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Pick a major and stick to it, or pay extra $$

August 11th, 2009 | 14 comments | Social Media

I just received this email from USF’s mass-email system to students (and apparently alumni, since I am a recent grad). According to this letter, students will have to shell out additional charges for any hours exceeding 120% of what it takes to get your bachelor’s degree.

Check it out:

Dear Student:

 

Please be advised that the 2009 Florida Legislature enacted a new student charge for excess hours.  Specifically, students enrolling at a State University in or after Fall Semester 2009 will pay a surcharge equal to 50% of the tuition rate for each excess credit hour.  

The Florida Legislature has defined “excess hours” as hours that exceed by 120% the completion requirements for your baccalaureate degree program at the University.  This is the equivalent of 144 hours for students in a 120-hour degree program.

 

While the intent of the Legislature is to encourage undergraduate students to complete their bachelor’s degree efficiently, the policy also provides
exceptions or waiver of the excess hours surcharge for additional college
coursework taken in the following instances:

1. Articulated accelerated credit (e.g. Advance Placement, International
Baccalaureate, CLEP, Dual Enrollment, etc.)
2. Internship credit
3. Certification/Recertification credit (e.g. teacher, nurses, etc.) and
certificate program credits
4. Credits withdrawn due to medical or personal hardship
5. Credits taken by active-duty military personnel
6. Credits required to achieve a dual major (NOTE: the law only exempts those hours “required” to obtain a dual major, rather than every credit hour a dual major student chooses to enroll in.)
7. Remedial and English as a Second Language (ESOL) credit

8. Military Science credits in Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programs

 

For information about your specific degree program, visit
http://www.registrar.usf.edu/regurl/os/excess  
For information about applicable charges, visit
web.usf.edu/controller/cashaccounting/tuition”

Being a student who was inadvertently on the six-year plan (with a year off between sophomore/junior year), I have a huge problem with this.

Students should be encouraged to pick a major and stick to it, yes, but what is the point of higher education if you are going to be penalized for changing your mind?

Case in point – I started out Political Science/Pre-Law sequence at KU. Then I changed to Human Biology/Pre-Med. Then I moved to Florida, took chem, sucked at it, and ended up applying to the School of Mass Communications at USF. Did I exceed 120 hours? You betcha. I don’t know what the final count is for my hours, but I know it was over 120.

If I had been a student who will be enrolled after the enacting of this legislature, I might have just sucked it up and stuck with a major that I wasn’t cut out for. I could barely afford tuition, let alone additional fees because I’m a mind-changer.

So I open the floor  for discussion. Professors, students, alumni, parents – what do you think? Is this an effective way of encouraging students to finish their degrees “efficiently”? Does this “efficient” mindset downplay the importance of the college experience and having a say in how you go about it?

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  • http://restlesslikeme.com/ Norcross

    On it’s face, this policy certainly looks bad. However, if you dig a bit deeper, you can see why they did it. And it’s not all that bad.

    Paying the ‘in-state’ tuition rate involves the state itself subsidizing a good portion of the tuition (usually 2/3rds the amount). So for people that continually go to school, switching majors, and never completing anything, it could be a problem. However, I have to agree that giving them the benefit of a subsidized tuition rate indefinitely isn’t good, either. There are more people attending, and budgets are getting smaller. For those that this would affect, the ‘excess’ hours would still be less than the out of state rate, just 1/3rd less instead of 2/3rd less.

    Now, people that switch majors (which you fall into), might get close to this amount. However, most pre-req classes are the same across the board, so it would involve a late switch in majors from one distinct area to another, i.e. Engineering to Marketing, not Finance to Economics.

    Will this negatively affect me? Possibly. I know I’ll end up with more than the 120, just not sure how many more.

  • http://restlesslikeme.com Norcross

    On it’s face, this policy certainly looks bad. However, if you dig a bit deeper, you can see why they did it. And it’s not all that bad.

    Paying the ‘in-state’ tuition rate involves the state itself subsidizing a good portion of the tuition (usually 2/3rds the amount). So for people that continually go to school, switching majors, and never completing anything, it could be a problem. However, I have to agree that giving them the benefit of a subsidized tuition rate indefinitely isn’t good, either. There are more people attending, and budgets are getting smaller. For those that this would affect, the ‘excess’ hours would still be less than the out of state rate, just 1/3rd less instead of 2/3rd less.

    Now, people that switch majors (which you fall into), might get close to this amount. However, most pre-req classes are the same across the board, so it would involve a late switch in majors from one distinct area to another, i.e. Engineering to Marketing, not Finance to Economics.

    Will this negatively affect me? Possibly. I know I’ll end up with more than the 120, just not sure how many more.

  • Walter Bernuy

    I got the email as well. As a current USF student and one who has 128 credits as of now, and still has a year to go, I will be paying penalty fees. I may not like paying extra but I do see a few benefits from it.

    You mentioned before about having a degree and too many people having degrees out there now. This will more than likely decrease the “bachelor” pool out there.

    Florida has the second lowest tuition in the whole country. I’ve always paid for my own school, so I know it can be hard at times, but I would be more than willing to pay more if my competition was diminished.

  • Walter Bernuy

    I got the email as well. As a current USF student and one who has 128 credits as of now, and still has a year to go, I will be paying penalty fees. I may not like paying extra but I do see a few benefits from it.

    You mentioned before about having a degree and too many people having degrees out there now. This will more than likely decrease the “bachelor” pool out there.

    Florida has the second lowest tuition in the whole country. I’ve always paid for my own school, so I know it can be hard at times, but I would be more than willing to pay more if my competition was diminished.

  • http://www.innovativequeen.com/ Cherisse

    Hi! I am a grad student at USF who also did her undergrad in PR long before you. I received the same email this morning. My thoughts…I guess does not stand for “You Stay Forever” anymore. I need to get out before they do the same for graduate student.
    .-= Cherisse´s last blog ..A New Beginning =-.

  • http://www.innovativequeen.com Cherisse

    Hi! I am a grad student at USF who also did her undergrad in PR long before you. I received the same email this morning. My thoughts…I guess does not stand for “You Stay Forever” anymore. I need to get out before they do the same for graduate student.
    .-= Cherisse´s last blog ..A New Beginning =-.

  • http://restlesslikeme.com/ Norcross

    Something else to consider…you refer to it as a penalty. Is it really, though? How many other services have a tiered structure based on usage? Now I agree that most of them decrease the costs based on volume, but I actually deal with quite a few vendors that do their pricing the exact same way.

    Long story short, the state of Florida is footing 2/3rds of the tuition bill right off the bat, simply for you being a resident. No additional requirements. So I’d say that after the 144 hours, it isn’t unreasonable for them to ask that you pony up a larger part of your share. After all, any out of state people are still paying more, from day 1.

  • http://restlesslikeme.com Norcross

    Something else to consider…you refer to it as a penalty. Is it really, though? How many other services have a tiered structure based on usage? Now I agree that most of them decrease the costs based on volume, but I actually deal with quite a few vendors that do their pricing the exact same way.

    Long story short, the state of Florida is footing 2/3rds of the tuition bill right off the bat, simply for you being a resident. No additional requirements. So I’d say that after the 144 hours, it isn’t unreasonable for them to ask that you pony up a larger part of your share. After all, any out of state people are still paying more, from day 1.

  • http://sydneyowen.com/ Sydney

    @Norcross: Andrew, thanks for jumping in here! The facts that you present are very interesting, and I appreciate you bringing a fresh look on the story.

    Truth be told, this doesn’t affect me, since I’ve graduated, but I was wondering what people who are still working towards their degree are thinking.

    In reference to FL footing the bill and the like, are we the first state to enact this type of program? Are there other states out there that are doing the same thing? If so, what are their retention rates like? Are people graduating in a timely manner or are they not graduating? OR, is there no affect at all on the institution? Will people continue to work towards their degree at their own pace?

    Also, I’d be interested to see what the fee is, how much, how that’s assessed, etc. Is it going to be a flat fee like we pay for athletic facilities, technology in classrooms, etc? Or is it a percentage of the cost of the course?

    I guess my attitude is what it is towards this because there aren’t a lot of facts in the email. With school starting at USF in the upcoming weeks, you’d think they’d provide some more details as to how this is all going down. I’m sure there is information in the links provided, but the links provided aren’t opening up for me.

