculum Virginia White. 

Although the Faculty Senate will make the final decision, it takes SA resolutions, which are meant to reflect student opinion, into account, White, a Lovett College senior, said.

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"Students felt that more research is necessary to make an informed recommendation," White said. "The SA is open to further discussion on the matter to get a unified student voice on any future changes." 

At the March 25 SA meeting, Jones College Senator Clinton Willbanks moved to table the resolution because he felt too many questions were still unanswered about the situation.

"We learned that the timeline for acting upon this problem was not as pressing as we once believed," Willbanks, a junior, said. "A motion to table gives us more time to more accurately reflect student concerns and address the issues surrounding add/drop deadlines when the legislation is eventually voted upon."

White said some research had been done by the Office of the Registrar and that more data on student add/drop patterns would be helpful.

"According to the registrar, close to 1,500 seats in classes are dropped each semester after the add deadline at week two," White said.

White said that even with changes, students would still be able to drop a class until the 10th week. However, there may be some sort of penalty introduced for individuals who drop after the second week, such as a fine or a mark on their transcript. 

"Questions arose to how much the fine should be so that it is fair to all students, but also strong enough to incentivize dropping," White said.

Baker College freshman Jonathan Le said that while he understands the reasoning behind the plan, he is not looking forward to being restricted.

"Our senator told us about the proposed changes at Baker Cabinet, and we were all pretty up in arms about it," Le said. "We were relieved to hear that the changes probably wouldn't be put in place for another year or so."

As a compromise, White said the new system might include several free drops, similar to the pass/fail system, giving students a limited number of chances to drop a class late without a penalty.

"[This] would hopefully make students think a bit more strategically about dropping a class late," White said.

Wiess College junior Alan Hsieh said he was more supportive of the plan once learning about the free drops.

"One of the things that's nice about Rice is that we're able to take this buffer of extra classes," Hsieh said. "However, if you're dropping classes late every semester, you might be abusing the system."

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