Staff Editorial: Two weeks' notice
A committee composed of administrators from both the Krieger and Whiting Schools has replaced the six-week "add/drop" period with a two-week "schedule adjustment period." Under the new protocol, undergraduates will be able to add or drop classes for the first two weeks of the semester. Any schedule changes after two weeks will only be granted in "exceptional circumstances," and no adds or drops will be allowed after four weeks. This new system drastically reduces the amount of time students have to make changes to their class schedules at the beginning of each semester.
There are some benefits to the new system. The revised policy compels students to take more responsibility for their course choices. Some undergraduates at Hopkins have notoriously shuffled classes during the first few weeks to postpone the beginning of their semesters. By forcing students to settle their schedules sooner, the Schedule Adjustment Period prevents students from gaming the system. It has the potential to help undergraduates perform better academically, as they do not miss as much class at the beginning of the semester.
The policy also benefits Hopkins professors by bringing order to the ordinarily chaotic first few weeks of school, as class rosters will be finalized by the third week of class.
Although the committee was right in shortening the add/drop period, the Schedule Adjustment Period is too short for students to make informed decisions about their class schedules.
Students who are considering taking a class that meets only once per week are particularly disadvantaged under the new policy. These students have only two class sessions before they must finalize their decisions. Considering that the first day of class is usually devoted to administrative matters, these students do not get enough time to evaluate these weekly courses.
Working out a class schedule is not a simple process. An undergraduate's weekly schedule includes abutting and interlocking lectures and sectionals. Attempting to replace one class with another may require changing sections for a third course. It takes several weeks to sift through these complexities.
The committee that introduced the two-week system should consider lengthening it for the 2006 spring semester to four weeks. In doing so, the administration would grant us a happy medium between the former, excessive six-week add/drop period and the new, insufficient two-week Schedule Adjustment Period.