By Tessa Oman
There has recently been a proposal to change the Withdrawal Policy at Skagit Valley College. A public hearing was held in April to allow members of the campus to voice their opinions regarding the proposed change. On May 17, the Student Services Committee will hold a meeting to go over the results of the public hearing. They will then make a recommendation either for or against the change.
Once the Student Services Committee reviews the public hearing, their recommendation will go to the Governance Steering Committee, who ͞will then determine next steps,͟ says Caryn Regimbal, the Associate Dean of Enrollment Services.
The proposed change is going to affect the process that students must go through in order to drop a class. If this change is implemented, full withdrawal from a class will only be an option up until the eighth week of the quarter, or the fifth week in summer quarter. After this deadline, ͞students will need to qualify for a hardship withdrawal and will need to meet with a navigator or Faculty Counselor (or other Student Support Services colleague) to ensure a withdrawal is the best option for them. This comes from an interview done by The Cardinal with Caryn Regimbal. While the deadline for full withdrawal will be changed by this proposal, the period in which one can get a refund will simply be shortened. Students will be able to gain a full refund within the first five days of the quarter and a fifty percent refund from the sixth day of the quarter, to the tenth day. If a student experiences an unexpected hardship, there is a third refund option which allows the them to petition for a full or partial refund, later in the quarter.
According to Regimbal, all of these proposed changes may assist the student with completing the course after they have invested so much time and money into their course, and provide systematic education and partnership with students around the implications to financial aid eligibility, progress toward degree timelines, and transfer feasibility.
This proposal was created with the goal to improve the experience of Skagit students. Many students are unaware of all of their options when they choose to drop a class and may be acting without knowledge of other possibilities.
͞The College wants to ensure students are making informed choices before deciding to fully withdraw from all of their courses. A withdrawal is a loss of time and investment for the student when that happens,
The College wants to ensure that decision is a last resort, says Regimbal.
SVC is ensuring that every voice is heard in this matter by having all relevant committees, chosen by the College Governance Committee, review the proposed policy change. All comments made on the public hearing page will also be taken into consideration by the Student Services Committee before promoting the change. While the public hearing has been closed to new comments, members of the campus can still view all comments that were made on the page during the hearing period.
While this change is still just a proposal, it is something that may be affecting the campus in the near future.
