Missing a lecture or an in-class assignment isn’t the only price Lindenwood students pay when they make the decision to skip class.
The cost of skipping an undergraduate class at Lindenwood can range from roughly $5 to $122, based on tuition figures listed on the university’s website. Missing a graduate class can cost between $6 and $163.
Nearly 30 Lindenwood students participated in an anonymous online survey asking whether they had ever intentionally missed class and the reasoning behind their decision. Nearly 70 percent of the participants said they had skipped on purpose.
Sleeping in, hanging out with friends and being hungover were all listed as reasons for not attending.
More than half the survey participants said they did not consider the financial impact of skipping class when they chose not to attend. Like many of the participants, freshman Dakota Knutson said money was not on his mind when he decided to miss class last semester to catch up on some sleep.
“I discovered [the cost] information mid-semester.” Knutson said. “Had I known this, I wouldn’t have let myself miss class.”
Keeping the cost in mind, freshman Sam Higgerson said she has only missed class when it has been unavoidable.
“Since I already know that I was losing money, I weigh my options and decide whether or not to miss class,” Higgerson said. “More often than not, I go to class, but I recently had an experience where I was getting over the flu, so I missed class.”
Like Higgerson, several students who responded to the survey also listed illnesses as their reason for missing classes. Scheduling conflicts at work, doctor appointments and sporting events were also common responses.
The total cost of skipping varies based on a number of credits students are taking and how frequently their classes meet during a semester.
Full-time undergraduate students currently pay a flat rate of $7,836 to take anywhere between 12 and 18 credits hours per semester, according to the university’s website. Full-time undergraduates pay the same amount for nine to 15 credits. These figures do not account for lab fees that are associated with select courses.
