There is something inherently sad about the withdrawal deadline. I am a firm believer in persistent effort even in the face of unremitting failure. (Please see ten years of articles mentioning losing weight for verification). And while there are some things we should never give up on -- world peace, cures for diseases, equality, and wrinkle reduction -- the confines of a fifteen week semester necessitate pulling the plug at some point. That point is this Saturday, November 22. Ouch!
We have been asked not to extend the withdrawal deadline this semester regardless of a student’s reason for being late. In order to assure the minimum of heartache on the Monday after the deadline, we have posted signs and banners as well as submitted articles to the Student Tribune and sent the students email reminding them of the deadline. The information is literally in lights by the Student Center desk and is on the back of the student’s schedules in addition to being in the bulletins, on our web site and written in marker on the men’s rooms walls, or so I’ve been told. I’m sure that at this point you are wondering, "what can I do to help?" There are two things:
Please announce to your students that Friday, 11/21 is the last day to withdraw from an individual class at the Registrar’s Office. Saturday, 11/22 is the last day to withdraw on line. After 11/22, there will be no withdrawals accepted, regardless of the reason. While the students you are announcing this to are probably not going to withdraw from your class, they may be registered for classes they stopped attending and have failed to withdraw from. Please remind them that any class for which they are still registered will be graded. A “W” does not adversely affect their grade point average. An “F”, on the other hand, can really cause a lot of damage.
Take a minute to look at your current class list. Everyone on that list will need a grade at the end of the semester. If you have students who are not attending or who you know are failing and you do not care to give them an “F,” you need to withdraw them by 11/22 and include the last date of attendance. No one is required to do faculty withdrawals. But please keep in mind that you cannot leave a student without a grade and say you don’t want to grade them because they never attended. You either need to withdraw them or grade them. It’s your choice.
You may withdraw them online through 11/22. Any faculty withdrawals submitted after 11/22 will appear on an error report equipped with bright flashing lights, nah-nah- nah- nah- nah voice overs and dozens of pointing fingers. (It’s a really annoying report.) Oh, and we also have a report that tells us when you submit a withdrawal but don’t include the last date of attendance. This report is not as annoying, but the tracking down and inputting of each missing last date of attendance is, so we are very thankful when you include it the same time you submit the “W”. I’m begging here.
Tomorrow I will answer some frequently asked questions and use non-subliminal seduction to remind you of the withdrawal deadline.
Deborah Benjamin
Registration and Records
11/17/2008 |