SGA Senator Kathryn Bowers, a candidate for SGA President in the upcoming elections, is quoted in the Athens Banner Herald as supporting a limit on class withdrawals:
Students often withdraw from classes out of fear they will lose a scholarship, because they take more classes they can handle and for other personal hardship reasons, said Kathryn Bowers, the committee’s undergraduate student representative.
“I feel like a large percentage of students do it for legitimate reasons,” Bowers said. “Occasionally, students get in over their head … but I don’t think it’s ever any one thing.”
But students who make a habit of withdrawing from classes are hurting many other students who could have gotten a seat in a class they needed, Bowers said.
“I don’t think students would have a problem with a limit (on withdrawals),” she said.
To read the entire article, click here (warning- you have to register for Online Athens, but it is completely free).
I don’t know if SGA has done any polling on the issue of withdrawal reform, but if I remember correctly, the Golden Ticket party platform address student opinion:
Addressing Campus Polling/Opinion
Problem:
While recent polling efforts have made progress, there is still a need for more campus opinion gauging and polling. SGA is still not made aware of all issues facing students and students need a medium through which to express those opinions and issues.Golden Ticket Response:
We will make campus wide polling more representative of the student body through increased participation through more frequent polls, more widely published results, and working out tangible results regarding student opinion.
Hmmm.
{ 15 } Comments
SGA SUCKS. This University does not need SGA…they do NOTHING.
good post. very informed and rational.
rational like George Bush’s thought process
I actually think this is a good idea even though I’m not a fan of SGA. I’ve been stuck in a few crappy classes in past semesters that could have been avoided if I could have gotten the classes I wanted during drop/add. Ultimately, people on HOPE are the ones that are pressured to not withdraw out of classes, but those who do not have it (especially those who lost it) can withdraw without much penalty besides lost time. Although I do not think it is possible to fairly limit the number of withdrawals allocated to each student due to reasons other than the possibility of failing the class (such as illness, death in the family, etc.), it will be too hard to enforce this and determine what the reasons each student has for withdrawing from a class (among many other potential problems like how many times a student can withdraw).
Maybe one solution could be that a student can’t withdraw from a class more than once or twice (unless you have a reason other than grades). This would cut down on repeat offenders. A student will get a “WF” if they do it multiple times regardless of whether it is before or after midpoint.
What do you think future SGA Pres. Bowers?
Perhaps I should specify my solution better:
Maybe one solution could be that a student can’t withdraw from the SAME CLASS (that is, same course and level regardless of teacher) more than once or twice (unless you have a reason other than grades). This would cut down on repeat offenders. A student will get a “WF” if they do it multiple times regardless of whether it is before or after midpoint.
Mr. Lindsey,
Still wondering who I am aren’t you. This is going to be a fun game for me. I hope you enjoy everything.
I believe Bowers is a Polysci Major and as such has to have taken POLS 2000, which heavily emphasizes research methods like polling (unless of course the SPIA class crunch has kept her out). Thus she at least has some idea of how to conduct an effective survey, but apparently has chosen not to bother with that particular point. I agree with her stance on withdrawls, but she shouldn’t pretend to speak for the student body when she really doesn’t know (especially when the quote appears in a widely-read regional newspaper).
I’ll be honest, I am not a big fan of this site. That said, I think it has potential to be a useful tool. I do wish, however, that who ever anonymous who posted the threats and is playing “games” would either reveal himself or shut up and go away because the crap is getting obnoxious.
I’m pleased that as much as you disagree with this site, you’ll both both admit its potential utility and call out “anonymous.” Kudos.
I have been an unbiased observer of the site for a while now, and I do believe it pertinent for one to maintain minimal levels of awareness and comprehension regarding subjects discussed in this forum before making rogue assessments. That being said, there are two innate flaws in your discussion of Kathryn Bowers: 1) it is not the responsibility of a single constituent of SGA to conduct any or all student opinion surveys, and 2) student opinion surveys are a permanent fixture on the SGA website, http://www.ugasga.org. Furthermore, upon examination of the article, it came to my attention that Kathryn is not in fact speaking on behalf of SGA or the Golden Ticket Party but on behalf of the Educational Affairs Committee. Although I will defend your argument that she should not be speaking on behalf of a population whose opinion has not been determined, I would counter by pointing out that she is merely fulfilling her duties as a student representative by making an observation based on her personal thoughts, not a declaration based on student opinion.
To Re: What,
Did you read your comment before you clicked “submit”? You say Senator and Prez Candidate Katy Bowers was speaking on behalf of the Educational Affairs Committee, and then you say she was merely making observations based on her personal thoughts. Which is it? Wait, neither. She cannot speak for the entire Edu Affairs Committee, that is the job of the chair of that committee. The article does indicate she is representing undergrad students.
And on your two points. 1) It is the responsibility of all the members of the Golden Ticket party to follow up on their campaign promise to poll students before stating the student opinion. 2) Student opinion surveys might be on the SGA website, but results of past polls are not left up on the website. I wonder why that is. And besides, straw polls are very inaccurate. Why not utilize the political science students on campus and do some scientific polling? SGA would help polisys students learn real skills (see the SGA purpose in the Constitution) while also accurately representing the student body and fulfilling their campaign promise.
While I appreciate your candor and seemingly intelligent language, you should rethink the logical basis for your fallacious arguments.
She is the Chair of the Academic -not Education- Affairs committe.
That is what I was saying. She isn’t the Chair of the Educational Affairs Committee of University Council, therefore she cannot speak for the entire Committee.
I guess if we’re going to analyze semantics here, she says “I” don’t “THINK” students will have a problem with limiting withdrawals. She doesn’t say “WE (the student body) WILL NOT have a problem with limiting withdrawals”. She was simply making a conjecture and not stating a fact.
As pointed out, they do have a website that polls students constantly. Yes, this is not the best of polling systems, but with the amount of apathy the vast majority of the student body has when it comes to SGA affairs (i.e. only 2,000 people voted in SGA elections), then how do you expect students would react to constant polling in the Tate plaza once a month when students always bitch about the Dance Marathon and other charity volunteers bothering them?
If people actually voted they would see there are referendums every SGA election so the student body can have their voice be heard. That of course wouldn’t help people who don’t vote.
I can’t believe I am defending SGA.
I wouldn’t call it a conjecture, its more like a stab in the dark.
Great, let’s rely on a polling system which will give results dominated by people who visit the SGA site often, the people who are in SGA.
Referendums every SGA Election?
I voted in the last election and I didn’t notice any referendums on the ballot. All I saw were some amendments that SGA never told anyone about.
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