PLUS Year FAQs

• Must enroll as an undergraduate degree-seeking student at PLU by Fall 2020.
• Must remain continuously enrolled at full-time status (at least 12 credits as of 10th day of class) in fall and spring semesters starting in Fall 2020.
• For students who enter as first years, the PLUS Year begins immediately following their 8th semester of full-time enrollment. For students who enter as transfers or subsequent bachelor’s degree students, the PLUS Year begins immediately following their 6th semester of full-time enrollment.  In addition to the required number of full-time semesters, Nursing students and Music Education students must also complete their program’s academic requirements (with the exception of MUSI 348, EDUC 468, and MUSI 469 for Music Education students).  When considering the PLUS Year, Music Education students must verify timeline and degree requirements with their department.

Students are pursuing many options!  Some are completing General Education elements, some are completing a minor, some are completing a second major, some are taking additional courses in the major (ensembles and private lessons or added language courses) that will better prepare them for life after graduation.

No, not at this time.

No. To be eligible, a student must matriculate (i.e., enroll as a degree-seeking student) at PLU by the beginning of Fall 2020.

No. Students who graduated prior to Fall 2020 are not eligible for the PLUS Year.

If you entered PLU as a first year student and Fall 2020 is your 8th semester, then you are eligible for the PLUS Year starting in Spring 2021 for up to two semesters.  If you entered PLU as a transfer or subsequent degree student and Fall 2020 is your 6th semester, then you are eligible for the PLUS Year starting in Spring 2021 for up to two semesters.

All students must enroll for the required number of semesters at full-time status in order to qualify for the PLUS Year, even if they enter PLU with transfer credit.

For instance, Running Start students who enter PLU with 60 credits must continuously enroll for 8 semesters at full-time status in order to qualify for the PLUS Year, even though they might be able to graduate after 4 semesters.  In this case, it is more financially beneficial for a student to graduate after 4 semesters than enroll full-time for 8 semesters only for the purpose of qualifying for the PLUS Year.

The same is true for traditional transfer students who enter PLU with 60 credits.  These students must continuously enroll for 6 semesters at full-time status to qualify for the PLUS Year, even though they might be able to graduate after only 4 semesters.

No. If you graduate before becoming eligible for the PLUS Year, then you are not eligible for the PLUS Year in the future. Like graduate students, you instead become eligible for a $1,000 voucher to be used for select PLU Continuing Education (CE) classes. The voucher cannot be used for PLU graduate classes or toward a graduate degree. A list of voucher eligible, in person and online, CE classes will be shared with students each Spring semester. The availability of these CE classes to PLUS Year students is contingent on the classes meeting minimum enrollment of other paying customers. For additional policies regarding the CE voucher for PLUS Year students, please see the “Graduate Students” section below.  The policies listed in that section also apply to undergraduate students who become eligible for the CE voucher instead of the PLUS Year.

No. Eligibility for the PLUS Year requires continuous enrollment.

Yes. During the PLUS Year, undergraduate students are allowed to enroll for up to two semesters tuition free and take no more than 39 undergraduate credits.  Students will not be allowed to overload in any semester of their PLUS Year.

No.  While students must be continuously enrolled at full-time status until they reach their PLUS Year, they are not required to be full-time during their PLUS Year.

For the purposes of the PLUS Year, semester refers to the fall, spring, and summer terms. J-term on its own is not considered a semester for the PLUS Year.

No. Students who become eligible for the PLUS Year after Spring semester can take the Summer off and then start their PLUS Year in Fall.

No. The PLUS Year cannot be used to pay for coursework in a graduate program.  For undergraduate students, the PLUS Year can be used to explore a topic of interest, finish a degree, delay graduation to add a major or minor, allow for a lighter course load during the pandemic, take prerequisite classes to apply for graduate school, and ultimately, to compensate for the disruption in the student experience that will continue into the 2020-21 academic year.

Yes.  Students receiving tuition remission or tuition exchange are eligible for the PLUS Year. Since tuition remission/tuition exchange and the PLUS Year cover tuition only, students are only eligible for one of these benefits at a time. In other words, tuition remission/tuition exchange and the PLUS Year cannot be combined to cover more than tuition.

Yes. This is one of the PLUS Year’s intended purposes – to help students complete their degree who do not finish on time. Students who enter as first years are expected to graduate after their 8th semester, and transfer and subsequent bachelor’s degree students are expected to graduate after their 6th semester. In addition to the required number of full-time semesters, Nursing students and Music Education students must also complete their program’s academic requirements (with the exception of MUSI 348, EDUC 468, and MUSI 469 for Music Education students).  When considering the PLUS Year, Music Education students must verify timeline and degree requirements with their department.

Yes, but only if you delay your graduation. If you intend to use your PLUS Year to add a major or minor, you should not apply for graduation until requirements for all majors and minors are met. If you apply for graduation and are awarded your degree prior to the start of your PLUS Year, you are still eligible for up to two semesters of tuition free coursework. Coursework taken after graduating cannot be used for additional majors and minors unless you apply and are accepted for a subsequent bachelor’s degree.

Yes, but only during J-term.  Students who participate in J-term Study Away are charged a program fee, not tuition.  As such, students who participate in J-term Study Away over the course of their PLUS Year are responsible for paying the program fee as well as any other costs associated with the study away experience.

Commencement participation is determined by the term you graduate. If you choose to delay graduation, your commencement participation will be delayed similarly.

PLU staff and administrators are currently working to develop registration procedures for students in their PLUS Year.  More details about PLUS Year registration will follow soon.

Students who need to return after their PLUS Year to complete degree requirements will be responsible for all tuition and fees from that point forward.

Yes. However, students in cohorted programs must make progress on their predetermined schedule of major courses. Students in these programs may choose to take additional courses during their PLUS Year outside of their schedule of courses for their cohorted program. Cohorted programs include:

• Social Work
• Nursing
• Education
• Music Education

Yes, but only immediately following your three years of PLU coursework. Students cannot return to PLU after their two years of engineering coursework and take advantage of the PLUS Year.  Students in the 3/2 Engineering program who are interested in pursuing a PLUS Year should consult with PLU’s 3/2 Engineering Program Director.

International students would be eligible for the PLUS Year under certain circumstances: 1) if they add a major and/or minor and use the PLUS Year to complete the additional program requirements; or 2) if they have been approved for post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) and will be using the PLUS Year to take additional classes for enrichment as a non-matriculated student.

In the first scenario, students would complete a Program End Date Extension Request and get a supporting statement from their advisor confirming the changes to their degree plan and expected graduation date due to the addition of a major or minor.

In the second scenario, students would follow the usual process of applying for OPT in the final term before they graduate. Enrolling in classes for personal enrichment as a non-matriculated student would not impact their F-1 status or ability to participate in OPT.

Yes. PLU will continue to calculate academic standing for degree-seeking students in their PLUS Year.

Yes.  Grades earned during the PLUS Year will be transcripted and will have the same cumulative impact on GPA as courses taken in previous semesters.

No. While the vast majority of PLU courses are covered by the PLUS Year, these two courses are not covered, and students should expect to pay tuition for them.