OUR VIEW: Drop/add day needs to be moved

In many classes there is no way to gauge a student’s performance until after the first test is taken.

But if students decide to drop a class after the first test, it is most likely after the drop deadline and they will receive a “W” or withdrawal mark on their transcript.

A W might not affect graduation, but according to the Registrar’s Office, the Ws may be a determining factor for acceptance into graduate school.

The drop/add deadline was Monday. However, many first tests are given this week and next week. For those students who find themselves in a bind and find they cannot pass the class, they have no choice but to take a “W.”

Many freshman and sophomore students are still undeclared and testing out new waters. They should not be punished for trying something new. Furthermore, for students with heavy school and work schedules, they might – after the test – find getting a reasonable grade in the class to be impossible.

Tests should be given before the add/drop date to give overwhelmed students an opportunity to drop their class and leave their transcript clean.

A solution is simple.

A line should be drawn with the instructors and administration. The drop/add deadline should be moved to a later date to accommodate the test dates and instructors should move the date of their first test to before the deadline in order to give the students an opportunity to drop the class. This would not be a huge change – maybe only a one week difference for the Registrar and a one week difference for the instructors – but a defining choice students need.