Report of the University Senate Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee

From: Gary Roth and Mark Vodak, Committee Co-Chairs
Date: 2 April 2001
Subject: Add/Drop Period, Charge S-0101

The Academic Standard, Regulations, and Admissions committee has been charged with the review of the experimental Add/Drop period introduced this semester:

Review the current regulations concerning the drop/add periods. Evaluate the data from the Spring 2001 trial period and determine whether the longer add period had a significant effect in making more spaces/courses available to students. In light of these findings, consider how long the "drop" and "add" portions of the drop/add period at the beginning of each semester should be. Consider whether additional measures should be taken to ensure equal access to classes, including limiting the number of credits for which students can pre-register during the pre-registration period, or raising the fee for dropping with a "W" after the drop/add period ends. The new add/drop period seems to have accomplished its goal of reducing the number of seats which materialize after the add period has closed, but it has done so by compromising the academic integrity of the 15-week semester and has introduced administrative complications and inequities into curricula arrangements such as the joint programs between Rutgers-Newark and NJIT. Some specifics are bulleted below:

For the Rutgers-Newark campus, the new add/drop deadlines no longer correspond to those in effect at New Jersey Institute of Technology. With over 500 students cross-registering each semester between the two institutions, there is now considerable confusion among students as to which deadlines are in effect. The resulting inequality in the rules applying to students at the respective institutions has created many difficulties.

Students can now add classes up until the 5^th class meeting. In many courses, such as core courses like English Composition which all entering students are required to take, grades are partially determined by attendance. In Newark, for example, more than three absences in English Composition are grounds for an "F" grade. Consequently, students can legitimately add a class at the 4^th or 5^th session, but they are already failing the class or are winding up with grades lower than they might have achieved otherwise. The Director of the Newark Writing Program has written that:

"The extended drop/add period proved a serious irritation to teachers, who found themselves having to reintroduce the course to straggling students when their courses were well underway. But the extended drop/add was more than irritating for students who tried to take advantage of the system by adding late into the second week. When a student has missed three or four writing classes, they have already reached or exceeded the maximum number of absences; in addition, they have already missed one or two writing assignments--they feel as if they have just begun the course, but they are in fact already failing the course. In my experience, some of the better writers do recover from these shaky openings, although they usually get lower grades than they would have otherwise. But for the weaker writers, the situation is truly painful--they start off shakily and never recover....From the perspective of the Writing Program, the policy is, at best, a serious miscalculation and at worst, a disaster."

The Director of the Writing Program in New Brunswick has confirmed that the identical situation exists on the New Brunswick campuses, where some 350 sections of English Composition are offered each Fall, and 170 sections each Spring. Students who enter these classes late miss assignments and risk failure.

The University Registrar, on the other hand, has provided us with an initial report which seems to confirm the underlying intent of the extended Add/Drop period. The following comparison is based on activity for New Brunswick undergraduates only:

Spring 2001

5634 classes dropped during last 2 days of the drop period (the "extended" days)
405 classes dropped the next 3 days (after the "extended" days; with "W" grades)
5889 classes added in days 6-9 of the "extended" add period

Spring 2000

3580 classes dropped during the 2^nd week of classes (after the add/drop period)
1996 classes dropped after the 2^nd week of classes (with "W" grades)

RECOMMENDATIONS

Consequently, the Academic Standards Committee endorses, for the Fall 2001 semester, a Drop period of 7 calendar days (e.g. Tuesday-Monday), and an Add period of 8 calendar days, in order to provide students with an extra day to add classes dropped by other students at the end of the drop period. This proposal will maintain the innovation introduced into the Add/Drop period this semester, while addressing the pedagogical issues raised by the faculty. Keep in mind that students can also drop and add courses prior to the opening day of the semester. We further recommend that the University Senate Executive Committee conduct a review during the Fall 2001 semester to see if this modified Add/Drop period has produced the intended results.

RESOLUTION

Whereas, the University Senate’s Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee has examined and reported on the results of the recent changes to the add/drop period; and

Whereas, the University Senate has reviewed the Committee’s Report and its Recommendations, finding those Recommendations to be sound and in the best interests of Rutgers University;

Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Rutgers University Senate endorses the Report on the Add/Drop Period, and urges the administration to implement its recommendations.