After much discussion, Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki announced Dec. 10 his decision to extend the Chronicle Leadership Assistance Program for another year.
Administrators suggested discontinuing CLAP-which allows editors of The Chronicle to take classes during the summer in order to underload during the fall and spring semesters while still retaining full-time student status-because of their belief that it places a disproportionately large amount of emphasis on extracurricular involvement.
In response, Chronicle Editor David Graham, a junior, penned a proposal calling for looser underload policies for students demonstrating a legitimate need. The proposal later received the backing of Duke Student Government officials.
"[Extending CLAP] provides time for a thorough evaluation of the new underloading policy proposal put forward by student leadership," Nowicki wrote in a statement. "University administrators agree that any decision to allow some students to adjust their academic load needs to be fair and should not privilege the contributions of any particular group or organization in the community."
Graham said he was pleased with the decision to seriously consider the plan.
"We're also glad that [administrators] recognized that an interim solution was crucial both for the well-being of Chronicle staff and, more importantly, to ensure that the Duke community is served by a strong daily newspaper," he said.
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