From indoor exotic gardening to juggling for beginners, University of Wisconsin students and faculty alike are finding the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Mini Courses a viable option to pursue varying interests and hobbies without the stifling pressures of an increased courseload.
This service provides from 150 to 200 different classes, such as yoga and fly fishing, but interested students with a budget find themselves at a disadvantage when faced with the costs to enroll, which can range from fewer than $20 to well over $100.
Freshman Molly McLaren has the desire to sign up for ceramics and black & white photography courses, but she can’t seem to rationalize the high price for the services offered.
“With the amount I pay in tuition, I don’t understand the steep prices for such few sessions,” McLaren said.
Robin Schmoldt has been actively involved in WUD, first as a member of the Music and Entertainment Student Programming Board and now as the assistant director of Mini Courses for the past five and a half years.
“We actively keep student budgets in mind when creating course costs and attempt to cater to a wide audience,” Schmoldt said.
Student and Wisconsin Union member rates are typically $10 less than faculty and staff prices. Schmoldt went on to say this program is completely self-supporting, with the intention to break even, not “get rich.”
Course fees cover all the necessary instructional and administrative expenses. These prices typically cover supplies, however certain classes do have added material costs.
The fees do not deter the 6,000 to 8,000 participants who take advantage of WUD’s Mini Courses annually. UW students comprise an estimated 40 percent of total enrollment.
“For the variety and prices of the Mini Courses, I think that [the prices] are legitimate,” UW senior Stacey Seidler said, who recently participated in WUD’s Mini Courses.
“Providing short, fun courses for personal and professional development since 1972” is the goal of WUD’s Mini Courses. In turn, the program has lasted so long based on enrolled members’ tendencies to return and take more classes.
Mini Course program assistant Scott Spychalla emphasizes that these courses are a better value than comparable programs at Edgewood College and Madison Area Technical College.
Nationwide, other schools have implemented similar non-credit programs. Oberlin College located in Oberlin, Ohio; Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan. and Smith College in Northamton, Mass. currently enroll students in similar programs.
For instance, Smith College has taken the initiative to include a three-week long Interterm session of non-credit classes, geared toward learning something new without the typical stresses often associated with classes.
Unlike WUD’s Mini Courses, Smith’s Interterm session is free to all who participate.
“We have an operating budget, which supports the program,” assistant dean of Smith College Susan Briggs said.
Smith is private school of approximately 2,500 students, and with 500 currently participating in the Interterm, Briggs agreed that the bigger the program gets, the more difficult it will be to organize.
