A touching article from the Maroon deputy editor-in-chief:
https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/5/25/uchicago-needs-fully-commit-part-time-status/
I am not taking side on part time status but I find her narrative very moving.
The writer mentions Harvard as an example of a school offering a more flexible course-load. This is technically true that you can take three courses in a semester but you need to be ahead of the game with five in a prior semester first. Interestingly, UChicago has just lifted the tuition cap on max course load from four to five; while students still need to petition, it’s now possible to take up to five courses a quarter w/o paying more tuition dollars. According to the Maroon, this seems to be a welcome development to at least some of the current student body:
"The change will likely increase the number of students who take five classes, and it may incentivize low- and middle-income students to try to take five courses in order to graduate at a lower overall cost.
It will also be an appealing option to ambitious students who want to explore more areas of the University.
First-year Brandon Chow is currently taking four classes and auditing four more, including Chem 113 and Econ 200. He says he could explore his interests more deeply if he could take another class during the quarter.
‘As someone who’s still not firmly devoted to one field, I’m sitting in on many courses to see what topics I’m interested in,’ Chow said.
He also feels that taking a fifth class would allow him to enroll in courses that he would not have been able to otherwise. He already planned to double major in computer science and computational applied mathematics, but he said that taking five classes could help him have the space to minor in philosophy."
https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/5/25/university-offer-five-classes-normal-tuition-price/
They’re jacking up tuition almost $3000 so that 5th class isn’t exactly free. Also, I have no idea how they think many students can handle a 5th class with the work load associated w those tough classes in 10 weeks. They also have a policy that goes hand in hand with the no part-time thing that you only have 12 quarters to graduate and they are pretty unsympathetic to reasons why you need an extra quarter or reduced course load whether you have students disability accomodations or mental health issues.
@toots13 - not reading the 12-quarter thing the same as you are. Here is what the catalog says (have no idea if this is a change from prior years):
“Students who have either (a) exceeded their 12 quarters of enrollment but still have work to complete or (b) exceeded their one quarter of Extended Enrollment Status will be placed in a status called No Further Enrollments Required. Students on this status will not pay any fees and will retain access to the Library and University email. Students may remain in this status until they have reached the maximum of eight quarters of leave, cumulative or consecutive, after which they will be administratively withdrawn from the College. However, petitions may be granted to extend a leave for up to 12 cumulative quarters for students as a reasonable accommodation for a disability or otherwise as required by law. Students seeking an exception to the eight-quarter maximum must petition the College Dean of Students no later than the end of the eighth quarter of leave.”
There’s more detail - best to read the entire web page regarding enrollment and academic status:
"http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/thecollege/gradingandacademicstatus/
Full tuition (3-4 courses) has been increasing 4 - 4.5% for the past three years now so next year’s tuition doesn’t seem out of line. The only change is that if you go over four courses you are no longer charged the extra. Everyone is different, but I’d rather my kid plan out her course of study so that five courses wouldn’t be required at any time.
The safeguards against this are pretty well-designed, IMHO. Students attend 5 classes for their first three weeks, but are only allowed to register for class #5 at the start of 4th week IIRC - which ensures that anyone who registers for five classes has had a taste of the workload that entails.
I can imagine some 5-class courseloads that would be absolute torture. Heck, I can imagine a few 4-class courseloads that would be pretty grueling. But if someone is taking, say, Global Warming or Fratty Haz, Nutrition, Math 131, and a couple of introductory classes in an easier major, I can imagine their schedule being quite humane.
Although, the Maroon’s coverage of the 5-course change quoted one first-year who was taking four classes and auditing four more. Yikes.
I’ve done a 5 class quarter through auditing. It is really, really, really difficult: i cannot imagine a situation where this is feasible, unless you are willing to make a sacrifice like working through your entire weekend and all your free time, not sleeping, or quitting every RSO or job you have, and it will still be really hard. Even easy classes take up a lot of time, and adding a 5th class doesn’t just mean more homework, it means more time in class, more deadlines to keep track of, more inflexibility…
I think some people are going to find this out the hard way