A new ad-hoc committee has been formed within the Student Government Association aimed at increasing the amount of credits students are able to take without an increased tuition.
“There are several avenues that we can take with this issue, but we have collectively decided on proposing an extra class for juniors and seniors who have taken a certain amount of credits at Quinnipiac and other qualifications that need to be fine-tuned,” said sophomore Sara Fisher.
The committee, which is chaired by Fisher and secretary sophomore Emily Sherman, will make a proposal to the Board of Trustees.
“Assuming that the tuition will continue to increase in the future, the academic ad-hoc committee is looking to make a proposal to the Board of Trustees that would give students an incentive, such as an extra class or an extra credit for no extra charge,” said Fisher.
The Board of Directors will meet on Dec. 4 to decide the tuition budget for next year.
“Our committee has been very productive the past few weeks and it is our intention to have this proposal approved for Dec. 4 tuition budget meeting,” Fisher said. “However, with only three weeks left, we can’t guarantee that we will have a sufficient amount of proof that this will be an asset to the students’ academics. If need be, we will propose our platform for next year’s tuition budget.”
An ad-hoc committee is a sub-set group apart from the Student Government Association that concentrates on one specific topic or issue.
Fisher feels the increased amount of credits allowed would help to increase students’ general knowledge outside of their major.
“In order to be considered a full time student, you must take 12 to 16 credit hours per semester,” she said. “Health science majors are required to overload their credit hour load certain semesters in order to stay on track in their five, five and a half, or six year programs. Students that major in other areas want to be able to take classes out of their major to broaden their general knowledge.”
Also on the committee are seniors Salvatore DiGiacomo and Alissa Dandrilli, junior Michael Radparvar, sophomores Rebecca DiCarlo, Anthony Vindigni, and Mark Antonucci, freshman Kathleen Swift and Assistant Director of Student Center and Leadership Development Scott Hazan.
The committee has sent out 500 student surveys to gauge interest in increasing the credit amount. They have also researched several other colleges and universities that Quinnipiac considers competing schools to see if those schools have comparable programs.
According to Fisher, interest in the committee’s efforts has been high.
“From what I gather, many students are upset that they are not offered scholarships unless they were eligible their freshman year, so by offering an extra class, those students would have some advantage,” she said.
Junior Ryan Peterson agreed with what the committee is trying to accomplish.
“If there wasn’t an extra cost, I would definitely take more credits each semester,” he said. “I don’t think there should be a penalty for kids that want to take more classes each semester.”
The committee meets every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Student Center room 213 for any interested students.
