Starting Fall 2026, the maximum allowed credits per semester has dropped from 20 to 18, and all undergraduate degree programs will require no more than 128 total credit hours. The flat full-time tuition rate will cover enrollments between 12 and 18 credits. Furthermore, the standard degree programs have been revised to adjust the credit cap and incur no additional costs. The new policy encourages students to stay within the balanced credit load; however, students may choose to take overloads. Any credits exceeding 18 will incur additional tuition costs at the per-credit overload rate. The Extra Course policy prevents first-years from overloading more than 20 credits, and continuing after the first-year, a 3.3 GPA is required to overload by one course in accordance with the Office of Undergraduate Academics.
The adjustment of the standard semester load allows students to pursue minors, research, and leadership positions. Kevin Lu, the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies of the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science (SES), has explained that “We want our students to also learn outside the classroom, and that is a very strong vision.” To add on, Stevens is enhancing the student experience by prioritizing and focusing on quality. According to the Office of the Provost, the change will provide greater flexibility, improve well-being, and increase campus engagement. Moreover, Stevens remains committed to a rigorous education and will continue to meet essential competencies. “So, it’s not a single instructor. Usually there are multiple instructors because, for example, all the engineers need to take those courses. The courses are carefully designed, and we have to document the process for accreditation purposes,” Lu clarifies.
On the other hand, the Student Government Association (SGA) proposed a petition that was established to reinstate the ability to take 20 credits per semester, to submit the policy to a formal faculty-student review process, and to publicly release the data used to justify the modification. The petition opposes the policy, arguing that it goes against students choosing to change their degree or follow a minor, concentration, double major, grad certificate, accelerated master’s program, or research for credit hours. The document implies that many common academic paths will now require overload fees, summer courses, or extended time to graduate due to the challenge of completing programs on time. The SGA President, Jeylan Jubran, 4/4 Industrial and Systems Engineering major, has inquired of the administration for specific reasoning for the modification during scheduled meetings. However, she recalls the process as a chase of rerouting SGA to different executives without a direct answer. Jubran describes, “The formal process consists of a letter that allows SGA to vote and as of now, we [SGA] have done it twice. It is a new process, and we’ve never been expected to encounter a situation where the administration does not respond. So, they [the administration] were no longer responding to the formal processes; it opened the door for us to ask, ‘Okay, well, what do we do next?’” Currently, SGA continues to hold events that support students academically or mentally.
Overall, Jubran concludes, “Student leaders are being placed under significant pressure without sufficient consideration of mental health. The university’s leadership was not always direct in communication, and students are not consistently treated as adults.” On the contrary, Lu recommends, “If any student has questions, they should discuss them with their academic advisor. Most of the time, academic advisors can help students with scheduling. If students have other issues or concerns related to the technical aspects of their program, the curriculum, or their career, they should also reach out to their faculty advisor.”
