This petition is addressed to the UCI School of Biological Sciences as well as Dean LaFerla and Associate Dean Metherate.

The lack of availability of upper division Bio Sci labs for graduating seniors and Bio Sci students in general must be addressed. More lab sections need to be opened up to accommodate the amount of UCI students currently in the School of Biological Sciences.

Summary of the issue: There was an email sent out during Finals week (12/10) to many Bio Sci students in regards to dropping students from their enrolled upper-division labs if it was believed that they did not need the lab for graduation. This was to be done in order to accommodate the increasing number of Bio Sci seniors who still needed labs to graduate. All Bio Sci students must complete 3 labs to graduate. As Bio Sci upper-division labs are extremely competitive to enroll in, very few students are enrolled in labs that they do not need. The email was mistakenly sent to some students who did in fact need their enrolled labs. A email response to all Bio Sci students was issued on 12/11. In the email, instructions were given to seniors who desperately needed the labs to graduate by Winter 2020 or Spring 2020 (had completed or were enrolled in 0-1 lab courses) to arrive at the Bio Sci Counselors office at 8:30AM this Tuesday (12/17) in hopes of getting enrolled in a lab. However, there are a large number of seniors who waited on Tuesday and did not receive enrollment in the labs that are required for graduation. They have been told to hope that spots open up once grades/tuition payments are finalized and other students are dropped from their labs.

Many of the seniors that did not receive lab enrollment did nothing wrong (i.e. miss any deadlines, fail a required course, etc). Their only fault was having a later enrollment window, which is no fault of their own. They are all willing to pay the required fees associated with taking an upper-division lab. For many, not being enrolled in a lab can equal delayed graduation, enrolling in summer courses, or having to enroll in two labs spring quarter. However, financial circumstances restrict them from the first two options and the last possibility is historically rare.

This issue, as it currently stands, does not only affect the seniors mentioned. The struggle to enroll in required labs has affected and will affect every student enrolled in the UCI School of Biological Sciences. Previous students of the School of Biological Sciences have delayed their graduation/taken 5th years solely in order to enroll in labs. The current situation may cause undue financial and mental burden on students and goes against UCI Chancellor Gillman's statement that “[i]t is [UCI’s] mission and [its] privilege to ensure that a world-class education is available to talented and ambitious students of all backgrounds and circumstances."

We ask that, on behalf of all current and future UCI School of Biological Science students, positive and swift action be taken to remedy this pressing issue.