An improved solution I've seen to the drop-date deadline issue is to introduce some flexibility into the system. Start a system of gradually increasing fees starting in the third week. Casual overenrollers will be induced to drop out when fees are still relatively small, while the students with emergencies that really need the 8th week deadline will be glad to pay a fairly substantial fee to drop the class. This will shed the deadwood that impacted classes accumulate while still keeping open student options.

Thanks to Calstuff Correspondant BGE for the ideaEmail This Post!