Auditing of courses can be beneficial to the learning process
By Brian RobinsonReporter, The Voice
Have you ever wanted to take a class just for the sake of learning? Well, you can do just that by auditing a class. The Glendale Community College (GCC) website, Read more on audit gives information on auditing a class, "Auditors are those who enroll in a course for the sole purpose of obtaining information; they receive no credit, grades, homework, or tests."
When you audit a class it's just like you were taking a class, but you receive no grades, or credit for your work. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to this system of learning.
One advantage is that you have the option of just learning about a subject without the worry of upcoming tests or getting homework done before the next class. This would help you to enjoy the class more, and get more out of what is being taught in the course.
One disadvantage to auditing a class is that a $25 fee is added to the tuition and other fees are for the course. With the $25 fee you would end up paying more money than you would be paying for a class that you would receive credit for.
The website states, "Students pay an audit fee for each credit they audit in addition to tuition and fees." Financial aid is not accepted as payment to audit a class. This is another disadvantage to auditing a course. However, an auditing student has the option of actually enrolling in a class for credit, which is an advantage for students.
The GCC website says, "If an auditor wishes to earn credit, he or she must change from audit status to credit status within the first week. If a student wishes to audit a course for which he or she is enrolled for credit, the change must be made within the first five weeks." Outside of paying fees and meeting dealines, auditing a course can be very flexible. The student and teacher can work out a plan that helps the student in the learning process.
If you choose to audit a course that requires a prerequisite, you would need to have passed that prerequisite class before taking the course you actually want to take, making it a disadvantage. Signing up to audit a class is basically just like signing up for any class at GCC. Ask an advisor at the Enrollment Center for more information. They will be glad to answer any questions you may have about auditing a class, and will take you through the process of signing up for a course.
