OUR VIEW: New tuition rule won’t change much

Earlier this month, the Utah Board of Regents approved a policy doubling tuition for students who exceed 150 credit hours. As the new policy is only slightly more severe than the old – which allowed students to take a higher number of credit hours before being penalized – it is unlikely that many students will be affected by the change.
   
The new policy aims to motivate students to get through college without dalliance or detours, but will it deliver? Again, we’re skeptical. Super-seniors, as a general rule, don’t want to attend school forever. Many have changed majors too late or too many times, wasting effort on courses that won’t satisfy the requirements of their degrees.
   
A penalty on students with too many credit hours approaches the problem of super-seniors from the wrong end. A full-time student working on a bachelor’s degree for a fifth year likely made more mistakes as a freshman than as a senior. Will a penalty five years down the road really help students entering USU pick majors they can stick with?
   
Programs like SOAR and classes like Connections already do much to help freshmen settle into their majors with confidence, but perhaps more can be done. Freshman often focus on courses that satisfy breadth requirements, and in our experience many do no more than memorize and regurgitate information in which they find no interest. As a student eventually finds something she is passionate about, it’s logical to expect her educational focus to sharpen. The problem lies in the gap between taking generals and finding a passion.
   
As a part of the solution, USU could create a gen-ed course consisting almost entirely of guest lecturers. Each day, a speaker from a different department could deliver a sales pitch. Biologists, engineers, teachers and graphic designers could tell students how they find passion in their professions. Measuring student performance in such a course would be difficult (Would students take a quiz on each speaker? What would be on the final?), but it wouldn’t be impossible. And what better way to inspire students than to get a professor talking about the heart and essence of a profession?
   
If a new, ultra-general class isn’t feasible, why not make changes in advising, allowing students a closer relationship with those who can help? Some academic advisers are wonderful, knowledgeable and inspiring. Others could reach that level with a little more effort – and maybe a little more training – to connect with students. College is a time for discovery and finding one’s passions in life. We’re too often distracted by satisfying requirements and checking boxes to foster enthusiasm or provide encouragement.