Drop and Add Deadlines Moved

By Robert C. Holub, Dean, Undergraduate Division

November 1, 2004

After consultations in the College and across the campus, including a meeting with the Chancellor, the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the College has decided to move the drop deadline and the add deadline for most courses to the end of the fifth week in the semester. For courses that are impacted and that are currently not managed by departments, the drop deadline only will be the end of the second week of courses. The grading change option from a letter grade to a P/NP grade (and that direction only) will be moved from the end of the eighth week to the end of the tenth week of classes. These changes will be made for courses effective in the fall semester of 2005.

With these changes the College hopes to accomplish two main goals: (1) it seeks to maximize the opportunity for students to take the courses on campus that are essential for their education and that have the highest demand; (2) it aims to increase the efficacy of education for all undergraduates by having courses settle down earlier in the term.

I personally wish to thank all parties who contributed to the final version of this policy. I am especially indebted to student input and have altered the policy on several occasions in response to legitimate student concerns. I believe that the new deadlines will result in more access for students to courses they need and to a better educational environment.

I am also grateful to Chancellor Birgeneau for his support and for his commitment to allocate funds to improve advising in the College of Letters and Science. We have already begun to develop ways in which students will have more access to advising, especially during the first five weeks of the semester. The funds that the Chancellor has pledged will be of great assistance in our efforts.

I anticipate that the list of courses with a two-week drop deadline will be small. We will be proceeding to establish this list in the next two months.

Finally, on behalf of the College I would like to encourage all instructors to assist students with decisions about their courses by providing some sort of evaluative exercise early in the term. The Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, and I all concur that the faculty can contribute enormously to the success of the new policy by being sensitive to the needs students have in trying to finalize their study lists.