University Gives Students $5 for Each Credit Hour in Which They Earn at Least a C

Students at Fort Hays State University, in Kansas, will receive $5 for every credit hour in which they earn a C or higher, as long as they are in-state students taking classes on the campus, not online. But not all students know about the program, according to The University Leader, the student newspaper.

The money comes from the multibillion-dollar economic-stimulus package that the federal government enacted last winter. The state’s Board of Regents decided that colleges in Kansas would spend two-thirds of their share of the stimulus on deferred maintenance and the remaining third on tuition mitigation. The money students earn will be deducted from next semester’s bills for continuing students, while checks will be sent to those who don’t enroll next term.

Fort Hays State wanted to use the money to help all students. Five dollars a credit hour will go a long way toward this year’s $6.85-a-credit-hour increase in tuition, said Edward H. Hammond, the university’s president. The university also wanted to “reward good behavior,” he said.