Today: Mar 29, 2024

The uncertainty of class cancellations

J’Mari HughesReporter

Imagine making your schedule, choosing classes each other, memorizing and abiding by  that well-thought-out timetable for the upcoming semester-perfection. Now imagine all that being thrown out the window as a result of class cancellation not perfection. The type of cancellation we typically enjoy is the one where we wake up to a foot of snow and a “University closed” notification, not the one that potentially ruins an entire schedule.

So, your class has been cancelled for the semester, now what do you do? Try to find another class to meet that required credential? Wait until the following semester to see if it gets offered again? Of all the possible solutions, any of them could make or break your ideal schedule but in that situation, the misfortune is deeper than just an annoying disruption to one’s schedule.

Southern’s website states factors of class revocation include educational needs and goals, financial consideration, and enrollment. It also says that if a class will be cancelled, students will be informed at least seven days before it begins unless the cancellation is due to a lack of enrollment, in which case students are informed sooner to have time to adjust their schedules.

There must be some reason behind the fact that academic deans choose to notify students sooner solely in regards to a lack of enrollment and not in other cases. They can inform students sooner, they should regardless of the reasoning. I’m not implying that they probably work their jobs with the intention of inconveniencing students, but if they know, then why not share?

Sometimes a class cancellation is justified, like if a class does not have enough students. For example, if only two people sign up for a class, it obviously wouldn’t progress, whether regarding finances, or just how awkward it would be if one of them was absent. Essentially, we students are paying for each class and a class with only two students would make far less than a class of 20. The university still needs to pay the professor for that course, so if it is not meeting enough needs, I understand why the school would just rid it.

Southern’s cancellation guidelines say that deans may choose to cancel classes before registration deadline, not that they will. If a class were to get cancelled once it is too late to add another one to someone’s schedule, then that would not be fair to that student. After all, it would not be his or her fault.

I’ve never been a victim of a class cancellation so I cannot speak from experience. While, I’m sure that it does not bother some students as much as others, but I think it is ideal that if a class does get cancelled, we have enough time.

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