California community colleges will not allow their students to repeat enrollment to state-funded physical education and performing and visual arts classes beginning in the fall 2013 semester.
Non-repeatable classes will include fine arts, dance, theater, music, physical education and career technical education courses, according to Vice President of Academic Affairs Anna Davies.
Students were previously allowed to retake classes up to four times.
“The focus has really been to get students out of here,” Davies said.
The changes were put in place in order to help California’s community college leadership cater to its students’ educational plans and needs, according to a May 7, 2012 press release by the state chancellor’s office.
According to the letter, “by not allowing students to needlessly repeat courses, colleges are able to focus course offerings directly to a student’s degree requirements.”
The letter also included that students may be excused from the policy under certain circumstances.
The new policy does not affect a recently enacted plan of a three-repetition-limit to students who either fail or withdraw from courses. Non-repeatability will only affect those who have successfully finished classes but want to retake them.
Exemptions to this policy involve courses required by the University of California and California State University schools to transfer, mandated legally, related to intercollegiate athletics, and required for vocational and licensure reasons, according to the press release.
Even though intercollegiate sports will not be directly affected by the plan, they will be somewhat impacted, according to Samantha Meyers, who is part of the swim team. She says that members of the swim team train for their spring seasons by taking the swim classes in the fall.
“They’re actually hurting the team,” she said.
In addition to the new non-repeatability policy, the state has also introduced a new approach to enrollment in the aforementioned disciplines wherein students “may have no more than four enrollments in any given group of active participatory courses that are related in content,” according to an article in the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges website.
This includes both successful and unsuccessful attempts.
The limit is in reference to the minimum requirement of taking four classes in one’s chosen discipline in order to prepare for a degree, Davies said.
“[The state] still wants to support students who want to major,” Davies said. “The state just doesn’t want students parked in those programs.”
The policies aren’t in place yet, but Davies says she expects to receive backlash from students who will be affected.
“A lot of people are going to be unhappy,” she said. “It does cut out some of our community members.”
English major Jamie Quinn, 24, is contemplating taking the same guitar class she’s taking this semester, and is concerned about the new non-repeatability policy.
“I’m not confident to take the next [level of guitar class]. I want to get better and then move [up],” she said. “It’s a skills building thing.”
