2008 Woodie Awards
Add/drop period too short
Diana Castaldini, Features Editor
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Editorials and Opinion
The add/drop period, for many students, is the critical and final stage of the registration process. Students are given the time to try and get a class open and add it to their schedule, or decide whether or not they wish to deal with the demanding course loads given by some professors. Professors must get used to daily additions to the roster and handing out the syllabi day after day, some of which will end up in the trash, for as long as this period lasts.
The length of the add/drop period at St. John's is one full academic cycle, or exactly one week. Although St. John's refers to this period as "add/drop," in actuality, it is the period in which you are able to "add" and "swap" classes, and the "drop" period continues until September 18. So technically, you can withdraw from a class without penalty until that date, but you will not be able to replace the 3 credits, and most likely be left with lesser credits than you had hoped for. The question on many students' minds is whether or not this one-week period is long enough to determine if a class is good for them. Many students feel that the period should be extended because of the many factors that need to be taken into consideration when making schedule changes.
"What is the professor like? How much reading is assigned nightly? Is the class at 7:30 a.m.?" Stephanie Adler asked herself these very questions.
"During my second semester," she said, "I had signed up for a 7:30 a.m. class. My situation changed a short while after and I had to take public transportation to school, and this happened right after the add/drop date had passed. I had to get up at 5:15 a.m., to be on the bus by 6 a.m., to make sure I got to school on time. I didn't get much sleep that semester, and I would have swapped the class for one at a later time, had it been allowed."
Others feel that the period should be extended so that they have a chance to register for a class that another student may have dropped, making room for the student who wants it. Graduating seniors especially feel that exceptions should be made to accommodate them, being that it is their last and final chance to register for a class. Also, some complain that they were not informed by their advisor of certain courses they needed to take, and now they are faced with having to stay an
The length of the add/drop period at St. John's is one full academic cycle, or exactly one week. Although St. John's refers to this period as "add/drop," in actuality, it is the period in which you are able to "add" and "swap" classes, and the "drop" period continues until September 18. So technically, you can withdraw from a class without penalty until that date, but you will not be able to replace the 3 credits, and most likely be left with lesser credits than you had hoped for. The question on many students' minds is whether or not this one-week period is long enough to determine if a class is good for them. Many students feel that the period should be extended because of the many factors that need to be taken into consideration when making schedule changes.
"What is the professor like? How much reading is assigned nightly? Is the class at 7:30 a.m.?" Stephanie Adler asked herself these very questions.
"During my second semester," she said, "I had signed up for a 7:30 a.m. class. My situation changed a short while after and I had to take public transportation to school, and this happened right after the add/drop date had passed. I had to get up at 5:15 a.m., to be on the bus by 6 a.m., to make sure I got to school on time. I didn't get much sleep that semester, and I would have swapped the class for one at a later time, had it been allowed."
Others feel that the period should be extended so that they have a chance to register for a class that another student may have dropped, making room for the student who wants it. Graduating seniors especially feel that exceptions should be made to accommodate them, being that it is their last and final chance to register for a class. Also, some complain that they were not informed by their advisor of certain courses they needed to take, and now they are faced with having to stay an
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