Graduate programs are finding ways around the economic crunch by requiring more out of their students.

Two factors determine the amount of revenue received: total hours taught and the fee income collected within the college compared to the previous year.

Departments receive instructional revenues based on the number of credit hours taught through that department.

The department goes in the direction of ensuring more money for itself by requiring more credit hours per quarter of its students, said Thomas Humanic, vice chairman for graduate studies in physics.

Each college receives instructional funding, and the dean of the college chooses how that money is ultimately distributed.

“In the total university pot, graduate fee income can go up and colleges earn more. They may not necessarily be ensuring themselves more money because that income can go up or down,” said Chris Doll, a research-planning analyst.

The physics graduate department also receives money for fellowship students’ tuition and fees, but they have a dual-purpose plan to help students through the program and get more revenue for the department.

“The goal is that we’re trying to get the students through the program at a desirable rate,” Humanic said.

Lee Walker, budget director, said departments are not totally assured to receive more revenues simply by requiring their students to take more credit hours per quarter.

“When they require more hours they receive the same amount of money, just less per credit hour,” Walker said.

Previously, colleges received revenue on an incremental budget system, earning a certain percentage above what they received the year before.

Last year, a new system was implemented to distribute funding. It is based on marginal income and a growth in the budget above the last year’s level.

Once students meets full-time status they can take as many credit hours as they want, but they still pay the same full-time tuition fee.

Doll said students taking more than 10 credit hours per quarter are, “essentially diluting the new effective rate.”

There are 111 graduate degree programs at OSU. Each program is part of a college or school, but they all follow some basic rules set by the graduate school.

A full-time graduate student is required by the graduate school to take a minimum of 10 credit hours per quarter, and graduate associates are required to enroll in nine credit hours per quarter, with the exception of summer quarter, which requires only seven hours to be considered full-time.

Graduate students who receive fellowships from the university are required to have a minimum of 15 credit hours per quarter for all four quarters.

“We set the minimum and they (the graduate programs) can go from there,” said Henry Zheng, director of Data Analysis and Information Services for the graduate school.

The Department of Physics is one graduate degree program that has raised the minimum required credit hours per quarter for its students above what the graduate school requires.

Graduate teaching associates are required to take the minimum nine credit hours per quarter until they pass the candidacy exam, then the minimum is raised to 15 hours.

Students with fellowships are also required to take a minimum of 15 credit hours per quarter.

The graduate school has some other minimum requirements all graduate students must meet outside of their individual programs.

Graduate students must obtain a minimum 3.0 grade point average. They also must complete their program within five years after being admitted to their respective candidacy programs.

There are 145 students enrolled in the graduate physics program.