 Media Credit: Rockhurst.edu Alex Luedtke is trying to get his work recognized by Rockhurst.
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Alex Luedtke is an ambitious young man. As a senior, he assuredly had the option of easing through his final year here at Rockhurst, fulfilling a few credits, dedicating himself to a class such as Basic Racquetball and Badminton. But no, Alex carries a full course load; 18hrs of credit, and not a single one is capable of being deemed anything short of demanding. On top of it all, Alex works roughly 20 hours a week preparing Liberty Memorial Museum for its grand opening on December 2nd. He prepares graphics, researches for the museum's educational department, finds quotes for specific exhibits, and it is all simply for the experience, Alex is paid no money for his time and his undeniable contribution. As with many internships offered through Rockhurst, Alex's work at Liberty Memorial had the potential to be accredited by the University. The work was relative to Alex's major, history, and the credit hours seemed to act as a reward to his many hours spent at the museum. In this sense, Rockhurst was applauding his determined work ethic. The University even wrote an article about Alex's hard work, letting it stand as the front page to the University website for quite some time early on in the semester. The article spoke very highly of Alex, praising his efforts and specifically the job that he was serving at the memorial. Alex was their poster-boy, showing that the University possesses ambitious students, and, perhaps more importantly, that the University adequately rewards such ambition. Or does it? Weeks ago, Alex was informed that the credits acquired through the internship would leave him with 21 credit hours total, and therefore an additional bill of $2025. Sorry Alex, Rockhurst policy.
The policy is in fact quite clear. Any student can find it spelt out in the Rockhurst Course Catalog. It basically states that any credits exceeding the University's limit of 18 are to be charged full price and the charge is then to be tacked on to the student's bill.
The internship was first suggested to Alex during the Spring 2006 semester and he began work at the memorial during the latter part of this summer. The previous internship coordinator, who originally set up Alex's work at the Memorial, told him to accredit the hours to his fall semester. She was well aware of his 18-hour schedule at the time and did not inform him of the charges that would stem from the additional credits.
2008 Woodie Awards
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