Mandatory attendance and more Friday classes could be two of the biggest changes in the academic world that stem from the Drug Task Force report.
The report states mandatory attendance would show students that learning is more than just reading assignments and tests – each class would provide learning that cannot be achieved from textbooks. Attendance would also allow professors to notice if particular students miss large numbers of classes. If the professor believed that student was having problems or needed help, they could ask the Office of Student Life to follow up with the student.
The task force also wants the number of classes held Friday mornings to increase. The report specifically mentions Accounting 2311 and 2312 be moved from a Monday-Wednesday schedule to a Wednesday-Friday schedule. It is the only class singled out in the entire 23-page report.
The task force dislikes that students can follow a schedule that has no classes on Fridays beginning as early as sophomore year.
“A five-day schedule tells students that faculty members expect students to devote five days to their academic pursuits. In particular, it conveys that Thursday night should be used for study and that students should be prepared to attend classes the next morning,” the report says.
The report states that moving ACCT 2311 (2312), a class primarily taken by sophomores, to Wednesday-Friday would at least delay students’ ability to have no Friday classes until their junior year.
All lower-division courses would be required to give a final exam during the scheduled exam week, and the tests would be comprehensive. The report states that many professors don’t seem to play by the rules when it comes to final exams.
“Many instructors seem to regard final, comprehensive exams as not appropriate, but do give a last exam during the final week of class. As a consequence, students are not required to be responsible for the entire material of the semester,” the report states.
The task force believes comprehensive final exams would require students to have a greater amount of dedication to academics. The report also makes an allusion to two of the three student deaths in the 2006-07 school year.
“As a secondary effect, students would have less free time during finals week for social occasions.”
Sophomore Jacob “Jake” Stiles was found dead in his room in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house two days before final exams in Fall 2006. The cause of his death was a lethal cocktail of expensive prescription pain killer fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol, according to a report from the Dallas County Medical Examiner.
First-year student Jordan Crist died from acute alcohol poisoning. He was found unconscious in a room on the third floor of Perkins Hall two days before final exams in Spring 2007. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.4 – five times the legal limit.
The task force also asks for all course curricula to be revised so students would spend at least two hours on homework for each hour spent in the classroom. The report states that this would be another step in increasing SMU’s academic prestige along with making students take their coursework more seriously.
“Courses without a serious amount of homework help to foster an atmosphere in which academic pursuits are secondary to social activities for many students.”
Students would be limited in the number of classes they could drop. Currently students have an unlimited number of drops. The task force believes this allows students to not give academic work the priority it should have because they can drop more challenging courses and retake them another semester. The current drop policy also allows students to finish a semester with less than 15 hours.
The report does note that there should be exceptions in certain circumstances, such as if a student switches majors.
A little known practice of mid-term grade reports would be extended to a student’s first two years rather than the first year only. Currently, the registrar’s office sends out a querry on Access to students’ professors and asks if there are any students making a C minus or lower. If a student is, then a note is copied to them and the Academic Learning Enhancement Center. The A-LEC can then get involved and notify the student of any options they may have to get help.
The task force believes academic struggles could be a red flag for possible problems with drugs or alcohol.
