Course fees for 22 courses in the College of Engineering will be eliminated beginning in the summer 2010 semester. The move represents another aspect of the college’s strategy to streamline administration while enhancing the student academic experience.
The fee elimination applies to all courses with fees of $25 or less per semester. The courses having reduced fees are in the civil, construction, industrial, and mechanical engineering programs
“Course fees in this range are often perceived by students as being redundant,” said Jonathan Wickert, dean of the college. “This change, although modest, is about administrative efficiency and being fair. We want students and their families to know that we care about the financial burdens that they face.
The action to eliminate such fees resulted from feedback provided during college-wide task force reviews this spring. Individual departments will continue to review fees in other courses. “Especially in these difficult budgetary times, we want to make sure that our tuition and course fee structures make sense,” Wickert said.
Some courses, such as the semiconductor fabrication lab in electrical engineering and the flight instruction course in aerospace engineering, will continue to charge fees. The college, however, has determined that it will not approve any increases to existing fees for next year
Other steps the college has taken to streamline administration include closing the PERUSE program (Providing Experiences in Research for Undergraduate Students in Engineering); initiating a virtual desktop project in collaboration with Information Technology Services; closing the Engineering Policy and Leadership Institute, and eliminating the Faculty and Staff Portfolio System.