Don’t get caught with an “F”!

This Friday, November 7th is the last day for withdrawing, without academic penalty, from three (3) credit hour courses (i.e. designated .1), and from six (6) credit hour courses (i.e. designated .0) taught only in the first semester. While I can’t advise you on whether or not you should drop a class, it’s important that all students are aware of this academic regulation. If you feel like you are not doing well enough in the class to get the grade you are aiming for, it might be better for you to withdraw from the course than have a low mark or an “F” on your transcript. You could always make up the lost credit at another time, or retake the class again. A “W” will appear on your transcript instead, and won’t affect your GPA. If withdrawing from a class isn’t an option for you, but you still aren’t doing as well as you like, then check out the SMUSA Online Tutor Database at www.smusa.ca and find someone to give you a bit of extra help.

Also, there was a new academic regulation passed through Senate last May, but it didn’t make it in time to be included in the current edition of the Academic Calendar. It states that “instructors must provide feedback to students regarding their progress in the course prior to the final date by which a student may cancel the course without academic penalty (see regulation 16). Normally for undergraduate courses, this feedback must equal a minimum of 15% of the final grade (Regulation 4d)”. So, you should have 15% of your class mark back before this Friday! This ensures that you can make an educated decision about staying in the class or not, based on a big chunk your current performance in the class so far.