Registrar enacts add/drop changes

Starting this semester, several important changes to the add/drop process will affect students in both the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering.

Registrar Hedy Schaedel said students are now allowed to add or drop classes online or in person without adviser approval until September 23. Associate Registrar Betsy Paul says it "encourages students to settle their schedules by the end of the second full week of classes."

Paul noted that the Office of the Registrar "sent information about the changes in mid-July to students' permanent home addresses." She also said that another copy was mailed to dorm and Gilman mailboxes and that an e-mail was sent to the same effect. She pointed out another, more recent e-mail detailing a new feature on the "Important Notices/Instructions," is located at http://www.jhu.edu/registrar.com on the left-hand side of the page.

Paul said she has not heard any complaints from students. "They know the last day without signature approval is next Friday," she stated. "[Two weeks of classes] is a long time ... if you think about it."

Richard Sanders, director of academic advising, said that the decision to change the policy was made by a committee whose members include himself, deans from the School of Arts of Sciences and the School of Engineering and a representative faculty member.

The committee's goal, as Sanders described it, is "to clarify policies and the procedures they entail, and to make adjustments to policies that seem inconsistent with sound academic practices."

He said that the committee was "concerned about [students'] adding a class after the end of the second full week of classes because it is so difficult for a student to catch up with two weeks of work," adding that the new policy's "benefits go to the students who won't have to catch up on weeks of work missed at the start of the semester."

The change, of course, is especially significant for students in the Whiting School of Engineering, who previously had to obtain adviser approval for any and all class changes. Sophomore John Kernan, a Whiting School student, said, "It was a real hassle to get adviser approval for minor schedule changes. It's made scheduling a lot easier."

Some, however, were less enthusiastic about the change. Sophomore Gretchen Stiteler said, "[My] best friend who is trying to adjust his courses is panicked about the deadline [for adding classes without approval]."

She said she felt it was "another example of the University's currently proliferating restrictions."

When asked, some students were not even fully aware of the change in policy. Junior Shenglei Hu said he was not aware of the new policy, adding, "I probably got the mailings; I just don't check."

The two-week deadline, however, is not completely set in stone. Paul noted that, under special circumstances, students will be able to add classes during the third and fourth weeks, but doing so will require approval of both the professor of the class in question and of their adviser. Sanders advised, "If a student is sitting in on a class waiting for a space to open, I suggest that she or he speak to the instructor about the two week deadline and, if the instructor advises that the student continue to wait, then speak to an academic advisor about the problem."

The dropping policy after the second week will remain the same: Students in the School of Arts and Sciences will be able to drop classes without adviser approval, whereas engineering students must have a signature from a faculty adviser.

Paul and Schaedel also discussed future changes dealing with registration. Starting November 1, an activated JHEM e-mail account will be required for access to Web services, including registration for Spring 2006 classes. The change stems from a push by University deans to, as Paul noted, "standardize the students' e-mails."

The University's official means of communication will soon be via e-mail.

The new University-wide system, Internet Student Information System (ISIS), will ultimately replace the Registrar's current system. The registration aspect of ISIS, called SSS (Student Service System), will feature a new look and improved access. ISIS is already in place for student financial services and the "go-live" date for SSS is tentatively scheduled for late next year.

When asked why the Registrar's Web site was unavailable to students from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., Associate Registrar for Information Systems Craig Smith explained that the site is shared by several University departments, and that others use the blackout period to run various programs.