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SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

SENATE ?

R. McANINCH

To

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From

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STUDENT SENATOR

AMENDMENTS TO COURSE CHANGE AND

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NOVEMBER 23, 1970

Subiect.............. WITHDRAWAL ... REGULATIONS

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Date

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S.

454-

The current regulations in relation to course change and

withdrawals are as follows. A student may enter a new course up

until the end of the first week of classes. It is permissible

to drop courses up until the end of the ninth week. The amend-

ments to these regulations which this paper proposes are as

follows:

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1) ?

That the date of entry into a new course be extended until

the end of the 3rd week of the semester, and further, that

entry be allowed up until the end of the 5th week

if

permission of the professor teaching the course is obtained.

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2)

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That the date for dropping courses be extended until the

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end

of

the last week of classes.

The reasons for presenting these suggested changes are as

follows.

The present date for entry into a new course does not

take into account the fact that a student has very little exposure

to the courses in which he is enrolled during the first week

of

classes. The first week of classes is usually devoted to a

general outline of course requirements and brief remarks about

the theme

of

the course. It is not generally until the 2nd week

that a student will have gotten into the course reading and

attended lectures and tutorials. It would seem reasonable to

provide students with at least a period of two weeks of involve-

ment in a course, at the end of which it would still be possible

to gain entry into another course if this was desired. This period

of

time would give an individual a better opportunity to assess

whether the particular courses he is enrolled in are appropriate to

his educational aims.

It is the belief of the movers of these amendments that entry

into a course during the first three weeks

of

the semester should

not present any great difficulties to students. We believe, however,

that entry after this period, while it should be allowed, up until

the end of the 5th week, is a more questionable proposition and

should only be allowed if in the judgment of the professor teaching

the course the student is able to satisfactorily complete the course

program.

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Members of the Senate Appeals Board will testify to the fact

that there are a number of requests for what would be termed "late

course entry" requests under the current regulations. It appears

that many students find it difficult to operate within these

regulations, in all likelihood for the reasons outlined in this

paper. The amendments proposed here will hopefully bring these

particular bureaucratic rules of the University more in line with

the reality of the educational process which takes place here.

In regard to course withdrawals, the extension of the deadline

is proposed because the current regulations would seem to present

an unnecessary restriction on the actions of students. It is

certainly not difficult to imagine circumstances in which a student

may wish to drop a course later in the semester than is currently

allowed. For example, an individual may believe at a certain point

in the semester that it will be possible for him to complete in a

satisfactory manner all that is required in the courses in which he

is enrolled. He may find, however, at a later date, perhaps even

in the last week of classes, that it is in fact not possible for him

to do so, making it against his academic interest to continue with

all his courses. These are clearly circumstances when a desire on

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the part of the student to drop courses, however late it may be in

the semester, is certainly understandable and legitimate. It is an

option which should be open to him. This is the sort of decision

which should be left up to the student and the present regulation

is an unnecessary infringement on what should be a student's legitimate

academic prerogative.