The University Council made a good decision last week in extending the deadline to change a class to the pass/no credit grading option from the fourth week to the eighth Wednesday of the semester.At a liberal arts university such as TCU, students are often encouraged to branch out from their key academic interests and majors and explore other areas of study.

By extending the deadline to change grading options to a later date, the idea of taking classes to experiment in new areas is more inviting to students, as they will not have the fear of being penalized academically if the classes are not their strongest subjects or turn out to be harder than previously thought.

The extension allows students to step outside their comfort zones and explore classes without worrying about damaging their GPAs. And, in so doing, students may very well find new courses of study that interested them more than their current academic selections.

The date to drop classes is currently set at about nine weeks into the semester, which allows students to drop classes that have proven problematic or are not of their interests. Now, students might not completely drop undesirable classes but, instead, take them pass/no credit and still be able to finish the classes.

By the same token, if a student is interested in a class and has put forth effort in learning the material, he or she should be given a chance to salvage the semester if his or her performance in that class is somehow hindered by outside circumstances.

If students aren’t interested in subject materials early in the semester, it seems as though they would be more likely to drop those classes early in the semester.

However, if students are to use the class-drop option haphazardly, it becomes a burden for faculty members because they’re stuck with students who are just getting by.

Ultimately, the burden lies with the students to ensure that this option is not misused.

News editor Andrew Chavez for the editorial board.