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Summary of Proposals to Modify Policies and Procedures
Associated with W and I Grades
Submitted to CAPP November 2012
Most students will receive at least one W grade in their academic careers, and some receive more than 30. The approximately 75% of students that receive W grades receive an average of 4 Ws, with about one-third of those W grades assigned as final grades by instructors. Also, about 1400 I grades are assigned, many of which revert to Fs at the end of the following semester. These and other data suggest that this high rate of failure to complete courses negatively impacts student progress, with delayed degree completion for a significant portion of the student population, some possible ramifications for student retention, and for a small number of students, possible “gaming” of the system. The following proposals are designed to improve student progress by addressing some of the sources and ramifications of improper W and I grades.
Note: Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 were approved by Council and forwarded to the
President. Proposal 3 was not approved by Council.
Proposal 1: Include a new section in the College Handbook 3.3: “Course Credit- Uses and Types” which outlines support services and requirements for “high-W” students. Students with 6 Ws receive a notice explaining the ramifications of excessive withdrawals on academic progress and informing the student of the academic and non-academic support resources available. Those with 10 Ws will have a registration block imposed, which can only be released with an approved Academic Progress Plan.
Proposal 2: Amend the College Handbook 3.5.7(C)ii: “After Last Withdrawal Date Until the End of Class” to better explain the appropriate circumstances for issuing a W as a final grade.
Proposal 3: Amend the College Handbook 3.7.3(b)ii: “I Grade” to clearly indicate the requirement of a completed Incomplete Grade Report Form to accompany all I Grade assignments. Also, the proposal calls for an updated form and a new submission procedure.
Formal proposals follow.
Timeline for Fall/Spring Student Course Withdrawal Options:
Students
______
1 week 2 weeks Midterm @10 weeks End of Semester
Faculty
Course Withdrawal Policy Proposal to Amend College Handbook 3.3:
Course Credit- Uses and Types
Problem
About three-fourths of students will withdraw from a course at least once in their academic career, with the average number of course withdrawals slightly more than four per student.* The rate of withdrawal for the majority of students does not appear to have a strong impact overall on time to graduate. However, of those students who withdraw from classes, about 25% withdraw from 6 or more classes, 11% from 10 or more classes, and 3% from 16 or more classes, which is a significant concern as it delays graduation** and may correlate with reduced retention. Therefore, while not a broad-based problem, course withdrawals are a problem impacting student progress for a significant portion of the RIC population.
The current course withdrawal policy, as articulated in Section 3.7.3(b)i of the College Handbook, explains the timing and procedures associated with withdrawing from and assigning W grades for individual courses, but does not address ongoing instances of course withdrawals. By intervening for those students who are “serial withdrawers,” the college may be able to help direct students toward appropriate academic and non-academic resources, as well as focus students toward a more productive path leading to graduation.
*Data, unless otherwise cited, provided by Donna Konicki and Institutional Research for 2003-2007 cohorts of first-time, full-time freshmen; cumulative withdrawals from 2003-2005 cohorts.
**Based on data combining Ws and course repeats; an exact figure for rate of Ws vs. time to graduate was not available.
Proposed Language for 3.3.12: Limit on Number of Course Withdrawals
Students may withdraw from courses according to the procedures outlined in Section 3.7.3(b)i. With the transcripting of the 6th W grade, an advisory notice will be sent to students. With the transcripting of the 10th W grade, a hold will be placed on future registration, which will be released upon the approval of a student’s Academic Progress Plan by his/her academic advisor. Details for the construction and submission of the Academic Progress Plan may be found through OASIS and the Records Office.
Implementation
Programming will generate exception reports that trigger the actions associated with the 6thand 10th W grades. At each of these levels, a notice will be sent to students explaining the ramifications of excessive withdrawals on academic progress and presenting the academic and non-academic resources and support services available to help the student. This notice will also be included with registration materials as appropriate, and ideally the content of the notice will be developed jointly by OASIS and the Records Office.
While students at the 6th and 10th W level receive notices informing students of resources available to help with academic progress, those students with 10 or more Ws will also receive notice apprising the student of the registration/enrollment hold placed/to be placed on the student’s impending or current registration, as well as the process for releasing the hold. That process centers on the development and approval of an Academic Progress Plan. While the student may develop this plan on his or her own, s/he will be directed to OASIS and/or their academic advisor to help develop the plan. Standards for the Academic Progress Plan, including an associated optional section describing reasons for incurring the Ws, and the notice for excessive Ws will be developed jointly by the OASIS and Records Office advisors, and be delivered by college email and with registration materials, as appropriate.
In addition to helping the student get back on track academically, the process also affords the advisor an opportunity to direct students to college resources that may help with underlying problems. When completed and approved by the advisor, the advisor will retain a copy of the plan, provide a copy to the student, and send a copy to the Records Office. The Records Office will then release the hold and tabulate any optional self-reported data for withdrawing. These data will be reported annually by the Director of Records to the Enrollment Management Unit.
A student whose plan is not approved may appeal that decision to the Academic Standing Committee. Failure to obtain approval for the Academic Progress Plan for an extended period effectively terminates the student’s active student status at the college. The objective, however, is not to “weed out” students having problems progressing towards graduation, but to investigate and help to remedy the underlying causes of the withdrawals, thereby facilitating retention and graduation for these students and others. There is no “retrigger” point for subsequent Ws after the 10th, as the purpose is to inform students and advisors of potential problems with academic progress and intervene at relatively early points, which hopefully also spurs future vigilance.
