THE FORUM: Different tuition charges

Editor’s note:

The forum is the students’ chance to ask questions of administrators about the workings of the university. This column runs every Friday. Questions can be sent to editor@stateman.usu.edu

The question:

“Why are there different tuition charges for Continuing Education classes even when they are taught on Logan campus?”

The response:

Continuing Education throughout the nation uses a different funding model than the standard campus academic department.

For instance, the biology department receives an annual budget to pay the cost of instruction that includes faculty salaries plus a small amount for operations. This budget is based entirely on state appropriations.

Continuing Education has no up-front faculty salaries and must depend almost entirely on student tuition and program fees because its class offerings and class sizes vary greatly from semester to semester according to demand. This arrangement works well for the working adult who returns to the campus during the evening to pursue a degree on a part-time basis. He pays tuition and fees for the courses he needs and CE uses those funds to pay instructional costs.

However, there is a snag in the system when a traditional day student wants to add a CE-sponsored class as part of his registration. He pays either nothing if he is currently registered for 13 or more credits or he only pays a reduced rate of tuition because the tuition schedule is “front loaded” – meaning the first credits are the most expensive.

When this happens, CE does not collect enough tuition and fees to pay the instructional costs. Of course, USU could provide faculty funding for CE courses which would then make CE courses funded the same as all academic courses on campus and could be part of the overall registration.

However, this would change the nature of CE and hamper its ability to serve the non-traditional students who desperately need our services in this volatile economy and ever-changing job market.

The bottom line is Continuing Education was developed to serve the non-traditional part-time learner who pays for a specific course or program independent of the overall university curriculum. This does not mean that CE does not want to serve traditional students. We understand that demands of families and jobs even while on campus require the flexibility of CE courses, but this convenience comes at a cost.

Please know we wish there were another answer because we understand your circumstances, but there is no easy way to fix the problem. This is particularly the case this year with the current budget crisis.

Dan Peterson is assistant dean of Continuing Education. Further comments and questions can be sent to danp@ext.usu.edu.