The Faculty of Arts and Science plans to change the definition of full-time student to anyone taking three or more courses per session, instead of the previous four.

This bureaucratic rule change has angered the Association of Part-Time Students (APUS). The group said the move will cut its membership and leave students without essential services during the summer term.

“The Faculty of Arts and Science have changed the definition of full-time study from 4.0 courses… to three full courses in a full-session term,” said Susan Addario, director of Student Affairs in U of T’s administration. Addario thinks about 2,500 current part-time students will be affected by the change, which will take effect this summer.

“Scarborough’s move to trimestering is what triggered this change, but the university has been thinking about it for some time,” she added.

Scarborough is moving to offer a full slate of courses in the summer session, turning June to August into a regular part of the academic year instead of the traditional break period, when a limited number of classes was held. The switch to trimestering means that students will have the option of taking fewer courses in the fall and winter sessions and adding courses in the summer term. But that meant many students would technically be classified as part-time, a definition that traditionally applied to people taking a reduced courseload to juggle school with work or family obligations.

Calling students who take three or more courses per session “full-time” “has some real benefits for students,” Addario said. “It will bring the university into line with OSAP and other Ontario universities.”

A side benefit, according to Addario, is that students taking three courses are now eligible for the University of Toronto Advance Planning for Students programme (UTAPS), a cash grant that tops-up Ontario Student Assistance Programme (OSAP) loans to needy students. Previously, part-time students were covered under the Noah Meltz programme.

Addario also said the change means “we can lower the incidental fees for part-time students,” cutting the money each part-time student pays to Hart House, Athletics, Student Services and Student Affairs by a third, from $145.60 to $96.16. The full-time fee might also drop, she added.

But APUS President Emily Sadowski is critical of the reclassification. “APUS is engaged in a research study of part-time students,” Sadowski said, adding that the administration made its move without waiting for the study results to come in. She said the administration is assuming that the change will be beneficial to part-time students: “My firsthand thought is that these assumptions aren’t true.”

Sadowski added the move might bring more money out of students’ pockets and into the coffers of the administration: “U of T will be getting more funding because more students will be paying the full fees… I want to know what additional services these students will be getting.”

Sadowski said the reclassification will affect “probably about 50 per cent of APUS students, so 5,000 students.”

She also said groups like the Students’ Administrative Council (SAC) will have to begin running programmes for students over the summer, since all summer term students used to be considered part-time students, which meant SAC was not responsible for serving them from June to August. “Student unions that previously didn’t run during the summer are going to have students to represent.”

SAC’s university affairs commissioner, Mohammed Hashim, thinks the reclassification is an improvement for students. “It’s a good idea because more students will become eligible for UTAPS,” Hashim said. He added serving the summer students will not be a problem for his organization: “SAC plans to evaluate the situation and increase its programming over the summer.”

The University Affairs Board of the Governing Council will consider the change at a meeting on Tuesday.