    Thanks again for bringing in some more facts about the issue at hand!

  • http://sydneyowen.com Sydney

    @Norcross: Andrew, thanks for jumping in here! The facts that you present are very interesting, and I appreciate you bringing a fresh look on the story.

    Truth be told, this doesn’t affect me, since I’ve graduated, but I was wondering what people who are still working towards their degree are thinking.

    In reference to FL footing the bill and the like, are we the first state to enact this type of program? Are there other states out there that are doing the same thing? If so, what are their retention rates like? Are people graduating in a timely manner or are they not graduating? OR, is there no affect at all on the institution? Will people continue to work towards their degree at their own pace?

    Also, I’d be interested to see what the fee is, how much, how that’s assessed, etc. Is it going to be a flat fee like we pay for athletic facilities, technology in classrooms, etc? Or is it a percentage of the cost of the course?

    I guess my attitude is what it is towards this because there aren’t a lot of facts in the email. With school starting at USF in the upcoming weeks, you’d think they’d provide some more details as to how this is all going down. I’m sure there is information in the links provided, but the links provided aren’t opening up for me.

    Thanks again for bringing in some more facts about the issue at hand!

  • http://dannycoxdidit.com/ Danny Cox

    As a current college student, and one who works in fund-raising for the University, I have mixed feelings on this issue.

    While it is true for Ohio University students as well that only a little more than a third (38%) is paid by the student (with 37% paid by the state and 25% coming from outside sources) I feel that it should be less about dollars and more about the principles behind the policy.

    I am personally of the opinion that society overall is benefited greatly from having an educated population, and this may act as a deterrent to those committed to academic pursuit.

    However, I also know that it is a point of pride of the Scripps College of Commuincation at Ohio University that between 87-92% of its students graduate in 4.18 years- one of the fastest in the University. With the national average time taken to graduate creeping closer to 5 years, it is not unreasonable to provide incentive to students to focus early and graduate in a timely manner.

    I have been fortunate in knowing, essentially, what I have wanted to do since applying for college (although I did switch from News Editing to PR, both are in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism) and because of this am in the position to actually graduate a quarter ahead of time. However, I also realize how much I have grown and changed as a person since coming to college 3 years ago, and realize that many people in this personal growth have changed their idea of what they want to do.

    I suppose time and statistics will tell whether this legislation was a positive move, although as a self-funder I feel that there should be incentives to continue education rather than to discourage it.
    .-= Danny Cox´s last blog ..Tweeting for a Job =-.

  • http://dannycoxdidit.com Danny Cox

    As a current college student, and one who works in fund-raising for the University, I have mixed feelings on this issue.

    While it is true for Ohio University students as well that only a little more than a third (38%) is paid by the student (with 37% paid by the state and 25% coming from outside sources) I feel that it should be less about dollars and more about the principles behind the policy.

    I am personally of the opinion that society overall is benefited greatly from having an educated population, and this may act as a deterrent to those committed to academic pursuit.

    However, I also know that it is a point of pride of the Scripps College of Commuincation at Ohio University that between 87-92% of its students graduate in 4.18 years- one of the fastest in the University. With the national average time taken to graduate creeping closer to 5 years, it is not unreasonable to provide incentive to students to focus early and graduate in a timely manner.

    I have been fortunate in knowing, essentially, what I have wanted to do since applying for college (although I did switch from News Editing to PR, both are in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism) and because of this am in the position to actually graduate a quarter ahead of time. However, I also realize how much I have grown and changed as a person since coming to college 3 years ago, and realize that many people in this personal growth have changed their idea of what they want to do.

    I suppose time and statistics will tell whether this legislation was a positive move, although as a self-funder I feel that there should be incentives to continue education rather than to discourage it.
    .-= Danny Cox´s last blog ..Tweeting for a Job =-.

  • http://www.maryville.edu/ paul

    Great article. Thanks for posting.
    .-= paul´s last blog ..Maryville Fundraising Exceeds Year-End Goals =-.

  • http://www.maryville.edu paul

    Great article. Thanks for posting.
    .-= paul´s last blog ..Maryville Fundraising Exceeds Year-End Goals =-.