2022 Fall Term Advising Advice I

As we know many of you advise students on many important matters, including academic pressure points, we wanted to make sure that you are aware of substantive changes in add/drop and pass/fail timelines and procedures approved by the faculty this past spring.

In some ways, the new policy is more liberal than the previous timeline, allowingstudents a bit more latitude to adjust their schedule. This is more relevant in recent years given the standard credit ceiling of 15 credits (vs. a 14-credit ceiling as recently as a few years ago). Far more students in recent years have the ability to drop a class without falling into an underload. In contrast, we don't think there will be nearly as many exceptions made by FEC going forward.

The new add/drop policy and timeline is as follows:

• All fees on late drop/add declarations have been eliminated.
• During the initial add/drop period, the first week of fall or winter terms and the first two days of spring term, registration changes must be made in Workday.
• After the initial drop/add period and through week four, each instructor's signature, an adviser's signature, and an academic dean's approval is required.
• Students will receive a W for any dropped course.
• Weeks five through six, each instructor's signature, an adviser's signature, and an academic dean's approval is required. Students will receive a WP/WF for any dropped course.
• After week six students must petition Faculty Executive Committee (FEC@wlu.edu). Students will receive a WP/WF for any dropped course approved, though approvals are unlikely.
• Medical drops will not be allowed after the final day of classes. The granting of incompletes at this point remains at the instructor's discretion as noted in the policy on incompletes.

The new pass/fail policy and timeline is as follows:

• All fees on late pass/fail declarations have been eliminated.
• Pass/fail declarations can be made through week two of the fall or winter terms.
• Pass/fail declarations will not be accepted after week two.
• Pass/fail declarations will not be accepted during spring/term.
• Medical pass/fail declarations will not be allowed after the final day of classes.
• At that point, students will receive the letter grade given in the course.

FEC's motivation in proposing these changes was driven by a variety of factors that may help you advise students facing difficult decisions.

• The longstanding fee structure for late actions impacted students in vastly different ways and was ineffective at altering behavior.
• The period leading to mid-term allows the student, in consultation with instructors and advisers, an adequate window for adjustments. FEC need not be involved in those deliberations. Some instructors may, however, say no, particularly if a drop in that time period impacts other students' efforts (e.g., group work) already underway or comes at the expense of students who might have been waitlisted in a fully enrolled class.
• Beyond midterm, however, students should be accountable for their schedules and performance within those classes. FEC is highly unlikely to approve late drops, especially for students who are simply anxious about a challenging class. Similarly, late p/f requests will not even be accepted.

It will take a year or two to reset expectations for students who have been accommodated through COVID on requests that would not have been approved prior to the last few years.