Duluth-area colleges offer free college credits for heavy course load
Bo-Ram Kim saved almost $1,500 when the University of Minnesota Duluth changed how undergraduate tuition fees are structured fall semester.
From the Duluth News Tribune, Thursday, March 13, 2008
The UMD senior carried 18 credits during the spring of 2007 and fall of 2007. This semester, she has a credit load of 20.
UMD offers a “13-credit band� that allows for any credits over 13 to be free. There is no cap on how many credits can be earned for free after 13.
Kim, an accounting major, said she knows of more people adding to their credit load.
“Students most commonly take 15 credits, but I have seen people taking 17, 18 and some people, 20,� she said.
The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities has had the program for a few years, said Brenda Herzig, director of the Office of Financial Aid and Registrar at UMD. The Duluth, Morris and Crookston campuses joined them this year.
“The average credit load in the fall [of 2007] was higher than the fall before,� Herzig said.
About 74 percent of undergraduate UMD students are taking more than 13 credits per semester. The average credit load for a semester is about 14, Herzig said.
But this new fee structure, with its ability to help students reduce the cost of education, has many taking advantage, she said. “It’s just being able to manage a credit load,� Herzig said.
Kim, who has a flexible, on-campus job, said it’s possible to juggle that many credits with other obligations “as long as you’re willing to put forth the necessary effort.�
She will graduate this May after four years of college because certified public accountant exams require 150 credits, she said, and taking 15 a semester would not have been enough to finish in four years.
The University of Wisconsin system has a similar fee structure, where undergraduate credits in the range of 12 to 18 cost the same. It’s been that way for at least 10 years, said Charlie Wold, bursar at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
“We’re encouraging students to graduate in four years, so they’re not in school forever,� he said.
The College of St. Scholastica offers the 12-18 credit same-cost plan.
The 13-credit band worked well at the University of Minnesota, said Susan Latto, director of public relations at UMD.
That and UMD’s new online graduation planner are aimed at helping students save money and graduate faster, she said.
“It seems students are really eager to take advantage of it,� said. “Then maybe they can cut back on their work hours.�
