WHAT THE &*#!?
Ben Ellis
Issue date: 5/27/04 Section: Perspectives
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BACKGROUND
At the end of last quarter, I filled out a form to take Levin's law school course on Venture Capital / Private Equity. The process was confusing, and after exchanging several emails with Amy Wright, it was not clear to me that I was enrolled in the class. (Dean Snyder's response suggests the registration process was clear. His response comes after a refusal to meet with me and after hearing one side of the issue.) A few days later, I decided I wanted to take a different class instead. Since I never saw the law school class come up on the Portal with the rest of the courses I had registered for, I assumed I was not registered for the law school course. Since I wanted to take a different class anyways, things seemed to have worked themselves out, right? WRONG.
After receiving a bill from the Bursar saying I owed another $3,440 (good thing it wasn't next year when tuition will be higher), I went to the DSO. I told them the story: how I didn't think I was registered for the class and had never attended a class session - I expected a simple "No Problem" answer. The answer, instead, was "We'll have to get back to you on this." Hmmm, I felt like I was in the twilight zone.
MEETINGS AND EXPLANATION OF THE POLICY'S RATIONALE
During a meeting with Amy Wright and Christine Gramhoffer, Christine informed me that tuition penalty exemptions were granted ONLY in case of death (student or family) or extenuating emergency.
Towards the end of the meeting, I asked: "Why does the policy exist?" The answer:
1) So the student does not receive instruction from the class for free
2) So the student does not take another student's spot in the class
I offer a 3rd that may have not been expressed, but makes more sense to me than the first reason:
3) To incentivize students not to drop classes after receiving a poor indication of performance (I guess to avoid "managing" grade point averages)
I thought many people audit classes for free...but anyways, the plot thickens.
At the end of last quarter, I filled out a form to take Levin's law school course on Venture Capital / Private Equity. The process was confusing, and after exchanging several emails with Amy Wright, it was not clear to me that I was enrolled in the class. (Dean Snyder's response suggests the registration process was clear. His response comes after a refusal to meet with me and after hearing one side of the issue.) A few days later, I decided I wanted to take a different class instead. Since I never saw the law school class come up on the Portal with the rest of the courses I had registered for, I assumed I was not registered for the law school course. Since I wanted to take a different class anyways, things seemed to have worked themselves out, right? WRONG.
After receiving a bill from the Bursar saying I owed another $3,440 (good thing it wasn't next year when tuition will be higher), I went to the DSO. I told them the story: how I didn't think I was registered for the class and had never attended a class session - I expected a simple "No Problem" answer. The answer, instead, was "We'll have to get back to you on this." Hmmm, I felt like I was in the twilight zone.
MEETINGS AND EXPLANATION OF THE POLICY'S RATIONALE
During a meeting with Amy Wright and Christine Gramhoffer, Christine informed me that tuition penalty exemptions were granted ONLY in case of death (student or family) or extenuating emergency.
Towards the end of the meeting, I asked: "Why does the policy exist?" The answer:
1) So the student does not receive instruction from the class for free
2) So the student does not take another student's spot in the class
I offer a 3rd that may have not been expressed, but makes more sense to me than the first reason:
3) To incentivize students not to drop classes after receiving a poor indication of performance (I guess to avoid "managing" grade point averages)
I thought many people audit classes for free...but anyways, the plot thickens.