We all experience the drudge of the first day of class. Fighting to find parking, running to the classroom, squeezing 50 students into a classroom designed for 25 people. Wait! There’s not enough syllabi for all of you- even if you’re registered- you might not get one because the caffeine-crazed crashers always grab the papers too?
Crashing classes has turned into a free-for-all because of the budget cuts, there are 350 to 400 less classes offered this year but there is another reason crashing is so prevalent, course shopping. Look around you that first week-the registered students, that is. Up to half of those students will not successfully finish the course. At the end of the semester when you contemplate the half-empty room does your mind drift back to those crashing students, the ones who were begging to add this course that others dropped in the first weeks without a second thought
I’ve wanted to shout at the teachers, “Add everyone-you know half these idiots aren’t going to be here in three weeks!” But most rooms are only fire coded for 30 students, so having 50 would be against the law. Teachers could explain the goals of the class, but that may not help.
In my Introduction to Screenwriting class last semester, Professor Kevin North made it crystal clear the first night, saying, “You will be writing a 90 to 110 page screenplay in this class.” Half the class dropped out as it occurred to them that he was actually serious about that. Professor Jared Meeker told his class that they would learn to play the guitar and they would need to practice every day. “You really have to want this!” He stated. Half the class dropped out as they realized that, yes, he really meant they would learn to play the guitar.
The problem of course shopping has infected colleges and universities all over the country. Florida has started making students of Florida Bright Futures Scholarships pay back the money they received for courses they later dropped. This can be a $400 bill to pay after the money is spent. Students at Texas Universities are limited to six course drops, regardless of how many classes they take or how many years they’re at the university.
I propose that California start penalizing students who show a habit of registering for courses that they later drop, say over a three-semester period. For every course you drop after being labeled a “Course Shopper”, you will be pushed back in the registration queue, losing your seniority.
If you persist in this behavior then a $25 drop fee for each course should be assessed. If you still course shop, then I say you should be forced to wear a scarlet CS on your shirt for the semester, and other students will be encouraged to pelt you with soggy cheese doodles.
I know “life happens” while taking college courses. I’m a wife, mother of a nine-year-old son, caretaker of elderly parents, blah, blah blah. You get sick, your mother dies, your husband gets laid off—all valid reasons to withdraw from your classes.
But you didn’t know the class was going to be this hard, don’t like the teacher, it’s too early in the morning for you, you don’t want to write a screenplay even though you registered for Screenwriting 101? Please, suck it up. Complete the course and stop being a jerk to your fellow schoolmates. Let’s cooperate and graduate. Okay?