Ball State Students
12-14 credits: 16 percent
15+ credits: 84 percent
A new initiative from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education aims to increase the number of students graduating in four years by encouraging collegiate Hoosiers to take 15 credit hours per semester.
“15 to Finish” t-shirts and flash drives greeted students at Welcome Week this year. The memorabilia heralded the beginning of the program’s implementation at Ball State.
Associate Provost and Dean of University College Marilyn Buck said the idea of encouraging students to adopt a 15 credit-hour schedule had been a goal of Ball State before the launch of 15 to Finish.
Taking less than 15 credit hours per semester can negatively affect students in more ways than one, said Assistant Director of Academic Advising Cindi Marini.
Each additional year of college after the target of four can cost students more than $50,000 according to the 15 to Finish website. Another year of classes at Ball State also decreases a student’s chance of graduating at all.
“I think students are pretty receptive to the idea of taking around 15 credit hours a semester especially when we explain to them that the tuition charges are the same from anywhere from 12 credits to 18,” said Marini.
Sophomore Japanese and accounting major Samantha Card began taking 15 credits her first semester at Ball State and hasn’t stopped.
“You get more for your money that way. 18 can be stressful, “ she said. "For the first couple of years, I wanted to keep it at 15, that happy medium.”
So far, everything has gone according to plan for Card. She treats the concept of the 15 to Finish program as a positive one.
“Sometimes kids need the motivation to take 15 credit hours and it’s not really hard I think. It just takes a little more effort because it’s one more class,” she said.
She expects to don her cap and gown within her goal of two more years of college.
15 to Finish isn’t just a matter of blindly choosing a certain amount of credits. Buck said an accompanying initiative requires all Ball State students to have a degree map.
“An awful lot of advisers used the concept of degree maps for years,” she said. “I used it. 25 years ago if you were my advisee, the first time you came in we sat down and mapped out your classes all the way through graduation.”
The map required by 15 to Finish is similar, but completed electronically. This September, training for this new policy begins for freshman and faculty advisers.
Read More
Wes-Del baseball defeats Wapahani in conference rivalry game
By David Moore / 52 minutes ago“Right now our focus is being back and ready to play tomorrow,” Wes-Del head coach Daniel Hanson said. “We try not to look at the big picture, not look at the rankings, to the end of the year, none of that. Just getting in and getting better at focusing on what we can control.”
'We didn’t bring it today:' Ball State softball falls to Purdue in final non-MAC contest of 2024
By Zach Carter / 1 hours agoIn the loss to the Boilermakers, the Cardinals only recorded one hit, which was a solo home run from senior Kaitlyn Mathews. Ball State finished its 2024 non-conference season with a 13-14 record.
Indiana's Free Mom Hugs organization and Muncie Outreach discuss how LGBTQ+ groups help strengthen pride in local communities
By Zach Gonzalez / 12 hours agoA hug can communicate warmth and love without saying a word. For LGBTQ+ individuals rejected by family members, a hug from Free Mom Hugs staff resembles affection they may not receive from those of their own household.
