A year ago, if an undergraduate student was faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to drop a class, the student would have had to decide by today. But this year the deadline for such a decision has been extended by two weeks. Now, students can make that final call of whether or not to remain in one or more of their classes by Oct. 17.

Last year’s Student Senate passed a resolution calling for extra time for undergraduates to make decisions on academics. After the resolution passed, Thomas Conway, dean for Undergraduate Academic Programs, examined the resolution and supported not only the one week extension it called for, but added an additional week.

Student Senate should be commended for its advocacy on behalf of students by getting Dean Conway to support a change that will benefit students. This is an example of how effective Student Senate can be in bringing about tangible change that assists students’ lives at our University if it operates effectively.

This change is nothing but a plus for students. In the past, students have made ill-informed decisions on their future enrollment plans in courses. With the prior drop date, many times professors hadn’t had a chance to return tests, quizzes or projects to students, thus not giving students full pictures of where they stood in their classes.

Having an extended drop period should not give professors a reason to slack off with returning tests, quizzes or projects. In fact, the additional two weeks will allow professors to have more time to conduct tests and quizzes and not have to rush to fit them into the schedule. This extension will benefit both students and the University. The University now has a unified calendar since undergraduate and graduate students now operate on the same timeline.

When Student Senate works on small issues that affect the daily lives of students and then accomplishes those goals, then it’s a win all around. It’s a win for the University administration because it listened to student concerns and acted upon them; it’s a win for Student Senate because it proved it could do something effective. But most of all it’s a win for the students.