SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
MR. H. M. EVANS ?
I
From ?
... MEAKIN
.
SECRETARY OF SENATE
PAPER FOR SENATE
Subiect
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DIREcToR. OF.. ADMIS.S.I.QNS...............................
Date ...... .......
.......24th Decein.
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6.
The Senate Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Standings
have asked that the attached paper be submitted for consideration
by Senate at its January meeting.
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End.
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FROM: SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNDER-
GRADUATE ADMISSIONS AND
STANDINGS
DATE: 24th December, 1969
TO: ALL MEMBERS OF SENATE
W.
SUBJECT: ?
DATE FOR DROPPING COURSES
The Senate Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Standings, at a
meeting on December 18th, 1969, unanimously passed the following Motion:
"That the S.C.U.A.S. recommend to Senate that the final
date for withdrawal from a course be at the end of the
fifth week of lectures".
Senate is, therefore, asked to endorse this deadline.
It is
suggested that this should be implemented in Fall Semester
1970.
The present system of allowing students to wait until the 9th week of
the semester before having to drop a course, tends to be very inefficient,
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both from the student's point of view and from the instructor's. At the
end of five weeks, the student should know whether or not he is likely
to complete a course successfully and the additional four weeks now
allowed him means the postponement of the time of reckoning, and the
taking away of time from other courses where there is a better chance of
success.
From the instructor's point of view, the 9th week is rather late for
the rearranging of course projects and assignments and again, the student
has taken up time which might better have been spent on those students
who are completing the course.
If the present method of dropping courses is changed and the student is
required to make a decision within five weeks of lectures, then an
additional recommendation may need to be made concerning the date at which
a student may withdraw from the university in all courses without penalty.
This would not in any way jeopardize the position of the student who must
withdraw from courses on medical or compassionate grounds.
Some statistics may be of interest to Senators. Shown below are the
number of course withdrawals for the 1968-69 academic year.
Semester
Summer 1968
Fall 1968
Spring 1969
Number of Course Withdrawal
1,128
2,250
1,650
D. MEAKIN,
CHAIRMAN, S.C.U.A.S.
