While The University of Texas does well in many areas, beating out most other major public universities across the country with the strength of its academic programs, athletics and size, it tends to lag in terms of actual accessibility to the public. Being a wealthy young adult with few responsibilities outside of school is an enormous advantage at UT, much more than it should be. Here are just a few of the ways the university could be more accessible to the rest of the public that it is supposed to be striving to serve:
1. Night and weekend classes
While many universities have flexible class scheduling, making it much easier on those that have to work during the day or have other responsibilities, night and weekend courses are few and far between at UT. Some schools like the McCombs School of Business barely even have classes on Fridays.
2. Online course offerings
Online courses are treated as second-class education at UT. Most of its limited online offerings are through its University Extension program, for which financial aid generally isn’t available and the courses from which don’t normally count as in-residence when evaluating degree requirements.
3. Flexible tuition
In-state undergraduate tuition rates start at over $2,000 for a single three-credit course, capping at roughly $5,000 for 12 hours or more. The current pricing system benefits students that have the luxury of being able to take an excess of credit hours, usually the more wealthy Longhorns, and penalizes those that want to go part-time because of other responsibilities. Wouldn’t charging a reasonable rate per credit hour, no matter how many hours a student is taking, make a lot more sense?
4. Easier transfer between majors
While it’s tough to get into any UT major, once you’re in the university it can be very difficult to transfer between programs. Students end up spending extra time in school trying to transfer into the program they want. If the standards are so high to begin with, why make students go through intense academic evaluation all over again to switch majors? Furthermore, if a student is trying to switch between programs, they’re likely part of one that wasn’t right for them. As a result, they may not have succeeded academically there. It doesn’t seem right to pigeonhole them into that program as a result.
5. Transfer student access into the Plan II Honors Program
The Plan II Honors Program is the Liberal Arts shining star of UT. The flexible but challenging COLA major allows students flexibility with their curriculum, ample academic support and membership to a pool of other brilliant students. It’s known across the country and even around the world for the talented young adults it produces, however, it’s currently closed off completely to transfer students. It favors those that had more opportunity in high school.
