The Daily Bulletin Archive

At its April 8, 2016, meeting, the College Senate voted to recommend to the president the following revisions to the J-Term Policy as outlined in the resolution below:

WHEREAS, college policy currently limits the number of credits for which undergraduate and graduate students can enroll during the fall and spring semesters; and

WHEREAS, processes exist to grant students semester credit overrides, if warranted; and

WHEREAS, J-Term courses are offered in a very compressed schedule compared with fall and spring semesters; and

WHEREAS, students registering for excessive credits during J-Term also demonstrate an increased percentage of unsuccessfully completed J-Term credits (J-Term 2016 data: 1 cr = 39 students [.03% unsuccessful completion]; 3 cr = 382 students [.02% unsuccessful completion]; 6 cr = 144 students [18% unsuccessful completion]; 9 cr = 20 students [30% unsuccessful completion]; 12 cr = 4 students [50% unsuccessful completion]; 18 cr = 4 students [50% unsuccessful completion]); and

WHEREAS, J-Term financial aid is considered part of the student’s spring financial aid and, thus, use of J-Term financial aid reduces a student’s spring financial aid eligibility and, further, J-Term registrations can negatively affect upcoming semesters’ financial aid eligibility (i.e., turning a student on federal aid warning into ineligible for federal aid due to unsuccessful completion of J-Term classes),

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Buffalo State College adopt the following J-Term Credit Limit Policy, with a suggested implementation at the start of J-Term 2017:

Undergraduate and graduate students are limited in their J-Term registrations to a maximum of 7 credits for students in good academic standing, and to a maximum of 4 credits for students not in good academic standing. Maximum credit overrides may be approved by academic departments for students in good academic standing or by deans’ offices for students not in good academic standing.

I hereby authorize the changes to the J-Term Credit Limit Policy as outlined in the recommendation from the College Senate, effective with the January 2017 term. I charge the provost with responsibility for implementing the policy changes and communicating these change broadly and widely to faculty, students, and staff.