The option to take a class pass/fail is an important academic tool. Students ultimately elect pass/fail to protect their grade-point averages. Distribution requirements may be a worthy pursuit, but not all political scientists feel inspired to study Shakespeare.
However, students may also opt to expand their horizons with pass/fail. Once students declare their majors, they can fall into a rut of concentration courses and college requirements. If an Engineering student takes an interest in film, a possible low grade may be enough to discourage the student from enriching an already solid education. Without pass/fail - or without a reasonable deadline - students lose the option to experiment with classes. Moreover, with pass/fail, students delve into new topics with little distraction from their concentration classes - which students may not take pass/fail.
Pass/fail also acknowledges that students have obligations and desires outside the classroom. Prospective employers and graduate schools - although concerned about GPAs - also look at extracurricular activities. Pass/fail can provide students with a few extra hours per week - hours that might be spent toiling in pursuit of a perfect GPA. These surplus hours allow a student to be active in Hillel or another religious organization, to join the Greek system, join a political action group, or take a job to defray college costs. Extracurricular endeavors are as important a facet of University life as academic classes.
Contrary to popular belief, pass/fail does not produce slackers. To get a "P" in a course, students must achieve a "C-" or better. At the University, a "C-" is not always an easy grade to make. Students still must do homework, study, attend class and perform reasonably well on exams to achieve a passing mark. Administrators or professors may fear that students would not learn anything from a course by choosing pass/fail, yet many students would certainly gain a knowledge of the given subject. Moreover, the 30-credit limit ensures that students will not succumb to the temptation to major in pass/fail.
Why the University expects major curriculum decisions in only 2 1/2 weeks is unfathomable. Such a short amount of exposure to a class does not provide students with the resources to make an informed choice. In the second week - barely past syllabus-reading and introductions - students can only begin to get a feel for the teaching style and the workload. Most classes have had few, if any, graded assignments at this point; almost all classes have yet to administer an exam.
For pass/fail to be most useful, the University must recalculate the deadline. If students could modify classes after midterms, they would have a more reliable map of where their classes, their personal life and the semester in general are headed. Pass/fail is a useful tool for many students, but the ability to choose this modification with information would make it a useful tool for any student.