Spring Break
Tuition rebate cheats well-rounded students
Chelsea Douglas
Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: OPINION
Warning to all students: Per request of the state legislature, refrain from enhancing your education by taking extra classes inside of your 4-year degree plan. Here in Texas, we frown upon that.
So maybe I didn't take the above warning verbatim from a state mandate or from the minutes of the Texas House of Representatives, but I assure you that it's paraphrased directly from the stipulations of the $1,000 Tuition Rebate (note: in case you're like me and weren't aware that any rebate ever existed until recently, don't fret because you're probably not eligible).
As an effort to take college students off the seven-year undergraduate degree program, the state and NT keeps developing different incentives to weed us out of the public education system. NT's flat-rate tuition, which starts in the fall, is probably one of the biggest - and most controversial - incentives of them all. However, the rebate has seen little debate and it's an issue I think students should be more than well aware of.
According to the state, in order to receive the rebate students must finish their course work within four years and not take more than three hours more than the required minimum to graduate. In case you're confused by that (as I was), think of it this way: if your department requires 128 hours to graduate and inside of your four years you actually take 132 hours, you can kiss the money goodbye. Don't think that you can get away with taking that extra course you think might benefit you in the real world and still be rewarded by the state - you can't. So much for that loveseat I was eyeing to help furnish my place with after graduation.
Is it just me, or is this ludicrous? I'm 20 years old, I'm graduating next month after three long years here at NT and that department I mentioned earlier is mine. I'm graduating with 132 hours. One hour more than I can have. How is it that I can graduate in three years, take extra classes than required and yet still not receive the rebate? Let me be clear; this column is not about how frustrated I am (even though I obviously am) - it's about students like me who are turned down everyday because of these crazy requirements. How many students at NT have taken exactly the number of hours required in four years or less? I'm guessing the number is low enough to not drain the state's bank account.
So maybe I didn't take the above warning verbatim from a state mandate or from the minutes of the Texas House of Representatives, but I assure you that it's paraphrased directly from the stipulations of the $1,000 Tuition Rebate (note: in case you're like me and weren't aware that any rebate ever existed until recently, don't fret because you're probably not eligible).
As an effort to take college students off the seven-year undergraduate degree program, the state and NT keeps developing different incentives to weed us out of the public education system. NT's flat-rate tuition, which starts in the fall, is probably one of the biggest - and most controversial - incentives of them all. However, the rebate has seen little debate and it's an issue I think students should be more than well aware of.
According to the state, in order to receive the rebate students must finish their course work within four years and not take more than three hours more than the required minimum to graduate. In case you're confused by that (as I was), think of it this way: if your department requires 128 hours to graduate and inside of your four years you actually take 132 hours, you can kiss the money goodbye. Don't think that you can get away with taking that extra course you think might benefit you in the real world and still be rewarded by the state - you can't. So much for that loveseat I was eyeing to help furnish my place with after graduation.
Is it just me, or is this ludicrous? I'm 20 years old, I'm graduating next month after three long years here at NT and that department I mentioned earlier is mine. I'm graduating with 132 hours. One hour more than I can have. How is it that I can graduate in three years, take extra classes than required and yet still not receive the rebate? Let me be clear; this column is not about how frustrated I am (even though I obviously am) - it's about students like me who are turned down everyday because of these crazy requirements. How many students at NT have taken exactly the number of hours required in four years or less? I'm guessing the number is low enough to not drain the state's bank account.
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Lindsey
posted 4/05/07 @ 10:03 AM CST
My extra hour was Marching Band. I feel your pain.
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