It has been acknowledged that we as a University are moving up in this dog-eat-dog world of academia. We’re redesigning, rebranding and remarketing ourselves to future generations of college attendees in the hopes that they will continue to flock to Fletcher Gate.
First came “wonk,” then the Campus Plan and now changes to academic regulations are being proposed.
While we don’t agree with all of these propositions, for the most part we endorse the efforts of the administration to turn AU into a big-league university.
The current proposed changes are the first overhaul to academic regulations at AU in 25 years — a bit overdue, if you consider all the changes to the University in that time.
These revisions include shortening the add/drop period, upping the GPA requirements for Dean’s List, further restricting qualifications for cum laude status, changing the freshman forgiveness policy and editing the pass/fail policy.
Some may say these changes are unfair, others might just be angry they didn’t know they could retake every single one of their freshmen-year classes for a better grade.
Whatever your reaction, we agree that some of these changes are necessary while others are not.
There are many of us that have been or are currently on the Dean’s List and that mighty (hopefully) graduate cum laude who would not under these new changes. While it would be a disappointment to lose that status, we side with the University on this proposed change.
Grade inflation is an issue here at AU, and while it gives us that nice little bump in our GPAs on many occasions, it does not reflect true academic accomplishments. Upping the GPA requirement for Dean’s List from 3.5 to 3.67 could help compensate for this trend.
Changing the cum laude requirements would also help in this adjustment, and make the distinction more competitive and honorable than it already is.
The only issue we have with these proposed changes is the revision to the add/drop period, which would be curtailed to the first seven business days of the semester. A brief paragraph-long synopsis on AU’s website is not enough (and in many cases, is outdated to begin with) to help students decide on a course. A two week add/drop period gives students the time it takes to get to know a professor and a class.
One easy way to ease student concerns is to make more information available about classes earlier in the registration process.
We urge the Student Government to renew a past initiative to get old syllabi archived online. We also urge the registrar to post contact info for the professor teaching the course in question.
Whether you agree or disagree with the particular revisions, it is time for a change. We’re aiming for the big leagues now, and in order to be able to play with the other universities, we need to upgrade our academic policies to reflect the prestige we desire.
