The fall semester started with a new policy. In hopes of increasing completion rates for all students, anyone who intends to withdraw from a course after day one must get the consent of their instructor. Diane Brice, director of enrollment services and registrar, met with several colleagues to determine a new approach to increase completion at Amarillo College, ultimately encouraging students to evaluate their future productively. “We are looking to increase student completion rates, and we have some students that will sometimes think they are failing a class and they’ll drop, where if they had just talked with the instructor, they would have known that they were passing,” Brice said. She said using the tutoring service can help students remain in their classes.“Sometimes students just need that extra encouragement to know that they can complete the course,” Brice said. “It’s just our attempt to not just let people walk out the door.” Katrina Golden, an education major, voiced approval for the new policy based on past experiences in her school career. “There have been times I have dropped classes where I could have been pushed by my professors,” Golden said. “They could have told me what I could do to make it through the class and not have to drop out.” Golden expressed several times that the extra confidence she could have had from her instructors could have set her closer to her degree. Gail Brewer, a math professor, also shared her support for the new policy from an educator’s perspective. She said she agrees that talking to students will make them more accountable instead of just dropping. “It makes us be able to talk about it and see if we can work out something so they can stay in the class, because really we want everyone to complete,” Brewer said. “We want everyone to be successful, and when they drop, they have to start all over again.” Brewer said the new policy provides the instructor and student an alternative solution. To begin a course withdrawal, the student must discuss goals with the instructor. Then the instructor will initiate the request, which goes to financial aid. If the student is on financial aid, counseling on their part will be required. Then it will be processed in the registrar’s office to be finalized.
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