OSU to require fewer credits, but boarding costs rise 4.7 percent
6/4/2007COLUMBUS, Ohio This fall s incoming freshmen at Ohio State University will need just 181 quarter-credits to graduate, a decision school officials said would give students a better shot at graduating in four years.
The new credit requirement, approved by the board of trustees on Friday, is 10 fewer than what s been expected of previous classes.
It also puts the university in sync with other Big Ten schools like Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, which also require about 180 hours.
It s a four-year degree plan for our undergraduates, said Provost Barbara Snyder. I don t think any students will be unhappy about it.
Five hours of general education and five hours of electives in a student s major are being eliminated the equivalent of two fewer five-day-a-week classes.
The board also raised room and board rates by 4.7 percent, about $345 more for the average resident, raising the yearly average to $7,581.
The trustees did not act on a tuition increase because they are awaiting the state s two-year budget.
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland wants a tuition freeze the first year and a maximum 3 percent increase the second year, while the Ohio House wants the reverse.
The Ohio Senate plans to vote on its budget proposal June 13.