Efforts made by administration and members of the student body display an unlikely alliance in the fight for distance education changes.

Full-time on-campus students taking online courses are charged a separate amount from tuition on a per-credit hour basis even if they are within the 12-plus range for being full-time.

Chelsea Schwabe , senior in communications with a minor in nonprofit studies, decided to take action against this charge.

“I found out that to graduate with my minor, I had to take these two classes and that they were distance education and that I had to pay $800–$200 for one class and $600 for the other one,” Schwabe said. ”I took a loan out, and this $800 came out of money that was supposed to be for my rent, so I was upset.”

Seeking justice, Schwabe sent out a mass-email to administration members, including the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the chancellor and the Cashier’s Office.

“I got an email the next day from the Cashier’s Office, and he said that they only collect the money but that I wasn’t alone in this fight against distance education. It wasn’t only from my minor but all across the board,” Schwabe said.

Schwabe added that the dean of CHASS also responded to her email and corroborated that the situation just wasn’t right.

Grant Holley, Director of Distance Education for the College of Education, detailed how distance education promotes diversity and new ways to reach students.

“Through our distance education classes and globalizing, we’re building on the college. It helps us bring in a new population–a more diverse student body,” Holley said. “When it comes to what is a better method, it depends on the student and the class, but to say that one size fits all is ludicrous.”

“Why, if I’m paying for 12 to 18 hours and there’s this buffer of 6 hours, and if my distance education lands within that buffer, do I have to pay extra?” Schwabe said. “You would think it would be less because you’re not even interacting with a teacher face-to-face, and there’s not a room to rent out space.”

Distance education tuition is actually treated similarly to regular tuition. Money goes to the state which returns it to the campus. Distance education fees go into structural pieces like videos and website development, according to Holley.

However, students and even faculty still hope for revision within the distance education system.

Provost Arden implemented the Distance Education Task Force at the beginning of last year to work on new strategies for dealing with distance education.

“We needed to re-evaluate what we’ve been doing for years,” Grant, who was part of the task force, said.

For students, the most beneficial recommendation would be that those in on-campus degrees pay for all credit hours, including regular term and distance education, adhering to the existing stair-step arrangement; whereas distance education degree students will be charged by the number of credit hours taken, both on and off-campus.

Student Government is also on board for distance education amendments.

Thomas Miller, Vice Provost for Distance Education and Learning Technology, as well as co-chair of the task force, said the report from the task force was well received by the provost and the UNC General Administration.

“The law and policy developed in 1998 never anticipated that students would be taking both on-campus courses and online courses at the same time,” Miller said. “There was never any intent to charge students a premium for online courses, so our plan fits the spirit of the policy.”

According to Miller, 48 percent of undergraduates and 84 percent of graduates last year paid lower total tuition and fees by taking a mixture of on-campus and online classes.

“Nobody, at any level of their education, is a puppet. The learner is going to have to see what works for them and if distance education is the right fit,” Grant said.

Schwabe’s collaborative effort with Mary Tschirhart , Director of the Institute for Nonprofits, and Eileen Hannan , adviser for minors in nonprofit studies, enabled the courses necessary for her to graduate to be split so that there was a distance education and independent study course available to students.

After dropping the distance education classes for independent study, Schwabe received a full refund.

“I feel like if students see something that they want changed or think that something is wrong, there probably is something wrong, but nobody knows about it or you might’ve been overlooked,” Schwabe said.

Distance education amendments will become effective by next semester if they pass.