View Bill 18-19-09

Senate Bill 18-19-09

Bill ID: 18-19-09
Name: Proposal to Establish a University Policy on Repeating Undergraduate Courses
Proposed: 09/18/2018
Sponsor: Doug Roberts, Associate Dean, Office of Undergraduate Studies
Proposal: The campus does not currently have an official policy dictating how repeated courses are treated in an undergraduate student’s record, nor what if any limits are imposed on the repetition of courses. The effective practice is described in the Undergraduate Catalog, but without the backing of official policy students have little solid ground on which to stand when trying to rectify problems caused by the potentially varied interpretation and implementation of this practice around campus. Furthermore, the current practice handles different conditions of repeating courses in sometimes inconsistent manners. Greater consistency and clarity to the handling or repeated courses would be a benefit to students, faculty, advisors and administrators alike.

First and foremost, we would like to see the repeated course practice elevated to official policy. A workgroup consisting of Assistant/Associate Deans and representative from the Registrar’s Office convened and generated a draft (attached) of a proposed repeat policy for undergraduate students. This draft was informed by interviews with advising offices from each College or School on campus, a survey of similar policies from peer institutions, and nearly a year of discussion around the guiding principles that such a policy should abide. The goals were clarity, consistency, the promotion of student success, and maintaining the integrity of the student transcript.

The proposed Undergraduate Course Repeat Policy is, for the most part, a formalization of existing practices in the form of official University policy. There are, however, a few places where the proposed policy differs from existing practice. To the extent that these changes would have to be implemented in our Student Information System, the input of the Registrar’s Office would be required to estimate the timeline and cost of such changes. But most of the current implementation involves manual processes. Therefore, most of the implementation would require training and communication.

Active?No
Policy: https://academiccatalog.umd.edu/undergraduate/registration-academic-requirements-regulations/academic-records-regulations/

Status

Status: Completed
Completed On: 05/03/2019

History

Approval(s):
Presidential Approval: 05/03/2019
Related Files:


Reviewed By: Senate
Received: 04/18/2019
Decision Date: 04/24/2019
Decision: The Senate voted to approve the proposal.
Next Step: Presidential Approval
Related Files:


Reviewed By: Senate Executive Committee (SEC)
Received: 04/01/2019
Decision Date: 04/08/2019
Decision: The SEC voted to place the report on the agenda of the April 24, 2019 Senate meeting for consideration.
Next Step: Senate Review
Related Files:


Reviewed By: Academic Procedures & Standards (APAS) Committee
Received: 10/05/2018
Decision Date: 03/29/2019
Decision: The APAS Committee voted to forward its recommendations to the SEC for consideration.
Actions: The APAS Committee began reviewing its charge at its meeting on October 12, 2018. It met with the proposer, who outlined the process for developing the proposal and the proposed new policy on repeating courses. In November, 2018, the APAS Committee met with representatives from the Office of the Registrar, who provided an overview on how repeated courses are handled in the Student Information System and on the transcript under the current procedures, and what potential changes may come with the proposed policy. In December, 2018, the APAS Committee discussed possible edits to the policy and agreed to form a subcommittee with representatives from the Office of the Registrar. The committee asked the subcommittee to develop revisions for the full committee's review.

The subcommittee reported its proposed revisions to the APAS Committee at its meeting on February 18, 2019. The committee reviewed and revised the proposed recommendations, and voted unanimously to approve the proposed policy at its meeting on March 29, 2019.
Next Step: SEC Review
Related Files:


Reviewed By: Senate Executive Committee (SEC)
Received: 09/14/2018
Decision Date: 09/21/2018
Decision: The SEC voted to charge the APAS Committee with review of the proposal.
Next Step: APAS Committee Review
Related Files: