Where to draw the line?

No, "draw the line" is not intended as a reference to the hit-or-miss Aerosmith album from 1977. Rather, it's a question about the reciprocal commitment of graduate programs to their students. Granted, some doctoral institutions are blessed with large faculties that can easily or even reasonably accommodate changes to student's study plans, but what about smaller departments? It's not unreasonable for incoming freshmen to change their intended major 4-5 times, on average so why would it be different for graduate students to adhere strictly to their proposed course of study when they enter the program. When students are accepted into a program they make a commitment to that school and that department. At the same time, the department makes a commitment to the student as well. Especially if a student performs well and is in good standing academically, the department should do everything possible to accommodate the student in accordance with their academic interests. Naturally, for smaller departments, this might be more difficult. Sometimes exceptions can be made, wrinkles implemented, and favors granted, but what are students to do in the rare instance that their program fails them? Attrition rates measure the the inverse relationship, but it seems reasonable to ask how prevalent this situation is? I would assume it's rare, but that does not make it any less tragic when it occurs. I can speak from personal experience, that I faced some difficulties with finding an advisor at my school, but I was eventually able to work out a situation mutually agreeable to myself, the department, and the graduate school. It's just very unfortunate that smaller departments face these issues and that a small minority of students are negatively affected by them.