The add/drop period is a time during which students can register for and remove classes from their schedules without consequence. At Fordham, this is typically around seven school days. This usually gives the students the opportunity to attend only two or three classes in each subject, given the course meets more than once a week. One week is not nearly enough time to decide what my fate for the semester is going to be. Will I decide to continue to suffer through my three-hour-long science class, or do I want to switch into an 8:30 a.m. philosophy class on Friday morning instead? It’s unfair to ask students to determine their lives for the next four months in only a few days of class. The online registration process is already stressful enough without the added pressure of knowing that there are very few chances to decide if the class is worth taking or not.
For students in STEM, the short add/drop period is even more problematic than it is for humanities majors, as the STEM labs do not begin until after the period passes. In the fall of 2025, I was advised to register for biology, chemistry and pre-calculus. Bear in mind that biology and chemistry are both accompanied by a lab and recitation. As a first-year, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and only realized that my schedule was too much to handle after I took the labs. I, and many other fellow STEM students with whom I spoke this semester, had to drop the classes with Ws (Withdraws) on our transcripts as the Fordham STEM degree plan is not a manageable schedule for many students. Undergraduates in this position end up as part-time students with fewer than the 12 required credits.
After speaking with my advisor, I was informed that I was not allowed to add another class even if I arranged a meeting with the teacher and caught up on the material on my own time. The idea behind the add/drop period being so short is that it is difficult to catch up on coursework that has already been covered, but I believe that is a responsibility that students can manage themselves. If a student believes they can catch up on work the class has already covered when joining a course two weeks in, there should be no reason to prevent them from registering. Since it is not an instructor’s duty to ensure that each student has done their work, the add/drop period should be extended despite the potential hardship.
There are many factors that go into determining which classes to take. Which teachers have high ratings on RateMyProfessor? Which class will fulfill the most core requirements? Is it better to bite the bullet and get the hard classes over with or should I take them in a later semester? Sometimes a class doesn’t suit the student because it is too early in the morning or too late in the evening. Perhaps one philosophy professor’s class is more writing-intensive than another, which is another aspect that could affect a student’s reasoning to add or drop the class. Some of these course elements can be quickly determined, while others are not present until later in the class. For example, I thought that my chemistry professor’s fast-paced teaching style worked for me, as the first few classes were introductory and fairly straightforward. It was only two weeks into class that I realized the other chemistry professor’s teaching style worked better for me, but it was unfortunately too late to switch.
Fordham’s add/drop period should be extended by at least another week. While this does add stress to the teachers and students alike when catching up on missed work, the syllabi could be changed so that the first few weeks of class assignments are those that don’t fully require in-class attendance, such as field trips or presentations, but rather only essays or readings that the student could easily catch up on without inconvenience to the class structure. Even without reform, I believe that the vast majority of Fordham students would greatly benefit from an extended trial period.
Lauren Lum, FCRH ’29 is an environmental studies major from San Francisco, California
