This past August 2023, Norwich publicly announced the new change for the upcoming graduating students.
At many other colleges, it is common for residential levels to pay for graduation. In the past, Norwich had only required graduate students from the CGIS program to pay to graduate.
“As a student advisor, whenever there is an increase (of anything) for the students, I feel for them. Some students who are facing challenges feel blindsided by this new change…and we as the faculty are working to meet you (students) in the middle,” said Stephanie Maass, Associate Professor/Director, School Criminology and Criminal Justice and Academic Advising Coordinator.
Previously, based on the information gathered from the student body, many believe the graduation fee is $150 per major and $50 per minor.
Instead, senior students will now be automatically charged $150 for the “Graduation Application Fee”. On the website, Norwich University has broken down the costs of tuition however fails to point out the details of graduation charges clearly.
Students are now voicing their discontent with the news not only due to the rise in costs but also the lack of communication between the faculty and student body.
We have also reached out to the bursar’s office; however, we have not received any responses back. The registrar’s office had redirected the Guidon to the Bursar’s office.
Right now, the administration sees this as an opportunity to be creative to support academics. They aim to develop other funding sources for those who wish to pursue advanced bachelor’s options like triple degrees.
“How can they (administration) anticipate what the next hot topic of the year would be? There are many changes to the campus, but what we can make sure is that the administration is listening and reacting to the student bodies’ concerns,” said Maass.
“To help students who are facing challenges, we are making sure the academic advisors and faculty staff are up to date with these new policies to readily handle students’ concerns. “
Next November, the school will be offering an opportunity to provide the students with the opportunity to learn about the details of the graduation policy as well as options for students to take for this new change.
“This may be a recollection of the fee rather than a new fee,” said Hannah Kolb, 21, a civilian student majoring in Criminal Justice from Northfield, VT.
Graduation has always been the burning money for the school, and this year, it has officially been moved out of the general fees for students and into its own category.
The positive side of the fee being directly applied to the spring tuition, those who are eligible for financial aid or scholarship will be able to take this as a factor to fill in.
“This will assist with offsetting some of the costs of the semester,” said Maass.
Please note: Students graduating in December 2023 may still be charged if applications aren’t completed by the July 1st deadline.
This is a result of the expectations of seniors graduating in Fall 2023 to finish their graduation paperwork in the spring. Prior to the graduation policy, it was approved in Summer 2023 and publicly shared in August 2023.
