Education is expensive. Water is wet. Universities, in particular Saint Xavier, should not impose a 12 credit off-campus transfer limit, nor require nursing students to take all of their science prerequisites at Saint Xavier.
Saint Xavier will accept a maximum of 70 credit hours from community colleges and 90 credit hours from a baccalaureate college or university to count towards the 120 credit hour bachelor’s degree.
But, let’s say for example, you want to take those pesky general education requirements that didn’t fit into your Saint Xavier schedule at your local community college over the summer, you would be limited to only taking 12 credits. Saint Xavier does offer summer classes, but those classes are exponentially more expensive than those offered at community colleges.
Although universities do need to make money, as long as the majority of a student’s major’s credits are taken at SXU, why should the student be required to stay on campus longer than necessary? It forces an already economically strapped student populace to pay more by forcing them to spend more time on campus due to delaying when they could have entered into their core major classes.
If a student is willing to take initiative and receive acceptable grades in a courses outside of Saint Xavier, why shouldn’t those courses count once the student reached above 12 credits?
By allowing students to take more than 12 credits outside of Saint Xavier, it opens up multiple possibilities for students to improve themselves.
By taking more credits off campus during the summer, students would have more time dedicated to their on campus classes by having a lighter course load or allow for the addition of another major or minor. It would also allow students the opportunity to get ahead, depending on their major’s requirements.
Speaking of majors, the science prerequisites for nursing students shouldn’t have to be taken only at Saint Xavier for non-transfer students who didn’t already take the courses prior to coming to Saint Xavier. This is a relatively recent development that negatively affects students who aren’t directly in the program yet.
This greatly disadvantages students who want to apply to the nursing program and graduate within four years. It also negatively affects students who are direct-admits to the nursing program, but who are unable to get into the required science classes due to lack of seating or scheduling conflicts.
All of this results in spending more time than necessary to obtain their degree. Although Saint Xavier does offer some science classes over the summer, there is no guarantee that the required prerequisite would be offered. Students shouldn’t have to pay more for a summer class that may or may not occur.
A more open schedule would allow students to become more involved in clubs or even apply for an on-campus job. Being a largely commuter school, it would give students the incentive to stay on campus longer and attend afternoon or morning time events.
Allowing students to take more than 12 credits off campus, including their nursing science prerequisites, would make it so students could dedicate more time towards their academics, become more involved, and possibly allow them to stay on track or get ahead.
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