Seven semesters of residency not necessary
by Avi Snyder
Columnist
Op-Ed | 10/27/09
Posted online at 9:36 PM EST on 10/26/09
/ Last updated at 2:30 PM EST on 10/26/09
Several years ago, I was sitting at my computer doing homework when my mother yelled that I needed to come and see something on TV. She wanted me to watch a news report about David Banh, an 18-year-old who had just graduated from the University of Virginia-in one year. My mother joked that she wanted me to try to graduate from college in a year, or at least as quickly as possible. "It would save us a lot of money," she told me.
Although I never thought it likely that I would ever finish college in a single year, when I decided to attend Brandeis, I realized that I was ruling out the possibility that I could graduate even in three years. You see, our University has a requirement that anyone who graduates must complete 112 out of the 128 credits needed to graduate at Brandeis University in either the fall or spring semester. Any credits received in the summer semester or through the Justice Brandeis Semester program cannot count toward this requirement, and a maximum of 16 AP or IB credits may count toward the credits needed for graduation. This means that the earliest any student can graduate from Brandeis is after 3 1/2 years.
The explanation offered for this rather unique policy on the University's Web site is that "Brandeis prides itself on the rigorous academic training that undergraduates receive." It seems rather strange to me that academic rigor is associated with a particular amount of time spent enrolled in the University. Other explanations for this policy include Brandeis' commitment to a broad-based liberal arts education. I think that whatever Brandeis' reasons for forcing its students to stay on campus for seven semesters are, it is at best silly and at worst a disincentive for many bright, goal-oriented students to come to Brandeis.
The first reason Brandeis should drop the requirement to be enrolled for seven semesters is that there are some bright students out there who simply can't afford to pay for four full years at a private university. When my mother made her tongue-in-cheek comment about wanting me to graduate college in one year, she brought up a serious concern for my family: We may not be able to afford four full years of college. If Brandeis allowed its students to graduate in three years or less, it would allow for students whose families cannot afford the financial pressure of four years of college tuition to work a bit harder than their classmates, graduate early and save a substantial amount of money.
Although I never thought it likely that I would ever finish college in a single year, when I decided to attend Brandeis, I realized that I was ruling out the possibility that I could graduate even in three years. You see, our University has a requirement that anyone who graduates must complete 112 out of the 128 credits needed to graduate at Brandeis University in either the fall or spring semester. Any credits received in the summer semester or through the Justice Brandeis Semester program cannot count toward this requirement, and a maximum of 16 AP or IB credits may count toward the credits needed for graduation. This means that the earliest any student can graduate from Brandeis is after 3 1/2 years.
The explanation offered for this rather unique policy on the University's Web site is that "Brandeis prides itself on the rigorous academic training that undergraduates receive." It seems rather strange to me that academic rigor is associated with a particular amount of time spent enrolled in the University. Other explanations for this policy include Brandeis' commitment to a broad-based liberal arts education. I think that whatever Brandeis' reasons for forcing its students to stay on campus for seven semesters are, it is at best silly and at worst a disincentive for many bright, goal-oriented students to come to Brandeis.
The first reason Brandeis should drop the requirement to be enrolled for seven semesters is that there are some bright students out there who simply can't afford to pay for four full years at a private university. When my mother made her tongue-in-cheek comment about wanting me to graduate college in one year, she brought up a serious concern for my family: We may not be able to afford four full years of college. If Brandeis allowed its students to graduate in three years or less, it would allow for students whose families cannot afford the financial pressure of four years of college tuition to work a bit harder than their classmates, graduate early and save a substantial amount of money.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
Dev Singer '11
posted 10/27/09 @ 3:54 AM EST
I would like to add a point to this editorial, if I may:
There are ALREADY students, such as myself, who don't spend seven semesters on campus. As long as students are allowed to study abroad for a year, there will be students who are only physically at Brandeis for six semesters. (Continued…)
Eli Harrington
posted 10/27/09 @ 12:26 PM EST
Good topic for a column, but I disagree with the overall opinion and the reasons you list and I'll tell you why:
1--if someone is bright enough to get into Brandeis and possibly finish in 3 years, wouldn't we expect them to have enough financial aid for that final year? Furthermore, who can afford to go to Brandeis for 6 semesters, but not 7? This is why we have such generous financial aid programs (from which I also benefited), to make sure these bright students are able to stay here as long as they need to complete their degree. (Continued…)
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