The University of Massachusetts Amherst
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What’s up with the Add/Drop deadline?

Hey, did you notice that Add/Drop is now only ONE week long? When did that happen, and more importantly, WHY??

Let’s start with the more obvious of these questions: Yes, the Add/Drop period is now only one week long. That means for this semester you have until 11:59pm on Wednesday, September 8 to go into SPIRE and drop a class with no record of it on your transcript, or add a class without needing permission of your academic dean.

We know this is new and unusual for our returning UMass students who have typically had two whole weeks to make these changes to their schedule. However, after research by the Registrar’s Office, a review of other campuses, consideration by the Faculty Senate, and with input from actual UMass students, this process was changed.

I can imagine that for many of you this feels unfair and annoying. I get that. It can be difficult to get your schedule sorted in the first two weeks. That said, here’s what the Registrar’s Office learned about success rates for students who added classes at the end of add drop: Students who added classes on the final days of the Add/Drop period were TWICE as likely to earn a D or F, or to withdraw from the class as students who had added a class during registration or the first week of Add/Drop.

Maybe it feels paternalistic for University administrators to say, “We’re doing it for your own good.” But, we are. I never want students have to spend more money or time than they planned to finish their degree because they failed classes and got behind. That’s some of what we were seeing with the original Add/Drop period.

So what happens if you have a really good reason to add a class late? Students will still have the option to petition their academic dean for a late add. Yes, we will expect you to make a good case for why you need to add the class and what evidence you have that you’ll be successful. Late adds for research assistantships and internships are relatively straightforward and approved without much fuss.

You can speak with your academic advisor or an academic dean if you have questions. Academic deans are located in the SBS Pathways Center in 128 Thompson Hall. Stop by, call (413-755-1057) or email (sbsadvising@sbs.umass.edu) to set up an appointment.

By Jacqueline Brousseau-Pereira

Academic Dean and Director of First Year Seminars in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UMass Amherst.

I care a lot about the success of our students. From my perspective, student success means that students explore the world around them and engage in classes, activities, and opportunities that help them grow and develop into the people the want to be.

Outside of my day job, I live in Easthampton with my spouse and two daughters, 3 cats, and one tripod Labrador Retriever named Peggy Sue. I have the good fortune of writing a monthly opinion column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette. I serve on a few volunteer boards and committees in the Pioneer Valley.

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