2008 Woodie Awards
Law limits number of classes students can drop without penalty
By Jared Solis
Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/13/07 at 5:34 PM CSTLast update: 9/13/07 at 8:45 PM CST
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Incoming freshmen will face a new state mandate this semester requiring that students drop no more than six classes for the entire duration of their academic tenure at public colleges.
State legislators passed SB 1231 last session with the aim of relieving the financial burden placed on taxpayers by students continually dropping courses.
Although there have been similar bills introduced in the past, the new six-drop rule is not a rule to be optioned but to be enforced, applying to all students enrolled as first-time freshmen for the 2007 fall semester.
"Anything that affects public higher education, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has to establish rules and procedures about how colleges and universities will comply," Terry Walch, counselor and instructor at the transfer center, said in an Aug. 7 interview with The Ranger.
The provisions set in SB 1231 will subsequently pave the way for the six-drop rule to follow community college students transferring to any state-run four-year institutions.
Unlike the three-peat rule implemented in 2005, a violation of the new six-drop rule is not limited to the same class consecutively dropped by students, but rather to any and all classes a student drops past the sixth drop.
Also unlike the three-peat rule, developmental courses count toward the six-drop rule limit.
"Developmental courses have not been identified as exceptions," Martin Ortega, director of admissions and records, said in an interview with The Ranger on Aug. 8.
In past bills, regarding the drain of tax funds from students continually dropping courses, the language specifically outlined the consequences for violations both for the institutions and the students.
For example, HB 994's three-peat rule, which limits students at state institutions from dropping the same course more than three times, cuts off funding for students who violate the rule, directly affecting how much money the institutions get from the state for teaching that student.
State legislators passed SB 1231 last session with the aim of relieving the financial burden placed on taxpayers by students continually dropping courses.
Although there have been similar bills introduced in the past, the new six-drop rule is not a rule to be optioned but to be enforced, applying to all students enrolled as first-time freshmen for the 2007 fall semester.
"Anything that affects public higher education, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has to establish rules and procedures about how colleges and universities will comply," Terry Walch, counselor and instructor at the transfer center, said in an Aug. 7 interview with The Ranger.
The provisions set in SB 1231 will subsequently pave the way for the six-drop rule to follow community college students transferring to any state-run four-year institutions.
Unlike the three-peat rule implemented in 2005, a violation of the new six-drop rule is not limited to the same class consecutively dropped by students, but rather to any and all classes a student drops past the sixth drop.
Also unlike the three-peat rule, developmental courses count toward the six-drop rule limit.
"Developmental courses have not been identified as exceptions," Martin Ortega, director of admissions and records, said in an interview with The Ranger on Aug. 8.
In past bills, regarding the drain of tax funds from students continually dropping courses, the language specifically outlined the consequences for violations both for the institutions and the students.
For example, HB 994's three-peat rule, which limits students at state institutions from dropping the same course more than three times, cuts off funding for students who violate the rule, directly affecting how much money the institutions get from the state for teaching that student.
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