Kent State not the only Ohio university with overload fees

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The $440 credit hour cap fee threshold will be lowered from 17 credit hours to 16 credit hours in the fall 2013 semester. However, Kent State is not the only state university in Ohio to have a similar policy on credit overloads.

The Board of Trustees approved the initial fee increase at the March meeting in 2012, which has been met with fervent opposition by students that included a 12-hour protest and a petition. Both the protest and petition made no change to the decision.

“The fee was put into place to partially pay for the bonds that had been used to pay for the construction on campus,” said Denise Zelko, associate vice president of University Budget and Financial Analysis.

The institution of the fee has been done in two phases, Zelko said. The first phase took place in the 2012-2013 school year with the addition of the fee to the university, and the second phase is scheduled to take effect in the 2013-2014 school year in which the threshold is lowered from 17 credit hours to 16.

“The two phases were decided on to make a gentler change for those students taking more than the standard workload,” said Emily Vincent, director of university relations.

Many universities in the state of Ohio also have similar policies and, like Kent State, some of these are new.

Ohio State University is one of these universities.

“At the beginning of the autumn 2012 semester, we moved our threshold to an ‘over 18’ system, in which students pay per credit hour up to 12 and then have a fee plateau from 12 to 18 credit hours,” said Brad Myers, Ohio State University registrar. “Above 18 credit hours, the per credit hour fee is $454.70.”

Therefore, if an Ohio State University student took 19 credit hours a semester he or she would be charged an extra $454.70.

In addition to Ohio State University, Ohio University also has a credit hour cap fee less than that of Kent State. For every credit hour over 20, students are charged an extra $239, which can be determined through the tuition calculator on Ohio University’s website.

Kent State’s athletic rival, the University of Akron, also has a smaller fee than Kent State. According to the university’s website, students must pay $345.15 for every credit hour exceeding 16, costing a student an extra $1035.45 for a 19 credit hour semester.

The University of Toledo also has a credit hour fee, charging its students per credit hour with no flat rate resulting in an extra $982.98 to go from 16 to 19 credit hours according to the University of Toledo website.

Miami University in Ohio does not have the large fees that some of their neighboring schools have.

“We do not have an overload fee,” Miami University bursar Kristine Cassano said. “All of our fees are the same once the student exceeds 12 credit hours.”

Kent State has one of the highest credit overload fees in the state. If a student were to take 19 credit hours next fall, he or she would be charged an additional $1,320 on top of his or her regular tuition, and some students find this price steep.

“We already pay a lot of money to attend, and some majors require you to take on more than 16 credit hours,” sophomore sociology major Brandon Boling said. “If you don't follow the road map, it could take you longer to graduate, which means instead of four years you could be here five or more, and I already pay all my tuition in loans, so this could put me way farther into debt.”

Contact Katie Nix at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

How do you feel about the overage fee cap dropping from 17 credit hours to 16 credit hours?

“Everybody already has an anticipated date of graduation and to put that kind of law in place now kind of messes up everybody’s schedule because then you have to take less classes, take less credits and that eventually affects your graduation date in the future. I’m actually doing a double major in business management and accounting, so I’ve been always taking 18 credits since I was a freshman. This semester I wanted to take 19 credits to meet my graduation date for 2014, but I’m afraid now with the whole $440 increase, I’ll have to take less than that.”
Junior business management major Bitrus Audu

“I think they’re just trying to push it to get more money out of everybody. I mean, everybody’s already paying how much for all [his or her] credits and to go here and they’re just trying to milk money out it. I mean, they’re spending money redoing the pavilion instead of giving us better classrooms, better resources or charging us less for books. … People without the financial means to do that are suffering and might not choose to go here.”
Sophomore biology major Kaleigh Rogers

“I think that, if they require a certain amount of credits to graduate, you want to get that done as soon as you can, and so you want to take as many credits as you want. I think they’re making it a little bit harder to do that and get your degree fast, so I don’t like it. If [students] are going to work that hard, they should have a break.”
Sophomore public health major Taylor Krebs

“Obviously, I don’t feel good about it because it’s just going to raise the costs again. I think it’s just another way for them to get more money. If I’m not able to take at least around 17, maybe 18 [credit hours], I might have to stay in school another semester.”
Sophomore biology major Tyler Karras

“Seventeen’s where it is now and it’s still not enough. If someone wants to get their schooling done sooner, they’re not able to, especially if they can’t pay for it and they don’t have the money. If it’s getting moved down to 16 next year, what’s to keep them from [continuing] to move it down the year after that just to get more money? … You know students are going to need more than 16 credit hours.”
Freshman physical education major Brandon Taylor

Contact Lyndsey Schley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .