Guilford shortened the add/drop policy from two weeks and one day to one week and one day. The administration does not benefit from this change – only the students do.This change in policy begs an obvious question: do the students actually benefit?

Pretend it’s last year. It’s the third week of classes. Slightly disorganized student X dropped the course he found boring and added a different course, but he feels lost and behind compared to the other students, and since he’s slightly disorganized that feeling may last him the entire semester.

Guilford changed the policy to avoid situations such as the one above. Last year, I was student X and a professor’s worst nightmare. Professors and their students need those first two weeks of class together to build the foundation for the entire semester; the new policy ensures the establishment of those foundations.

However, pretend it’s this year during the second week of school. Slightly disorganized student X looks out the window of his classroom as he realizes that he should have dropped the class, but it’s too late to add a different course due to the new add/drop policy, and he needs the credits.

Fortunately for me, I do not feel this way in any of my classes, nor do I need the credits. But some of you do need the credits in order to stay on campus, or to fulfill a requirement. You can still drop the class, but you cannot add another one. Right about now you feel constrained by the system . and for the rest of the semester.

While I don’t have any of the above constraints I do have a W on my transcript from last year. If I dropped a class during the second week this year, I would receive another W simply because it took me a whole three classes to grow irritated with a professor’s lack of organization.

My future employers would not review my transcript and read, “Made smart decision and dropped poorly organized class.” They would see multiple W’s. They do not like multiple W’s.

Next year, Guilford should extend the drop period without a W to two weeks and a day, like the old policy. A student should not be punished for realizing that taking Spanish 250 means no social life in order to avoid failure.

I do like that by the Monday of the second week, students cannot add another course. Today marks the end of the third week of school. Imagine if today ended your first week of classes. You would be ready for the weekend not because you worked hard and needed a break, but because you would need a break from feeling lost.