For the third time in the past two years, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) has implemented a new overload policy, effective this semester. Though still significantly different from overload policies throughout the rest of the University, HSS staff and faculty hope that this latest system will help HSS students make careful and informed decisions about whether or not to overload their class schedule while avoiding an excess of red tape.

Beginning this semester, HSS students who wish to take more than 50 course units and have a QPA of at least 3.0 – calculated from their last completed semester – will be required to speak with their primary major advisors about their planned schedule and must obtain final approval from the HSS academic advisors.

Prior to Fall 2003, HSS students with QPAs of at least 3.0 would automatically have their maximum available course units increased in the enrollment system. This allowed for a total of 63 units carried, or an additional 12-unit course on top of the baseline 51 permitted units. Students enrolled in other CMU colleges are still under this overload policy.

Dr. Joseph Devine, associate dean of HSS, has been a central figure in all three of the changes made to the overload policy since Fall 2003. Devine and others on the HSS College Council found the original system problematic for several reasons: it left open the possibility for students to enroll in seven classes, which they do not believe is advisable; and it often led to students purposefully over-enrolling and then dropping classes, creating unnecessarily long wait lists. College Council members also felt it would benefit students to talk with their advisors before overloading.

"There was no prompt to engage in any discussion like that," Devine said of speaking with academic advisors about course schedules prior to this new policy. He has found that advisors are often able to help students find ways to plan their schedules in the long term without creating a need to overload.

In all, the HSS College Council decided to make many revisions to its original overload policy. They dropped the baseline carried units from 51 to 50, raised the minimum QPA to 3.5, and required students to receive approval from their academic advisor and the associate dean of their college. They also established a maximum course load of 6 classes as a general rule.  Although the change promoted contact between students and their advisors and reduced the total number of students overloading each semester, it was met with some negative feedback from some upperclassmen.

Timothy Renshaw, an HSS senior, opposed the new requirements.

"The policy never actually affected me [sic]," Renshaw said, but having overloaded in the past, he knew that it had been a crucial part of staying on track for graduating on time. He and a group of other students met with Devine and other College Council members to discuss possible changes to the new policy.

After Devine presented his reasoning for initially changing the policy, Renshaw and his peers pointed out flaws in the system. Student's QPAs were determined at the end of the current semester, meaning that they would not qualify to overload until after registration had passed, locking many potential overloaders out of classes. Also, the group believed a cutoff QPA of 3.5 was too high. Though Renshaw believes that the academic advisor interaction is "a good thing," the group thought the number of people a student needed approval from was somewhat excessive. Lastly, the group determined that over 50 percent of HSS students would not be able to drop below 45 units in any semester and still graduate on time if they were unable to overload later to compensate.

Devine recommended that the students submit a revised policy to the College Council for approval. A policy similar to the one implemented this semester was approved for spring of 2004. The only difference was that a student would not have to submit his or her overload request at least two weeks before registration because the College Council approved the revised policy less than two weeks before Spring 2004 registration. For this year's fall semester registration, the requirement to gain overload approval two weeks before registration was in place.

"I think it's more fair than what it was [sic]," Renshaw said, though it still concerns him that other colleges in the University have a different overload policy. Devine says he will continue to look at the costs of overloading, including average effects on students' QPAs, and the costs of the latest policy. He also hopes to continue discussions with staff members in other Carnegie Mellon colleges about the policy's progress and benefits.

Alan Wu, an information systems sophomore, said that he didn't have much trouble overloading in Fall 2003. When he tried to register for Chinese, a 12-unit course, the system said that he had to contact his advisor because he had too many units. After a brief conversation with his academic advisor, he was given clearance to take the class without going through the paper work because he was only overloading by a couple of units.

"I'm pretty okay with [the overload policy], because they weren't really strict about it" said Wu.

HSS is not the only college with a unique overload policy. Electrical and computer engineering (ECE) students are required to have a minimum 3.5 QPA to overload on classes.

"It's understandable," said Julie Hong, an ECE sophomore. "I tried to overload last year, and it killed me." Though she did successfully complete her semester with the extra course, Hong said that a standard ECE course load is enough work for one semester. "Unless you want to double major, there's no reason to overload."