Imagine, if you will, that the next restaurant you dined in had a free refund policy. Any plate, no matter how big or expensive, could be completely refunded if you did not like the meal. However, you can only get the refund before you take a bite of your main course.
If this scenario seems unfair, then you may understand how I feel about the limited time students are given to drop a class without penalty.
According to the Mississippi State University academic calendar, the fifth day of classes is the last day to drop without receiving a withdrawal notice on your academic record. When you take into account that most classes alternate every other day, you will realize that students only have two or three days of class time to determine if the course is too hard, too demanding or not the right fit.
How much do you actually learn in the first two or three days of a class? Day one is spent introducing yourself to your classmates and teacher, normally stating your name, major and an interesting fact about yourself. If there is time, the teacher might start to read the syllabus and explain what the class will look like. Any homework given is normally a syllabus quiz or a getting-to-know-you assignment.
Day two is hardly anymore studious. It is normally spent finishing up the class summary, and maybe beginning the first lesson or assignment for the semester. This night’s homework is usually an easy assignment to slowly warm students up.
The main course of the workload typically starts around day three or four. In fact, you are normally given until week three to gather and purchase all your textbooks and equipment for class. So, why then are we only given until the appetizer is finished before we have to opt for a W in the class?
This deadline is harsh enough on a normal school semester, but with the intense weather we faced at the start of this semester, this drop date was entirely unfair.
Due to an intense cold front, all classes were either canceled or taught remotely until Thursday, and even then, some classes were still canceled due to icy conditions. Some students may have only had one day, or possibly even no days, of their classes. Yet the deadline to drop a class was not pushed back, and students were still expected to know whether they should drop out of the class or not.
I feel perfectly reasonable in asking that the last day to drop a class be extended by a week. Once an actual, genuine, bonafide five day week has been accomplished, and actual homework has been assigned, I feel that students would have a better understanding of whether or not they can manage the course or not.
Let us taste the meal before sending it back.
