Elvia Gaona (The Beacon)
By Kathryn Walters Staff Writer walters14@up.edu
This fall, students may have longer than the first week of classes to decide whether they want to stay in a class.
On March 4, the ASUP Senate unanimously passed Resolution 13-04, which proposes an extension of the add/drop deadline for classes and the full tuition refund that goes with it. If University President Fr. Bill Beauchamp approves the resolution, the add/drop deadline will change from the fifth day to the tenth day of each semester.
ASUP senator Elvia Gaona wrote the resolution in mind of how students may feel too rushed in deciding whether they like a class or not.
"I personally felt that five days is too little, especially if people have a once-a-week class, or even a late lab on Friday," she said.
Gaona, a sophomore, said the full tuition refund must accompany the add/drop deadline extension.
"We really wanted to make it clear to the administration that we want this to happen and we want the refund policy, and if they won't give us that refund, that's not what students are asking for," she said.
One major reason Gaona proposed an extension of the add/drop deadline is to give students the opportunity to meet with their academic advisers and get the appropriate signatures they need to add or drop a course in plenty of time. Gaona experienced this problem firsthand when she wanted to register for a class the first week of this semester and missed the deadline.
"I was really frustrated and talked with other students about this, and surprisingly, there was an overwhelming amount of students who also had that problem," she said.
Gaona anticipates the new resolution, if approved, will give students a chance to make a fully informed decision when adding or dropping classes.
"We're hoping with this extension, students will have that dialogue with advisers and people in the departments before they make those big changes to their schedule," she said.
