FACULTY SENATE
RESOLUTION 2003-2004-24
Schedule Changes Made
During the Drop/Add Period
Whereas the current policy at
Southeastern does not limit the changes students can make to their schedules
during the dedicated Drop/Add time, and
Whereas the most recent
statistical data available from Records and Registration show that, in the
Spring 2004 semester, 3400 students changed their schedules (making 10,400
changes in the roll during the first 4 official days of class), and
Whereas the resulting confusion
and instability cause considerable difficulty in classes which require students
to work in teams or groups, by making group work impossible until rolls are
stable, and
Whereas such confusion and
instability caused by these changes in class rolls hinders effective teaching
by interfering with administrative needs, such as taking an accurate roll, and
Whereas the confusion and
instability facilitate students’ misperception that “class doesn’t really start
until after the first week of the semester,” thereby encouraging excessive
absences during the first week of the semester, and
Whereas Southeastern’s policy of
not limiting the number of times in which students can (for any reason) make
changes in their course schedules, actually encourages students to divert
necessary energy from supporting classes in which they are enrolled, into
searching and selecting other classes that may or may not apply to their
curriculum—a behavior which ultimately and consequently affects graduation
rates, and
Whereas this policy as written
accommodates and consequently seems to encourage this activity:
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED
THAT THE
Faculty Senate respectfully request the Provost to appoint a committee to study
policy mechanisms that would allow for a change in the Drop/Add Policy which
would discourage students from abusing this privilege, by means such as, but
not limited to, the following revisions of Southeastern’s Drop/Add
criteria: