I was in the engineering technology program from '02 to '06 and was told at the time that the college of engineering didn't allow Q-drops in required major courses. Over the years, I've talked to other engineering graduates from that time period who never heard of that policy and had no problem dropping classes. I've also talked to other engineering technology graduates who were told similar but slightly different stories (ET policy, not college of engineering, no upper level drops, etc.).

It's never really been an issue since I graduated and had no problem getting a job, but now I'm looking into grad school and there are a few grades on my transcript that would be Ws had I been allowed to drop the class (I used zero Q-drops) and would improve my GPA, thus making my applications more competitive.

So I find myself wondering if anyone here knows anything about this "no Q-drop" policy from way back and if it was a legit policy. If it was NOT a legit policy, would there be any recourse to the registrar's office to have grades converted to Ws?

I know it's a long shot, but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask. Oh wait, this is TexAgs...of course it will hurt to ask, but I will anyway.

No. Your transcript is set. You're time to petition for a grade change expired along time ago.

Yeah I seriously doubt any official changes will be made, but you could always explain the situation and provide a corrected GPA in an admissions packet statement if you really thought it was necessary.

I realize that getting any kind of official grade change would be extremely unlikely, but I can think of at least ten other people who were affected by this and I'm sure I could track down quite a few more. My thought was that a consolidated effort by a group of alumni might get more traction than an individual.

Of course this is all moot if the policy was legitimate in the first place, and that's my primary question. Regardless of the answer or whether or not any action can be taken, it would be nice to know definitively one way or the other and put all the questions to bed.

Definitive answer: you have a Q and it isn't changing. You missed the grade change deadline.

First, the definitive answer for which I'm looking is in regards to the legitimacy of the depatmental advisor's claim regarding the Q-drop policy, and I clearly stated that I would like to know regardless of whether or not anything could be done about it.

Second, and I'm not trying to call you out, but would you care to share what position you hold within the university that you can give such answers with authority? I'm not one to just trust some random dude on the internet.

DP

I asked Whit Korthauer in ESET. I then asked Roy Mitchell who is one of the longest tenured advisors at TAMU. Both said best of luck, but TAMU has policies for grade changes and appeals and you waited way past the deadline. You can call Whit or ESET directly. I have enough on my plate from being out all week.

You didn't get the answer you wanted. I understand the frustration.

The "claim" holds no water. It isn't in writing and 1 or 100 students coming forward won't change anything. You had a timeframe to file an appeal and it passed.

You are barking up a tree to find an answer that regardlees of what you are told, the current staff isn't going to listen to it because it would set precedent that they don't gave the time or ability to cover.

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I asked Whit Korthauer in ESET. I then asked Roy Mitchell who is one of the longest tenured advisors at TAMU. Both said best of luck, but TAMU has policies for grade changes and appeals and you waited way past the deadline. You can call Whit or ESET directly. I have enough on my plate from being out all week.

You didn't get the answer you wanted. I understand the frustration.

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You didn't answer the question I asked. You don't seem to understand much of anything.

You're asking if there was a specific ENGE limitation placed that wasn't university wide related to Q drops.

They read your post, and both replied with "why would it matter?"

I understand your question perfectly. The answer is you are going to get the same answer over and over: you missed any grade change appeal. Also, the people there now, weren't the people there when you had your issue. They have long since moved on or taken other positions.

SO, they will not get into old specifics, and since most of the advisors are not even here from the time frame you have specified, they will only reiterate the current policy.

They will pull your file, review it, and make a decision. I can't talk about specifics for legal reasons. Feel free to PM me or call Whit.

Call Whit.

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Definitive answer: you have a Q and it isn't changing. You missed the grade change deadline.

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I think he wished he had a Q not a D or F followed up with a A, B or C when he retook the class.

A grade of W would mean withdrawal from the university or special permission to withdraw due to illness, death in the family, etc.

You would have to make a very compelling argument to allow you to retroactively Q drop or withdraw from a class.

On a related note, the current rules about Q drop and Withdrawals reference a state law that started in 2007. I wonder if the university rules and the law was instituted to prevent verbal "rules" from getting passed around.

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1.17.4 Undergraduate students will normally be permitted four Q-drops during their undergraduate studies; however: State law prohibits students from having more than six dropped courses from all state institutions attended during their undergraduate career if they entered higher education as a first-time enrolled freshman beginning the 2007 fall semester and thereafter.

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He would have needed to petition for an incomplete or have a dead override for a special circumstance Q drop. 12 Months and those options expire. It's just the way the school operates.

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You're asking if there was a specific ENGE limitation placed that wasn't university wide related to Q drops.

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Yes.

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They read your post, and both replied with "why would it matter?"

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What difference does it make? I would simply like to know. It's something that I and others have wondered about for a long time and this seemed like a good place to find someone who might know what the Q-drop policy was at the time. Additionally, as I already stated, I'm considering graduate school, and it might be relevant when discussing GPA in an interview.

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I understand your question perfectly. The answer is you are going to get the same answer over and over: you missed any grade change appeal.

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This does not answer the question as to whether or not a policy existed to disallow Q-drops. A simple "yes" or "no" would do.

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Also, the people there now, weren't the people there when you had your issue. They have long since moved on or taken other positions.

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Of course they aren't. That's why I posted here rather than call the department.

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SO, they will not get into old specifics, and since most of the advisors are not even here from the time frame you have specified, they will only reiterate the current policy.

They will pull your file, review it, and make a decision. I can't talk about specifics for legal reasons. Feel free to PM me or call Whit.

Call Whit.

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This isn't something I have any interest in bothering any faculty or staff with. If I wanted to go that route, I would have done so rather than posting on TexAgs.

You've answered my secondary question regarding recourse ad nauseum, although you've now contradicted yourself by stating that the file would be reviewed and a decision made. If there was no chance of a change, as you claim, no time would be wasted reviewing the file. Regardless, I agree with your opinion that this route would not likely be fruitful, and have no intention of wasting the time of anyone in the department.

My primary question remains unanswered. If you don't know the answer, simply say "I don't know" and kindly get the hell off my thread.

Thanks and Gig 'em

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I was in the engineering technology program from '02 to '06 and was told at the time that the college of engineering didn't allow Q-drops in required major courses.

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Who told you this?

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Who told you this?

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The department's academic advisor. I don't remember the name.

In ID the only rule I heard was that Q dropping couldn't take you below 12 credit hours for the semester. I graduated in 04.

Per ENGE there was never a restriction on Q drops as long as you remained in good full time academic standing and were not already on probation etc that restricts any schedule changes.

You got lied to and didn't see if it was the actual policy or a bad advisor.

Did you ever use freshmen grade exclusion? That could also be a reason for being told you couldn't q drop.

Summary: the policy never existed and the university won't review it. You have a Q.

On another note, you might want to sideline the snarkiness. Grad admission is through the department and after reading your OP and follow up posts, he didn't have the highest professional opinion of you. Not only that, but your application will be unique to the point you're better off saying thank you then piss off because academia is a small small world.

Just some advice you didn't ask for...

You've been pretty snarky as well.

All snarkiness in this thread began right here

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Definitive answer: you have a Q and it isn't changing. You missed the grade change deadline.

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First, the definitive answer for which I'm looking is in regards to the legitimacy of the depatmental advisor's claim regarding the Q-drop policy, and I clearly stated that I would like to know regardless of whether or not anything could be done about it.

Second, and I'm not trying to call you out, but would you care to share what position you hold within the university that you can give such answers with authority? I'm not one to just trust some random dude on the internet.

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If you're not one to trust some random dude on the internet, then why are you asking TexAgs? We are just a collection of random dudes on the internet.
Seriously, it doesn't matter what any of us say, whether you like the answers or not. You just need to call the department. They are the only ones who can give you a legitimate answer.

With that said, even if you happened to find someone sympathetic to your cause, unless you had something in writing from your old advisor, I doubt there is much that can be done. A&M produces too many graduates to change the rules on a case by case basis.

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On another note, you might want to sideline the snarkiness. Grad admission is through the department and after reading your OP and follow up posts, he didn't have the highest professional opinion of you. Not only that, but your application will be unique to the point you're better off saying thank you then piss off because academia is a small small world.

Just some advice you didn't ask for...

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They would have no idea who he is via a TexAgs handle. Grad school applications do not require a TexAgs user name.