 "Photo: Chris Scott")
Changes to the registration schedule that would move late registration and the add/drop period to the week before the first day of class are being considered by the ACC administration.
Currently students have three days after the first class day to register for class and make changes to their schedule by adding and dropping courses. If the new schedule is approved, students would have to register and make all changes to their schedule before the first day of class.
The changes could be made as soon as fall 2010. Currently, the proposal is being reviewed by the Academic and Campus Affairs Council (ACAC), and, if approved, the proposal will be sent to ACC President Stephen Kinslow for final approval.
If the changes go into effect, registration for next fall would begin on May 17 for current and former students. Registration would continue until Aug. 13. Late registration would begin Aug. 14 and run until Aug. 20, and the add/drop period would run from Aug. 18 to 20. Classes would then begin on Aug. 23.
Once classes have begun, the only changes that would be allowed under the new schedule would be level changes for foreign language classes, math courses, some science classes, and ESOL classes. Changes could also be made for documented college error and extenuating circumstances.
The Student Government Association (SGA) discussed and voted against the possible schedule change at their Jan.. 22 meeting.
“SGA is against the add/drop changes,” said Mike Reid, SGA vice-president. Reid said he believes students “should still have our academic freedom to pick and choose our professors after meeting them.”
SGA will begin taking student comments on the possible registration changes on Feb. 1. Surveys will be available at Student Life offices at each campus and from the SGA at sga@austincc.edu.
Once SGA has collected student opinions, they will present them to the administration. The ACAC will have its second reading of the proposal at its next meeting on Feb.. 5. If the council unanimously supports the proposal, they will take action and send it to the president. If there are concerns or objections, the proposal will stay in the council for further review.
Kathleen Christensen, vice-president of Student Support and Success Systems, said the purpose of the possible registration calendar change will be to increase student academic success at ACC. Christensen pointed out that the proposal references a number of studies that explore the success rates of students that register late.
Some of the research articles show a correlation between late registration and poor student performance, but others do not.
One study referenced in the proposal, conducted at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA, even states that students who registered on time but then “fine-tuned their schedules during the late registration period, had the best chance of performing well.”
“If students are in class on the first day, this allows for a stronger start for the student,” said Christensen. She added that the proposal still has not been approved and that students and faculty still have time to voice their concerns.
“[The administration] is claiming that students who register late have a higher rate of failure, but the research they provided [the faculty senate] with shows no causal relationship between late registration and failure,” said Devorah Feldman, president of the faculty senate.
Feldman has been gathering faculty comments on the issue and said that the full-time faculty are considerably divided in their views regarding late registration.
Feldman spoke to the ACC Board of Trustees on the issue and said that she supports both her colleagues who are for the changes and those who are against them.
Personally, Feldman said she is “strongly opposed to the elimination of late registration and add/drop.”
Feldman believes students should have the academic freedom to go to the first day of class “read the syllabus, meet the professor, meet your classmates, and make an intelligent, adult decision about your education.”
The changes to the registration calendar were first proposed in the Admissions and Registration Committee in September 2009. After being approved there, the proposal was sent to the Student Services Council (SSC) and finally to the ACAC in November 2009.
If the calendar changes were to be implemented by fall 2010, a decision would need to be made early enough in the spring so that students could be informed of the new schedule in the course catalog, student handbooks, and when new student and fall registration information goes out, said Christensen.
“I think it will be helpful for students overall and for the college,” Co-Chair of the SSC Patti Singleton said.
Singleton, who is also a professor and counselor at ACC, believes moving late registration and the add/drop period to the week before classes start will help students.
“In my work as a counselor, I have noticed that many students who show up at the last minute and want to register don’t tend to do well. They end up not having financial aid ready, they have a problem getting books, they get behind; they start behind. Many of them end up dropping classes,” said Singleton.
Singleton did acknowledge that one possible drawback could be that students will not have the ability to get out of a class they didn’t want or that they found was not right for them once classes begin.
“Whether it is the best way? I’m not sure yet because we haven’t tried it,” said Singleton.
Glen Hunt, Government Department Chair, believes allowing students to register late and make changes to their schedule while classes have already started is a “disservice to the students and to the faculty.”
2 comments
First, I said faculty opinions on this issue are divided, as is indicated above.
Second, this statement: "Feldman spoke to the ACC Board of Trustees on the issue and said that she supports both her colleagues who are for the changes and those who are against them" is misleading.
What I said to the Board (which was distributed in hard copy and is available to all online as streaming video) is that I support the right of Professors and Departments to make their own decisions about whether or not to admit late students into their classes. Professors who choose to accept late students should not be denied this privilege, whereas professors who feel it would be a disservice to the students should continue to be allowed to decline these students. A college-wide mandate would deprive me of my right to exercise professional judgment.
Third, I sent the following comment to the reporter to represent my *personal* opinion, not that of the faculty at large who are clearly divided:
"I am strongly opposed to the elimination of late registration and adds/drops. We are a community college with an Open Door policy to educational potential. Our students deserve Academic Freedom, which
includes the right to make informed decisions about their education and perhaps dropping a class to choose a more suitable alternative. ACC belongs to the community: I hope we will keep our doors open and practice tolerance and compassion to those we serve."