While many undergraduate students worry about whether tuition will be raised next year, Ph.D. candidates at the University may not have to worry about anything.

A current proposal advocating continuous enrollment for Ph.D. candidates would require a student to register every semester, from matriculation to degree completion. It is expected to benefit students through increased student flexibility, lower tuition rates and uninterrupted access to University services and resources.

In a presentation to the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs earlier this week, Rackham Graduate School Dean Janet Weiss outlined the proposal and defended it against criticism from several members of SACUA.

Weiss said a continuous enrollment policy is standard at most research universities, and that switching to such a policy could lead to higher graduation rates.

“Our real goal is to make it more likely that students will be able to complete their degrees and go on to successful careers beyond graduate school,” she said. “The money is really only the means to the end.”

In her presentation, Weiss called the proposal revenue neutral, saying the current enrollment system generates $26 million in tuition, which she expects will be unchanged — despite lower tuition rates.

“The answer to the question ‘Can we afford to do this?’ is yes, we think we can afford to do it,” she said. “We obviously can afford that because we’re doing it.”

The proposal would lower the average Ph.D. candidate tuition rate from $5,800 per semester to $4,750 per semester. At the same time, the proposal would increase student enrollment by 600 students, from approximately 2,200 students to 2,800 students. The increase in students is expected to recover the loss of revenue from a decreased tuition rate.

Despite the lower tuition rate, most Ph.D. students would not notice the difference, since many candidates have their tuition paid for by a third party.

“Many of our Ph.D. students, in fact almost all of our Ph.D. students, are paid for from a University source,” Weiss said. “That is, they don’t pay their own tuition.”

Weiss said most schools at the University would not notice financial changes as a result of the proposal but said a few would notice changes in funding.

Specifically, Weiss said the School of Education, College of Engineering, College of Literature, Science and Arts, School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning would experience noticeable changes in funding.

During the presentation, SACUA member Gina Poe, an associate professor of anesthesiology, expressed concern over how the proposal would affect students who need to take a semester or more away for classes from personal reasons.

“I think that anyone who is challenged, who is demanded by their community, for whatever reason, and needs to stop — and I know a lot of people like this — would not be able to come back under this Rackham policy,” she said.

No formal policy currently exists for personal leaves of absence. If the continuous enrollment requirement is implemented, students would be allowed to take “a one-term personal leave of absence for any reason one time during their Ph.D. studies," according to Rackham's website.

The Rackham Executive Board approved the policy in December, but the policy will not be implemented until at least the fall semester of 2010.