WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2008 News WWW.KANSAN.COM THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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》 ADMINISTRATION
Withdrawal policy doesn't mind its F's and P's
BY DEEPA SAMPAT
dsampat@kansan.com
Next year, students who want to drop a class will see a different mark on their transcripts and won't have to get their instructor's permission.
University Senate passed a new withdrawal policy, which will be implemented in the fall. Instead of receiving a "WP," withdrawn passing, or a "WF," withdrawn failing, after students drop a class, they will simply receive a "W," withdrawn. Also, students will no longer be required to obtain a signature to drop a class from their instructor. Instead, they must follow the drop procedures required by the specific school in which they are enrolled.
Joan Hahn, assistant registrar at
the Office of the University Registrar, said when a student dropped a class, they automatically received a "W". She said she thought students would benefit from the new policy because it would provide consistency in marks and because it eliminated the use of discretion by the instructor.
"It provides more opportunity for equity for the students," Hahn said.
Rick Levy, former president of Faculty Senate, said the Academic Policies and Procedures Committee recommended the change of policy for two reasons. He said instructors had no consistent understanding of what warranted a "WF" or "WP" mark. For example, some instructors would give students a "WF" if they never came to class, even if
they meant to drop the class but just forgot to do so.
"The intention was not to penalize students but help students that withdrew", Levy said.
Another reason for the revision was the hassle of obtaining instructors' signatures to drop a course. Levy said many times students were waiting until the last minute to drop a course and were unable to get a signature by the deadline.
Marianne Berry, University Senate president, said she didn't have a strong opinion about whether
"Students weren't necessarily planning far enough in advance," Levy said. "They didn't know whether the faculty member was going to be in town or out of town."
to change the policy, but she thought the new policy would make the withdrawal process more convenient for students because they didn't have to obtain an instructor's permission to drop a class.
"It makes it more straightforward," Berry said. "They could do it more quickly and be in charge of their own destiny."
Levy said the original proposal had to be reworded to clarify ambiguities. The revisions to the proposal clarified that a mark of "W" would not be included in a student's grade point average, that neither an instructor nor a school could withhold a student's withdrawal in the second withdrawal period, and that it was the student's responsibility to
complete the withdrawal procedures of his or her school.
"None of those changes were actual changes to the policy," Levy said. "Those were all things that were understood but not explicit."
Geraldo de Sousa, chair of Academic Policies and Procedures, said University Senate showed widespread support for the policy change.
"The new policy greatly simplifies the course withdrawal process," he said.
The withdrawal policy affects students who drop a class in the second withdrawal period, which is the 16th though the 60th instructional day of the semester.
》 FOURTH OF JULY
— Edited by Mandy Earles
Safety concerns cause show to be moved Clinton Lake
BY KRISTIN HOPPA
khoppa@kansan.com
It will be a change of scenery for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display in Lawrence this year.
Because of safety concerns about
the Kansas River, organizers of the annual show have moved the display from Burcham Park to Sesquicentennial Point at Clinton Lake.
"We have outgrown the park," said Gary Saathoff, president of Lawrence
This year, people are invited to park in a mowed field below Sesquicentennial Point north of the Clinton Dam. However, only about
People who decide to travel out to Clinton Lake will be faced with seating issues. More than 5,000 people in the past years have gathered on or around the Second Street Bridge to view the show downtown.
2,000 cars will fit in the lot.
Jaycees, who sponsored the event. "We had concerns with people on the levee, on the bridge and people falling in the river."
The issue about street safety was also a concern. Saathoff said that in the last couple of years, cars were blocking intersections of downtown streets, restricting traffic.
"We had concerns with people on the levee, on the bridge and people falling in the river."
Saathoff said the lot was about twice the size of Wal-Mart's parking lot. He suggested people carpool to accommodate those who wanted to watch the display in the park.
GARY SAATHOFF
President of Lawrence Jaycees
— Edited by Mandy Earles
"Bring a carload of people," Saathoff said. "This way people can either watch in their cars, or out on the field."
Although the fireworks show is moving farther out from downtown, some students
"We are preventing an accident before it happens," Saathoff said. "No one needs to get hurt."
"I think there will actually be more room in Clinton Park," said Caryn Dyer, Raymore, Mo., graduate student. "Parking is just really hard downtown. It will keep people out of the streets."
Saathoff said they had never had a major accident but he wasn't going to wait for one to happen to cause the change.
think it will be beneficial to the city.
Permitted Fourth of July fireworks
Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Department would like to remind the public to have a safe Fourth of July.
According to a release, only novelty items are permitted for public use in the city of Lawrence:
Party poppers - small items not more than .25 grains of explosive with a string protruding from the device that is usually pulled to
ignite.
Snapper - small paper wrapped item with no more than .02 grains of explosive that, when dropped, the device explodes.
Snakes, glow worms - produces a snake-like ash upon burning.
Sparklers - Wire or stick coated with pyrotechnic material that ignites to produce a shower.
of sparks (sparklers are only permitted in Lawrence from June 27 - July 5 as part of the State permitted items).
Toy Caps - toy plastic or paper caps for toys in sheets, strips, rolls or individual.
Toy Smoke devices- produce smoke only and with a limited amount of pyrotechnic material.