Amanda Crouse
News Editor
On Tuesday, April 7, David Jones, vice president for finance and business and treasurer of the College, sent an email to students announcing a new policy that would charge students an additional fee for course loads exceeding 4.88 credits starting in the fall of 2026. This communication comes two weeks after Jones sent similar information in an email to faculty and staff on March 24.
Jones said that the overloading fee “aligns with common practices across peer institutions and reflects the additional resources required to support coursework beyond the standard load.”
Aside from compensating for the added resource costs, the new policy was allegedly modeled to “encourage thoughtful course planning and support students in making choices that set them up for success.”
For Academic Year 2026-2027, the fee per quarter-credit overload is $1,740. This is the amount that students can expect to pay for every .25 credits exceeding the 4.88 threshold. According to a price table provided in the email, overloads exceeding the threshold by .25 or fewer credits will cost the aforementioned sum. If a student is overloading by .26 to .5 credits, they will be charged $3,480. Overloads of .51 to .62 credits will cost $5,220. The fee will not apply to student teaching assistants.
Students who drop an overload class can receive a refund within two weeks of the start of the semester (or within two weeks of the start of the second half of the semester, if it is a second-half course being dropped).
The Voice reached out to Jones via email for additional comments on the policy. In his response, Jones reasserted the commonality of overload fees among peer colleges (which he defined as the Ohio 5 schools and “an expanded peer set as defined by [the Strategic Planning & Priorities Advisory Committee] and the administration”). Jones added that for fiscal year 2025, “8.4% and 9.5% of students in the fall and spring, respectively, had overload credits.”
When asked how the decision to impose overload fees aligns with the College’s mission, Jones said that while the current endowment makes Wooster an “asset rich” institution, its cost of operations makes for poor margins. “To balance and align this equation,” Jones said, “deficits need to come down … otherwise we begin to eat into the endowment which exists to support the long-term mission and future of the College.”
Lower-than-anticipated enrollment numbers in the recent year, as well as what Jones defined as “market changes” –– competition from other institutions, changes in state and national policy and changes in distribution of wealth –– also prompted administration to reassess their approach to finances.
Finally, Jones said that faculty advisors and the dean of students will support students in the overloading process and address issues on a case-by-case basis.
