The university may be extending the add/drop period for courses.
The Campus Council met Jan. 28 for the for the first time in 2016 to discuss new business pertaining to the university.
Among new business was talk of extending the time period during each semester's first week of classes where students are able to add and drop courses. This is something that came up due to SGA legislature.
Currently, Nancy Cronk said students are able to freely add or drop classes — without it being considered a withdrawal — until 11:59 p.m. on the first Friday of classes.
Cronk, who works with the registrar and serves as the director of registration and academic progress, said there is a misconception about this time.
On Ball State's academic advising website, a time is not specified. It only says this "change-of-course" period ends on the fifth day, or Friday, of each semester.
Because of the ambiguity of this passage, Cronk said students might not know the actual time frame to add and drop courses. Several Student Government Association senators said they were under the impression the time ended at 5 p.m.
But despite the confusion, SGA president Jack Hesser is still passionate about his request for more time for students. In a letter written to Campus Council, Hesser, a senior biology major, requested that the change-of-course period be increased an additional 48 hours, ending on Sunday rather than Friday.
Hesser said after talking with students over the course of his presidential campaign, the issue of needing more time was the top issue among students he talked to.
"The period just isn't enough time to be a good indicator of the work load for a class," Hesser said. "So we made the decision to propose a 48-hour extension."
Bailey Loughlin, an SGA senator and junior hospitality and food management major, said there have been times during her college career when extra time to consider if a class was for her or not would have been very helpful.
One semester, because she got out of class at 4 p.m. on Friday and she thought the change-of-course period ended at 5 p.m., she had to make a decision quickly with little time to reflect.
All of those at the Campus Council meeting were receptive to the idea, but there was some criticism.
Mike Gillian, director of student rights and community standards, said he worries if students had more time to change their schedules over the weekend, they would drop important courses that would affect their ability to remain full-time students or stay on track to graduate.
"For those students that run into that situation, it's complex," Gillian said. "It's not as simple as someone flipping a switch."
Cronk addressed similar worries about students maintaining full-time status.
"It is a concern. And as much as students want to make progress toward [a] degree, we want to help you make progress toward that degree," Cronk said. "But [when students are] in a hurry, and without careful planning, they don't realize the full ramifications of what dropping a class can do."
Despite this concern, it was the unanimous decision of the council that this topic needed to be revisited next month after talking with Hesser and clarifying his requests.
"It's a great concept, love the concept. But we need you to be more transparent in what you mean," Cronk told Hesser.
Hesser said he will be glad to speak to council members and continue the process of getting the change-of-course period extended.
"It's a timely process, which is very typical," Hesser said. "For better or for worse, sometimes things can take a very long time through the university system. But I look forward to talking to [Campus Council] and alleviating their concerns."
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