Administrators outside of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences are concerned about inconsistencies between school policies that could arise if college faculty members approve a proposal to reduce the number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate credits students can count toward graduation.
But deans of NU’s other schools said they will wait for Weinberg’s faculty to vote on the proposal before making their own decisions.
If Weinberg’s faculty passes the proposal reducing the number of AP credits students can receive from 12 to four, it would create conflicting policies within the university. Currently, all of NU’s six undergraduate schools allow students to count 12 credits toward graduation.
NU’s administration also might encounter problems if schools’ policies differ.
Stephen Fisher, NU’s associate provost for undergraduate education, said conflicting policies among NU’s six undergraduate schools could cause headaches for administrators as well as students in deciding how to treat AP credits for interschool transfers.
“Consistency is important,” Fisher said. “We have 400 students that transfer between schools every year.”
Administrators would have to review students’ coursework and re-evaluate their credit if students transferred, Fisher said.
AP scores would still determine placement under the proposed policy, but if students don’t receive credit they will have to enroll in more classes at NU to graduate.
“It does represent a change for us,” Fisher said. “It would have implications of additional enrollment in (Weinberg) classes, and I think those issues need to be considered with care.”
Another issue could arise if students who have completed the same course work in high school and at NU are recognized as years apart in class registration, where students’ order depends on their number of credits.
Medill School of Journalism Dean Loren Ghiglione said he wants NU schools to discuss the policy together before any decisions are made.
“We’ll see how (the policy) is presented and how it will affect our students,” Ghiglione said. “We have the best interests of our students at heart. That always motivates us.”
Mark Hoffman, assistant dean of the School of Education and Social Policy, said his school’s academic committee won’t be able to make an official decision before Weinberg does.
“The main concern would be consistency between the schools,” Hoffman said. “But we would work with students to make it as clear cut as possible.”
Hoffman said the proposed policy would mean stronger education with more time at NU, but students would not be able to graduate as quickly, which could cost students more money.
Craig Bina, Weinberg’s outgoing associate dean for undergraduate studies, said last week the college is considering restricting the amount of AP credits students can receive because of the increasing number of students graduating early and missing out on important aspects of senior year, such as independent research projects.
Stephen Carr, McCormick’s associate dean of undergraduate studies, said his school hasn’t experienced the same problems.
Students in McCormick must earn 48 credits to graduate, rather than the 45-credit requirement of NU’s other five schools. Carr said because of this his school has not experienced so many problems with students graduating early compared with schools such as Weinberg.
He said he learned about the proposal Wednesday and does not know why Weinberg suggested the policy.
“I’m still trying to figure out what problem Weinberg is trying to fix,” Carr said. “It’s not a problem we’ve ever seen. The concept of restricting AP credits just came up, and we never gave it any thought.”
Regardless of the decisions made, Carol Lunkenheimer, NU’s dean of undergraduate admissions, said admissions will not be affected.
“I haven’t had anyone tell me that the number of AP credits they could get is the reason they chose a college,” she said.
