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Withdrawal policy ignored by students

Students have not responded to the new policy limiting them to five withdrawals in their undergraduate career, Stanley Jones, registrar, said. 

  As of a couple weeks ago, the number of class withdrawals was only around 100 fewer than a year ago, meaning many students are still withdrawing from classes at nearly the same rate as they have in the past. 

  “It appears that the ramification of this policy has not resonated with many students yet,” Jones said.  “To say you only have five withdrawals for the lifetime of your undergraduate record should inspire students to work harder, seek study help when needed, and to not register for classes that they do not intend to complete (course shopping).  Some students already have more than three withdrawals.  That is extremely troubling for a policy that is a semester and a half old.”

 Faculty members supporting the policy warn that the consequences the new policy imposes are a reality and students must learn to keep them in mind.

  “I just think students need to think about the overall intent of this policy.  The goal is for students to graduate within four years,” Jones said.  “If you are withdrawing from classes each semester, you are delaying graduation and keeping other students from adding courses they need which ultimately delays their graduation.  Too many of our students give up to quickly.”

 In light of what appears to be a case of apathy on the part of the students to acknowledge the new policy, it is important to understand the reasoning behind why students are withdrawing as much now as before.

 A total of 100 VSU students were polled around campus to  see how they felt about the withdrawal limit as it currently stands.

 A majority of those polled stated their dislike of the current policy, with a total of 62 out of the 100 claiming to be against it. 

 “I think that it’s unfair to limit withdrawals because sometimes there’s no way to judge a course before you get in it,” Ariel Anderson, a sophomore economy major, said. “Sometimes the teachers are just too difficult and the course content is too hard to keep up with.  And I mean sometimes you just aren’t given enough resources to succeed.

 Take microbiology for example, there is no one in the Student Success Center that tutors that and teachers just don’t have the time, so there’s no one to help you.”

 However, 25 students said that they were for the limit, while the remaining 13 stated they were unsure of where they stand on the issue.

 “Most of the time people just say that they don’t like the teacher and just drop it because of that, but I don’t see why people learn to just deal with small stuff like that and save their withdrawals for the times they really need them like when they’re close to failing a class,” freshman Joseph Albahari said.

NOTE: Thursday, March 3rd is the official midterm for spring 2011. This is also the last day to withdraw from most courses (eCore and GOML midterms are today). If it is your intention to withdraw from any course(s), you must complete this action online by Thursday, March 3rd (11:59pm VSU Time). No withdrawals will be accepted after March 3rd except for documented medical hardships.

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