Editor’s note: Students in COMM 2311-151 and 601 Newswriting contributed to this story and submitted photos. Students in COMM 1318 Photography 1 submitted photos as well.
And they’re off. Thousands of South Plains College students on five campuses started spring classes this week, Jan. 13. And there’s no question about it. The start of the semester can be hectic for any number of reasons.
For some, challenges might include finding the right building, parking, and then finding the right classroom.
Some students were spotted already studying.
Others looked for quiet moments or jumped into campus events.
The word SPC student Rebecca Burgess used to describe the start of her semester is “chaotic”.
“I started out this semester having a flat tire,” she says. “And I’m currently not in Lubbock.” She goes on to explain she’s not at home this week because of her work schedule so she’s not in her normal routine.
SPC student Ga-Ram Nam says the start of her semester has been “tough” because she is taking six classes.
To add to a variety of stressors, students should be aware that this first week of classes also happens to be late registration or “drop/add week”. That means students’ last chance to add a class on their own is the end of the day tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 17.
Students are able to add and/or drop classes (as long as it is not a complete withdraw) online themselves through tomorrow by logging into MySPC and accessing TexanConnect. After Friday, they can still drop but they can no longer add.
The deadlines and procedures for adding and dropping are spelled out on the SPC website under Admissions & Records. A chart shows the last day to register/change schedules in this spring 16- week semester is Jan. 17. The dates are different for eight-week semesters.
Student Keilah Oldaker is in her second semester at SPC, and early in the first week of classes she already knew she had to add a class.
“There weren’t enough students in one class so they’re going to have to fix it,” she says. “I’ll have to drop the class. They’re going to cancel that section.”
Student Noah Moreno, who’s in his third semester, says he won’t be adding anything. He wanted to add a golf kinesiology class but the time conflicted with his other classes.
Both Moreno and Oldaker knew the last day to add a class is Jan. 17. But it appears many students don’t know.
We anonymously surveyed 12 students in one class on the Lubbock Downtown Center campus this week and asked them if they knew when the deadline is to add a class. Eight students wrote they didn’t know or had “no clue”. Only two students got the date right. Another two students wrote the wrong date. They thought it was later in the semester.
It makes sense that the drop date deadline comes much later than the add deadline. The drop date isn’t until late April.
“All deadlines for a semester from dropping, adding, to payment or finals are located online in the academic calendar,” says Andrew Ruiz, the SPC registrar. “This spring 16-week deadline is April 24th.”
The academic calendar Ruiz is referring to can be found at the bottom of the page on the SPC main webpage.
After Friday, Jan. 17, students can drop by filling out a withdrawal form on the SPC website. That form goes to Ruiz’s office where it’s processed.
What’s Ruiz’s advice about deciding whether to add or drop?
“I would always suggest a student first meet with an academic or major advisor,” he says, “to discuss any potential impacts dropping a class could have on their academic plan.”
He also suggests that if a student has financial aid, he or she might want to meet with a financial aid advisor to see if a drop will affect their future ability to receive financial assistance.
So, the race to the finish is on. Final exam week starts May 5. But spring break comes first. That’s the week of March 17.
Have a great semester!
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