Should we pay for "W's"? NO
M any students have been affected by the drop dates and how long it takes to graduate or transfer. Fees are so high that the college does not need students to pay for dropped classes.
Even if the college only allows students to attend classes after they have paid for them, the students should be allowed to get a full refund, regardless of when they decided to drop.
It only makes sense that students should not have to pay for classes they will not finish. People would not pay for a car they will never drive or a house they will never live in.
The rule is students have to pay for classes after the first week of school. The earlier students decide to drop the class, the less they will have to pay for that class.
This semester’s refund schedule went like so: 100 percent refund for classes dropped by Feb. 18, 75 percent refunded by Feb. 25, 50 percent refunded by March 4 and a 25 percent refund by March 11, eventhough the final drop date is May 16.
This means that students have less then a month to figure out if the class is worth sticking around for or if they should get some of their money back.
A month is not enough time for most students to figure out if they will need or want to take a certain class.
Usually nothing gets done in the first couple weeks of the semester because the instructors are just trying to figure out which students are going to be enrolled in their class.
People constantly add and drop. Some show up for a week and then suddenly disappear and are never seen again.
By the time everything settles down and the class gets underway, a lot of students realize that the class is not for them.
Later, as the semester goes along, some students realize that the class is too hard to pass and will need to drop the class to get a “W” instead of an “F”.
If they do not drop they will be stuck with an “F”, and that “F” would hurt their grade point average. After they realize that they are going to drop, they still have to pay for that class.
It is not fair for students to pay for a class they are not going to finish. It is already hard for students to pay for tuition with all of the increased prices for classes.
This difficulty builds when combined with the fact that some students do not have enough time to pay before the final drop date. These students will have to take the “F” instead of getting the “W”w.
For a lot of students, the goal is to transfer to a university and an F can hurt their chances of transferring.
Most students would pay for a good grade, but paying for a class that is not doing anything in the student’s interest is not right.
If the college wants to help students transfer out as soon as possible, it must allow students to not pay for classes that they do not take.
Colleges demand students to pay for classes even though they are dropping them because the school needs to make money and paying for classes is a big part of the income for colleges.
It also keeps the class size lower for the students who are serious about the classes and makes it a better learning atmosphere for them.
Students would not have as big a problem of paying fees if they knew they were allowed to drop classes without worrying about paying for them.
Even if the college only allows students to attend classes after they have paid for them, the students should be allowed to get a full refund, regardless of when they decide to drop.
Students should only have to pay for classes they have finished.
When the drop date comes along, as it will on Monday, students who are on the edge of passing or failing must decide to drop and will have to take the class again later on. This wastes time and money, something that all students can’t afford to lose.
Students should not have to pay for classes they are not taking or are about to drop.
Their goal is to get out and go to a university or get a job, not to owe the college as much money as possible.