Tuition overload no longer

By Doug Ancey

The University has decided not to implement an overload tuition rate for any portion of the 2010-11 academic year, according to a letter sent out by Interim Provost and Vice President of academic affairs, Don Dodson on November 29 of last quarter.

On March 23, the university announced that it would charge undergraduate students an "overload tuition" rate of $1,038 per unit for each unit above 20 taken in any quarter of the 2010-11 academic year.

Many students and faculty raised concerns about this decision. In response to these concerns, former Provost Lucia Gilbert announced a one-year postponement "to allow time to address the issues involved in implementing this policy."

Dodson explained in his email that "the rationale for the original decision to charge an overload fee was that the university's budget projections are adversely affected by the number of students taking course loads on a consistent basis and graduating early.

The lack of evidence to support the rationale for instituting an overload tuition rate led to the decision not to pursue this matter further."

Freshman bioengineering major Peter Wittig said,"I think it's a good thing that the university decided not to implement the extra tuition. I think it encourages students to finish school faster. It provides an incentive for students to take more classes."

Following an open forum sponsored by student government last April, Provost Gilbert appointed a committee to examine overloading and early graduation. This committee was composed of Suzanne Dancer, Assistant Provost, Monica Augustin, University Registrar; and Laurie Poe, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics and chair of the Student Affairs Committee. Consulting closely with Provost Gilbert throughout the project, Suzanne Dancer conducted the data analyses and authored two final reports on the subjects.

The first, entitled "Class Loads and Overloading Among Santa Clara University Degree-Seeking Undergraduates Enrolled in Academic Years 2007-08, 2008-09, or 2009-10" examined undergraduate class loads, total number of units in which a student was enrolled per term, with the particular goal of obtaining a better understanding of the prevalence of overloading among students taking classes on the SCU campus.

The second, entitled "Predictors of Early Graduation for First-Time Freshmen Who Entered Santa Clara University in Fall 2004, 2005, or 2006" had two primary objectives. The first was to determine the prevalence of early graduation, defined as completion of a baccalaureate degree from SCU in fewer than 12 regular quarters by students who entered the university as first-time freshmen. The second was to examine the relationship of several variables of interest to early graduation.

These reports can be found on the webpage for the Office of the Provost on Santa Clara's website by following the links on the righthand side.

These reports showed that unit overloads were not related to the number of regular terms completed or to early graduation. The strongest predictors of early graduation were the number of college units earned in high school and average units passed per regular term.

"Based on what I've experienced," says senior engineering major Dean Willmert, "the people who are overloading are taking extra classes because they're trying to do a hard minor, double major or take graduate classes. I don't know anyone who's overloading because they are trying to graduate early. Classes being too full is less of a problem. It seems like the classes people take when they're overloading are more often than not upper division courses as well. No one is taking extra quarters of full classes like physics 31, they've already taken all those classes."

The general opinion amongst the student body is supportive of the university's decision to not implement a tuition overload. The forum held last year allowed staff and students to voice their opinions of the potential hike in rates for overloading units. Many felt that the proposed fee of $1,038 for each unit over 20 would do more harm than good.

Many students also felt as if the policy punished them for trying to push themselves academically.

The fact that research was conducted on the matter before making a final decision on the implementation has reflected the university's commitment to its students and overall community. "I think it's the right decision for the university to make," says junior engineering major and honors student Travis Duncan, "Students shouldn't be penalized for wanting to take more classes. I'm glad to see that the University came to the same conclusion as the student population. I'd like to hope that the university exists to serve its students, by not implementing this overload tuition they continue to do that."

Contact Doug Ancey at dancey@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4546.