Despite the Council on Academic Affairs’ Feb. 28 decision to make it harder for seniors’ with low grade point averages to take an “overload” of courses, seniors below the grade point average requirement set by CAA may still make a request according to another rule that was overlooked.

Under the current course catalog, seniors must have a grade point average of at least 2.5 to register for an overload of courses. If that GPA is not met, seniors can request permission from their dean.

But last Thursday, CAA passed a request from the Academic Appeals Waiver Committee that deleted the line “seniors with less than 2.5 … permission from the dean” from the catalog. That would mean that no senior with a GPA under 2.5 could take an overload, despite a waiver from the college dean.

However, both the CAA and the AAWC overlooked a rule written in the University Waiver Rules that does allow students to seek exception by waiver.

In effect, “there are two policy statements that don’t add up,” Blair Lord, vice president for academic affairs, said Tuesday.

Elizabeth Hitch, College of Educational and Professional Studies dean and chair of the AAWC, said in an e-mail that “From a practical standpoint, the policy did not change. The GPA for each class remains the same as it has been. While CAA removed the line about ‘permission’ from catalog copy, the University Waiver Rules allows students to seek exception by waiver.”

Although there is no clear explanation to the application of CAA’s rule change, a decision on which rule will apply must be made by next fall before CAA’s change will take effect.

“I believe CAA will have to consider how to bring consistency between the two rules,” Lord said.