Add/Drop petitions soar in '09-'10

By Kaleb Underwood     9/2/10 7:00pm

The Committee on Examinations and Standing received 567 petitions from students requesting exceptions to the university's academic rules last year, an increase of 258 from 2008-2009. About 250 of the students requested permission to add a class after the Week 2 deadline. EX&S is a university standing committee comprised of 11 professors and 3 undergraduates nominated by the Student Association Senate, charged with enforcing the university's academic regulations and considering petitions from students requesting exceptions to these regulations due to extenuating circumstances.

The committee is in charge of all academic policies laid out in the General Announcements, including deadlines for adding and dropping classes, pass/fail designations, changes in variable course credit, grade changes and readmission to the university after academic suspension.

Although the number of petitions requesting a late add increased from about 65 in 2008-2009 to about 250 last year, EX&S Chairman Carl Caldwell said he does not believe the committee is overworked.

---

---

The committee is not surprised by the increase in the number of petitions, Caldwell, a history professor, said.

"I think we will see an increase in the case load proportional to the growth in the student body," said EX&S member Stanley Dodds, who has served on EX&S for the last three years and at various times in the past.

The current deadline structure went into effect in 2009-2010. Before this, students could add a class until the fourth week of classes and had 10 weeks, as opposed to seven, to drop a class.

However, Caldwell says that it is hard to draw correlations between the deadlines and rise in petitions to add a course after the deadline. According to Caldwell, there were not an overwhelming number of petitions requesting a late add between the second and fourth weeks. Had this been the case, it would imply the new deadline was the reason for more late-add petitions. Requests to late drop also increased from 2008-2009, but the 2009-2010 numbers were more consistent with previous years.

The exact number of petitions approved is not released, to respect the committee's rules on confidentiality.

Based on the petitions received by the committee, Caldwell said that students understand the purpose of EX&S and are submitting petitions in good faith, but he also knows that not every student is aware of the committee's existence.

Nazish Malik, a former member of EX&S, said more students need to be aware of the committee.

"The committee will listen to students' concerns and is a valuable resource for students," Malik, a Jones College senior, said.

Wiess College senior Robin Richards petitioned EX&S at the end of the semester when her professor brought to her attention that she was only registered for one credit hour instead of four in an independent study course.

"I had never had a variable credit course before, so I didn't realize I had to get anything signed," Richards said. After calling the Office of the Registrar and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates, she learned she had to submit a petition in order to be granted an exception. She was told there would not be a problem since she had already completed the work for the course.

Students should not expect to have a petition granted on the grounds that they are doing poorly in a course or simply forgot a deadline, but should directly address extenuating circumstances and clearly explain their position, Caldwell said. He said students requesting late adds at the end of the semester should not expect to have their petition granted unless it was determined to be an honest mistake and the student had successfully completed the course requirements.

"Why the hell didn't you just register for the course?" Caldwell said.

Dodds, a physics professor, agreed with Caldwell's sentiments.

"There is a difference between reason and rationalization after the fact," Dodds said.

In an effort to decrease the total number of petitions received by the committee, more discussions with the college masters, resident associates and the Office of Academic Advising will occur to make sure everyone understands university regulations. Caldwell also advises professors to be clear in their syllabus and be aware of various deadlines, such as add/drop, when planning their courses.

Aside from this, the committee cannot take action to decrease the number of petitions, because they are not able to set policy.

Due to recent changes in the administration, Caldwell will continue as chairman for the next year. He has already served on EX&S for three years, the normal limit for faculty members serving on university committees, but with the addition of Provost George McClendon and Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson to the administration, Caldwell noted the need for some consistency during a time of administrative turnover.

Caldwell advises students to petition the committee if they think they deserve special consideration for their situation, even if they are unsure if their petition will be approved.

"The committee is sympathetic to students," Caldwell said.

---