QUAD to lock students out at end of semester
Students will be denied access to the QUAD for 11 consecutive days at the end of Spring Semester 2004 in order to help the faculty post grades without delay.
The QUAD will be open only to faculty April 24 to May 4, associate registrar Heidi Beck told the Faculty Senate Monday. Beck said the students she spoke to were highly supportive of the decision.
“Students are often frustrated when they keep checking grades and they’re not there,” Beck said.
Last semester, despite a five-day student lockout, faculty members still had a lot of trouble getting access to the QUAD, said Joyce Kinkead, vice provost for undergraduate studies and research.
Beck said it was especially critical for grades to be posted on time since graduating seniors will be given a real diploma at graduation May 1, and university officials need time to make sure they have earned graduation and to print out the diploma. Graduating seniors’ grades must be posted by April 30.
Stephanie Kukic, Associated Students of Utah State University vice president for graduate studies, said she supported the lockout, but was concerned about students not finding out if they had a hold on their transcript until the end of the lockout.
“It will be a nightmare,” she said.
Kukic also said many students will want to register for classes during this period and will be unable to do so. Many students do not meet with an adviser before April 24, or are misadvised, Kukic said, and will not know what they need to register for before the lockout.
Beck said students will still be able to drop or add classes in person at the Registrar’s Office during that period.
Faculty members are given 96 hours after a final examination to post the grades, excluding the weekend of April 24 and 25.
“[Eleven days of lockout] is a really long time,” Kukic said. “Why will students be shut out during the weekend when it isn’t considered part of the 96 hours?”
Beck said the weekend still counted as part of the grading period, but said that aspect could undergo discussion. Several faculty members brought up the point that many faculty do need to post grades over the weekend, especially if they need to leave town immediately after the semester ends.
Part of the reason the QUAD had capacity problems last semester, Beck said, is because faculty members did not take advantage of the student lockout days and waited until the last minute to post grades.
“People need to be very responsible,” said College of Business Dean Caryn Beck-Dudley, pointing out that marking “incomplete” on a student’s transcript to buy more time to grade will cause problems.
Seniors who do not meet graduation requirements by April 30, whether from failing a class or getting an incomplete, will get “a nice letter, not a mean one,” Beck said, rather than a diploma inside their cover, explaining the things they need to do to officially graduate.
Beck-Dudley said she would hate to explain to the student’s family at graduation that the letter was received because a faculty member delayed posting a grade.
An informal survey of Faculty Senate members was taken, and the majority agreed to try the 11-day lockout and see if it worked.
-heidithue@cc.usu.edu