[Advising] instructor drops and DegreeWorks

A couple of people have asked me about the instructor-initiated drops and how they're showing up in DegreeWorks, so I thought I'd give everyone an update. Several COLFA instructors this semester have taken advantage of a new policy that allows them to drop students for poor attendance. When they do this, the students' registration status changes to IW. A grade of W was also supposed to have been entered into academic history in Banner at the same time, but that part of the process didn't work properly. Consequently, many students (I think a little over 100) have an IW registration status in SFAREGS, but they have no grade for the course in Banner, so the course still shows up as In Progress in DegreeWorks. Because DegreeWorks reads grades, not registration status, there is nothing we can do to address this issue directly. However, I have had several meetings with OIT and the Registrar's office over the course of the semester to address this concern. At my meeting last week, OIT told me that they have corrected the script, so starting next semester when an instructor drops a student, the registration status will change to IW and a grade of W will immediately be moved to academic standing (assuming census date has passed). The number of student drops will also be updated. If the student already has six drops, the grade will be F instead of W. What about students with IW registration status this semester who do not yet have W grades? OIT is writing a script to identify all those students and move grades of W (or F) into academic history in Banner, so once the grade is there, it will show up in SHATERM, SHASUBJ, and other Banner forms, and it will appear as an actual grade rather than IP in DegreeWorks. I asked what would happen if the script missed any students or if it couldn't be completed before the end of the semester, and a representative from the Registrar's office said that they would update student grades manually if necessary at the end of the semester. So if any students ask if the IP in DegreeWorks means they're still enrolled in a class that their instructor has dropped them from, you can assure them that if the registration status in SFAREGS says IW, they have been dropped, and they will not receive credit for the course. Jimmy James R. Adair, Ph.D. Associate Director of Advising Technology Lecturer II, Department of Philosophy & Classics One UTSA Circle San Antonio, TX 78249 210-458-6216