The OASIS and Records Office directors have indicated that they have the resource capacity to engage in these activities at no additional costs to the college. If the proposal is passed, implementation is targeted for the Fall 2013 semester, with prior communication to students and faculty.
Discussion
Just under half of undergraduate students who start at Rhode Island College obtain their degrees within six years, and of those students who completed their degrees in August 2010-May 2011, 38.4% of freshmen and 54.9% of transfers did so with 131 or more credits. 12.9% of freshmen and 21.9% of transfers graduated with more than 150 credits, with some in both groups exceeding 200 credits. These high levels of earned credits at graduation demonstrate what we all know, i.e., that it is difficult to graduate in four years. But for those students who withdraw frequently, the odds of timely graduation, or graduating at all, are lower. There may be other means to help students, but identifying and intervening for these students at risk is a worthwhile endeavor.
The numbers “6” and “10” carry no special meaning as the definitive points where academic intervention is indicated. The numbers are based on “break-points” in the class withdrawal data, and an attempt to strike a balance between the individual freedom of students, legitimate circumstances for withdrawal, and the responsibility of the institution to retain and graduate students. That is, it is likely that justifiable circumstances account for a number of course withdrawals, and beyond that, students certainly have the right to withdraw from classes as they please. But at some point, excessive withdrawals may indicate a lack of direction, and in rare cases, intention, that is contrary to the best interests of the student and the college. This further needs to be balanced with the availability of resources at the college. The specific numbers are therefore somewhat arbitrary but represent a consensus of many opinions. Further data, especially that gathered by the Records Office, may alter these trigger levels in the future.
There was considerable discussion as to whether there should be subsequent “trigger points” above 10 Ws to initiate further intervention and perhaps dismissal. The consensus, however, is that the purpose of the policy is to help the “High-W” students get back on track, and two interventions are enough to deliver the message and the mechanisms to do so. Those few students who are “gaming” the system, i.e., purposefully and repeatedly withdrawing from classes in order to receive benefits accorded to students in good standing making meaningful progress towards degrees, are likely to continue the practice unless prevented from doing so, as by automatic dismissal at some level of attempted credits, for example. However, this automatic dismissal carries the risk of inappropriately dismissing those students who are not deriving inappropriate gain, but may benefit from the intervening advising described in this proposal. Both Financial Aid and Intercollegiate Athletics utilize standards for eligibility to insure that only students in good standing receive those respective benefits, and Student Affairs has received a recommendation to address the issue of insuring that only students of good standing making satisfactory progress participate in student activities and jobs.
The Records Office is the logical place to ascertain whether students are progressing towards a degree, and identifying high-withdrawal students is one way to do so. OASIS and program advisors often have relationships with students and often have detailed knowledge of academic options within specific programs. They are well-equipped to help develop the Academic Progress Plan, with insights into both strategic and tactical plans that consider students’ individual circumstances. Gathering data relating to withdrawal may aid institutional planning in the area of student retention. More basically, beyond introducing an element of accountability for students, intervening for “high-W” students helps to fulfill the college’s mission and demonstrate that we are a caring community.
Respectfully submitted:
Dave Blanchette
Dante Del Giudice
Sue Dell
Jim Dorian
Paul Forte
Ken Kinsey
Dolores Passarelli
Richard Prull
Holly Shadoian
Course Withdrawal Policy Proposal to Amend College Handbook 3.5.7(c)ii: After Last Withdrawal Date Until the End of Classes
Problem
According to the Director of Records, approximately one-third of W grades are assigned as final grades by faculty. In order to clarify the appropriate use of the W grade in the final portion of the semester following the last withdrawal date, a more detailed description of the intent of the assignment of the W grade as a final grade, its distinction from the I grade, and some elaboration of the conditions warranting assignment, i.e., “extenuating circumstances,” is recommended.
Current Policy [College Handbook 3.5.7(C)ii]
“Permission to withdraw from a course after the date specified in the College calendar as the last withdrawal date, will be granted by the faculty member teaching the class only when extenuating circumstances make such action advisable. Ordinarily, academic difficulty in the course alone shall not be sufficient grounds for withdrawals after the last withdrawal date. Faculty members will give the students they approve for withdrawal a W grade on the final roster.”
Proposed Changes to 3.5.7(c)ii After Last Withdrawal Date Until the End of Classes:
“Permission to withdraw from a course after the date specified in the College calendar as the last withdrawal date will be granted by the faculty member teaching the class only when extenuating circumstances make such action advisable. These circumstances are situations that arise after the last withdrawal date, including medical, employment, family, etc., that prohibit the completion of the course during the current and through the following semester. Where students are able to complete the course requirements by the end of the following semester, an I grade should be submitted. [see 3.7.3(b)ii]. Where students will not be able to complete the course requirements by the end of the following semester, Ffaculty members will give the students they approve for withdrawal a W grade on the final roster. A W grade may also be submitted to rectify a failure to record a non-attendance W on the midterm report.
The W grade rarely should be used as a final grade. Ordinarily, aAcademic difficulty in the course alone shall not be sufficient grounds for withdrawals after the last withdrawal date, and in no instance should a W be submitted as a means for a student to avoid receiving a bad grade. Note that students with an excessive number of W grades may have their registration blocked by the Records Office. [see 3.3.12]” *
*This presumes acceptance of the previous proposal. The presumption is only to facilitate the simultaneous submission of multiple proposals, and should not be construed as a presumption of passage of the previous proposal.
Implementation
In addition to the change in the College Handbook, this information may be communicated in the Chairs’ training manual, On-line Faculty Resources site, new faculty orientation, Records Office website, and/or other informational sources. The expected cost in adding this information to future versions of these information sources is negligible
Discussion