University costs when short credits

[rockscan]

Heres a new one. Received the confirmation of enrollment and discovered kid is only registered in 4 courses not the "normal course load of five credits per year" as listed on the university website. Four is still full time with full fees. But if kid goes honours at only four courses per year, that means an extra year of school or summer course costs. Ex still pays a higher portion of costs but is this fair to squeak extra costs out? Should dad say something about why parents are paying a full year of costs and then having to pay extra because kid didnt register for five? In some ways its not worth the fight but in other ways its like "what is going on here?"

[standing on the sidelines]

so if they take 4 courses its considered fulltime but after they will need to take one more course? If that is the case wouldn't they be then considered part time when they take the one course so CS should stop after the 4 courses?

[rockscan]

Thats whats weird. If its just this year and its because kid didnt get a course they want, realistically they would take one course during the summer through distance ed (at least thats what I would have done). But kid is away at school so taking a course to make up the fifth would mean accommodation costs to be away. Which also impacts cs amounts. OR if kid decides to do four courses every year that means to get the 20 required for the honours degree, a fifth year of school is required. Thats full time tuition plus living expenses. The agreement says one degree or four years of study.

I had suggested he ask about it in case its tied to a health issue or lack of course or co-op placement or if volunteer work was being considered as a replacement credit. I know kid was complaining about not getting the courses they wanted. I wonder if they just decided to not take the fifth in another area to fill the credit.

[stripes]

I'm inclined to think that if four courses counts as "full-time study", then the kid is a full-time student now. If the agreement says "first degree or four years of full-time study", CS could cease altogether as of the last day of year four and neither parents has any obligation to pay for the final course to finish out the degree, but this strikes me as kind of cheap behavior.

Two other thoughts:

1. It's often better for students to take fewer courses and do well in them than to max out their courseload and gets Cs and Ds. I see this all the time in my work.

2. Five years to complete an undergraduate degree is not at all unusual - these days, it's the student who completes in four years who is the rarity. Students switch programmes, add/drop courses and sometimes as you note the required courses/co-ops/placements aren't available in the year the student wants to take them.

I suggest asking the kid why s/he is only taking four courses, but not making it sound like "well, I'm not going to pay for you beyond four years".

[rockscan]

No hes emailing kid now to see whats going on. Hes pretty concerned about whats happening. Hes heard from kid 2 about all the partying and trips home and not going to classes etc so he's even more concerned hes not being told what is happening. If its a case of her health/grades etc fine but if kid is just doing it because the class they really wanted was full so they decided to take four and spend the extra time partying, theres a bigger issue than cs and s7 costs.

[rockscan]

Also, agreement states "child support ends....child obtains one post secondary degree or diploma; child turns 22 years of age..." Which begs the question if they spend the next 3, 4, 5, 6, years fooling around and only taking a few courses at a time, does the 22 clause come in. Really the ex pays more of the costs but if shes turning a blind eye to this behaviour, shouldnt dad say forget it, you can take responsibility?

[stripes]

Clauses like this in a divorce order are usually structured as "or ... or" inclusive clauses. So if child has fulfilled any of the following conditions:

Turned 22 OR
Completed a postsecondary degree OR
Completed four years of full-time study

then and only then, mom and dad are off the hook financially. A parent's opinion that a kid is "fooling around" isn't relevant to support payments, even though the kid may be wasting his/her precious opportunities for postsecondary.

Dad can't say "forget it" until at least one of these conditions has been met, After that, it's up to him and mom as to whether they want to continue supporting kid.

[nomad]

WOW i am in the same boat , kid is 21and only doing 1.5 credits that's not full time in my books and i am wondering if I can stop support ,
sorry to hog thread but seems like the same issue
do we have to pay support if the kid is only part time ?

[rockscan]

Thanks stripes. Hes more concerned about whats going on with kids life and education than costs. Four years from now he'll worry about the rest. For now he wants to make sure responsible decisions are being made.

[arabian]

Much depends upon the program. 4 courses through a university term is full-time. Actually I believe 3 courses is considered full-time for many programs.

Kid's an honor student and I'd encourage them. If it takes lightening the load to maintin honor GPA then so be it. It is very competitive out there after graduation.

Wonderful kid is honor student!

[HammerDad]

4 courses is full-time. Depending on the nature of the course, the child may have good reason to extend it a year. If it is high stress course and/or heavy workload, I can see the benefit to the kid. They may rightly say their chances of succeeding are greater by doing it this way.

[movingON1975]

66.6% or greater course load was full time when I was in University....

Some programs are 6 classes per semester, I took 4 or 5 per term and focused on the work, and I would encourage others whom can financially swing it to do the same.

When I took 6 classes plus labs, I ended up with less than scholarly results...

[rockscan]

No we know its full time. He just isnt being given info on what is going on and hes concerned about the decisions being made. First it was take a year off to get grades up for scholarships- didnt work; then residence and registration deadlines were missed-no residence rooms left and classes kid wanted were full; now he finds out only four classes are being taken meaning degree might be screwed up. Hes worried bad decisions are being made and it will screw kid in the future. The ex has a higher % to pay and kid is on the hook for their portion. When my partner and I talked about it last night, his concern was that his kid was being given bad advice on education--not money. But like I said to him, ultimately shes the one who pays the price. And its not a difficult degree program. Humanities/social science and kid has been volunteering in the field for years. If it was nuclear biology of scientific mathematical rocket science he would be totally on board with a light course load. But underwater basket weaving for tea parties? Questionable

[rockscan]

P.S. Nomad, you might want to look at your agreement. Most of the time cs ends at 18 if kid isnt in full time studies. If you have documentation to prove they're part time, you might have a leg to stand on.

[stripes]

And its not a difficult degree program. Humanities/social science and kid has been volunteering in the field for years. If it was nuclear biology of scientific mathematical rocket science he would be totally on board with a light course load. But underwater basket weaving for tea parties? Questionable

Ahem.

I work in that area. I see A LOT of students from the "hard" sciences who take these courses as "soft options", only be to shocked when they get Ds and Fs for the first time, because they have to read and understand complex arguments, think critically, and write organized, persuasive essays that show original thought. Social sciences and humanities can be more challenging than courses where you rely on rote memorization of formulas and facts and then spit them back out in multiple-choice tests or problem sets.

Courses in any field can be challenging, or they can be "bird" courses. Don't assume that the kid is taking an easy road just because you don't know the subject matter. Take a look at the requirements and assignments for the course before you judge it.