As a soon-to-be Northern Michigan University graduate, taking a look back on the past four years has been interesting. My college career was bombarded by starting during COVID-19 pandemic, being a transfer student and struggling to fit in to find one’s self-worth.
I am studying multimedia journalism. My degree is rather small compared to some of the others on campus and a minor was more appropriate than expected. I was also consulted to take on a second major or minor, but opted out and took classes more out of interest.
When I took MA 101: Quantitative Literacy in my third year of college, an interesting topic came up about lab fees and degree costs. Depending on the degree a student might pursue, the cost should depend on that degree. If someone were to take an engineering or science path, it should cost more than an English or political science path. This is because engineering or science students are required to take labs and discussions. While for someone pursuing a smaller, less math or science heavy degree, it should cost less based on the fact that they won’t need to take any labs or need heavy equipment.
Northern Michigan University’s tuition and fees information, for Fall 2023 and Winter 2024, includes a university fee of eight or more credits of $411 per semester. Along with that is the student activity fee of six or more credits of $37.12 per semester, and that cost is expected to go up.
There is also the discussion on general education classes in college. I will be honest, I probably would have been done with my degree by now if it were not for the general education courses. The multimedia journalism degree is only 37 credits. I added a minor which is 16, making a grand total of 53 credits. However, with gen eds, the requirement to graduate with the degree is 120 credits.
I believe college should be a place where students can take courses that would benefit them and enrich their knowledge. To fill credits, I have been taking law and geography courses. I believe that by taking these courses, it will enhance my writing skills and background knowledge on those subjects.
I’ve gotten questions from my professors and instructors about why I am taking such courses, and the answer is always the same, to use this information in future articles. If I am going to be a journalist and spend four years at a university obtaining that small degree, I am going to take courses that pertain to my writing and will actually contribute to my future career.
No questions asked.
While yes, I do appreciate having a well-rounded education, I do think for the cost and time, a degree requirement of 120 credits is a little ridiculous. I also could’ve gone my whole life without feeling the need to take EN 111 or 211, nor CS 101: Website Construction.
College is about finding things you are passionate about. While requirements are put into place for good reason, I do not think they need to be as extravagant as Northern currently puts them.
