It’s happened to most of us at one point or another. You are enrolled in a general education course that seemed to be interesting when you read the description online, but when you read the syllabus on the first day of class, it is not what you were expecting.
With a click of the mouse, you drop the course.
Luckily you figured out quickly that this course is not for you, so there will be no mark on your transcript.
Until the Wednesday evening of the second week of classes, students can drop a course without a penalty. Students can add a course anytime between the first day of classes and Thursday morning of the the second week of the semester.
The Council of Commonwealth Student Governments believes the university should push back the date on which students can drop a course.
In theory, extending the drop/add period would benefit students because they have more time to feel out a class but it could also have negative effects.
As of right now, some professors wait to cover course material until the end of the drop/add period, so students who enroll late are not behind.
That means that the first couple of classes are completely wasted — and there is only 15 weeks in the semester.
On the other side, some professors make it nearly impossible for students to catch up with the rest of the class if they enroll late.
You could be sitting in a course and realize that there is a quiz during the next class period.
It would be more effective for Penn State to hold professors accountable in keeping students informed ahead of time. Some of the course descriptions available online are so vague that you really do not know what to expect.
Professors should have to post their syllabi available when students are scheduling, or at least provide a more detailed description of the course they are offering. A few sentences is not enough to know what to expect.
This would lead to fewer problems down the road.
