One year after the College instituted a new policy that precluded students from receiving credit for qualifying scores on Advanced Placement exams in high school, professors in departments that offer large introductory courses aimed at first-year students report few changes in enrollment patterns of these courses.
The new policy, which first applied to the Class of 2018, still allows students to place out of some introductory courses with a certain grade on a placement test or AP exam, though students receive no credit for those courses.
The Office of the Registrar declined to provide data regarding the changes in the size of introductory courses since the policy has been enacted.
Mathematics professor and department chair Dana Williams said that he has noticed very little change in the enrollment of introductory math courses, though he speculated that the policy might boost enrollment numbers, as more students might need introductory courses for credit following the policy change.
Williams also said that within math courses, students have always been more concerned with accurate placement than with receiving credit for their AP exam grades. He added that his department plays a large role in the placement of students.
“The big issue has always been, what math course do you start at the College? That question hasn’t changed,” Williams said.
Williams also said that he thinks the policy change will create a positive effect in graduate school placement for the College. He said that, especially in the case of medical schools, graduate schools like to see introductory courses on students’ transcripts, rather than by way of AP exam grades.
“[Graduate schools] really want to see how you did in the courses while you were in college,” he said.
Chemistry professor John Winn, who teaches “General Chemistry,” agreed with Williams that the AP change has not affected course enrollments. He said he has not noticed any change in class sizes over recent years. Currently, there are 90 students enrolled in the course.
Winn also said that pinpointing the reasoning behind enrollment fluctuation is difficult.
“Enrollments change all the time, and we’ve never been able to explain why,” he said.
He also said that the chemistry department’s current placement system, which has not changed following the new AP credit policy, is an effective way to place students in appropriate level courses. Students can either take a placement test created by the department, or they can place out with a five on the AP Chemistry test.
Justin Fowler ’18, who is taking “General Chemistry” this term, said that while he enrolled in an AP Chemistry course during his senior year of high school, he chose not to take the exam when he found out that the College would not give him credit for the course.
He said that though he would have taken the exam had he been planning to attend a college that offered credit for a high score, he has found it beneficial to take the introductory course at the College.
Loretta Summers, a consultant at Chicago-based College Bound Consulting, said that cases like Fowler’s have become more common at competitive universities. She said that while most of her clients take the most rigorous course load possible, many students choose to opt out of the AP exam to place into entry level courses during their freshman year.
“These classes are obviously harder in college than they are in high schools, so students will opt out or not report their scores a lot of the time,” Summers said.
Williams said that, at least within the math department, only a handful of students decide to retake a course that they have placed out of with their AP or placement test scores -— a decision that requires permission from the Registrar.
Summers postulated that AP course credit is more advantageous at larger state schools, where it can be difficult to graduate in four years without additional credits upon matriculating, she said. She said that the advising services and small class sizes at the College provide the support necessary for students to graduate in four years.
Rachel Martin ’19 expressed frustration at the current AP credit system. She wishes that she had received credit on the exam because she wishes to complete the Thayer School of Engineer’s Master of Engineering Management degree program in four years. She said she did not consider the policy in her decision to attend the College.
Renée Dobrinsky ’18 said that the policy has impeded her pursuit of math and science at the College. When she was accepted to the College through the early decision program, she said she stopped paying attention in her high school AP Calculus course, because she knew that the College would not give her credit for her AP score. Had credit been offered, she would have listened more attentively in class, she said.
“I definitely think I would’ve pursued more math and science at a school that would’ve given me credit for my score,” she said.
Though Dobrinsky has not taken any introductory courses with corresponding AP courses at the College, she found her Anthropology 1 and Linguistics 1 courses to be too large and with too little emphasis on professor-student relationships.
Lydia Jabs ’18 agreed with Dobrinsky’s sentiments, noting that she avoids introductory courses because of their large size. She expressed annoyance at the fact that she had to take “Drawing 1” during her first year at the College, despite the fact that she received a high grade on the AP Studio Art exam.
