A Seat in the Class

Audit a Duke University course for $100 per course credit

Morgan deBlecourt in a Sanford School classroom.
Duke Health's Morgan deBlecourt audited a class in the Sanford School of Public Policy last fall. Photo by Travis Stanley.

As a writer with Duke Health Marketing & Communications, Morgan deBlecourt relishes learning about the ground-breaking treatments and compassionate care delivered at Duke. She’s also curious about how that work fits into a complicated health care system.

So, every Thursday afternoon last fall, deBlecourt sat in a class at the Sanford School of Public Policy alongside Duke undergraduates for Public Policy 165: Introduction to the United States Health Care System.

“I wanted to know more about how everything works,” said deBlecourt, who enrolled as an auditor. “My job is to encourage people to seek quality health care, so what can I learn about health policy and health insurance and social determinates of health that can help me do that?”

With bright, engaging faculty and students, the classroom experience is what makes Duke University a world-class institution of learning. Employees may enroll as auditors in certain undergraduate courses. While auditors don’t receive academic credit and aren’t responsible for assignments or tests, they benefit by absorbing lessons, completing readings and contributing to discussions.

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Duke’s Employee Tuition Assistance Program (ETAP), administered by Duke Human Resources, does not cover non-credit work and cannot be used for audit fees. Learn more about how you can audit Duke courses.

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Sanford School of Public Policy Associate Research Professor Nathan Boucher, who taught the course deBlecourt attended, said auditors add valuable perspectives that might not otherwise be represented in class.

“It elevates the class discussion when people bring their wisdom and lived experience to the conversation,” he said.
“The questions they ask are grounded in reality and practicalities. It really elevates the experience for everybody in the classroom, including myself.”

Auditing a course through Duke Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education requires obtaining the instructor’s permission, completing an online personal information form and paying a fee. Fall or spring semester course fees are $535 per course credit, though eligible Duke employees can audit many undergraduate courses in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, and the Sanford School of Public Policy for $100 per course credit.

Applications to audit spring 2025 courses will be accepted from late November until Jan. 5, 2025.

“Learning is for a lifetime,” said Duke Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education’s Director of Academic Studies Kim Price. “At an institution where teaching is what we do, having pathways for people to keep learning is very important.”

Price said foreign language courses, such as Chinese and Malagasy, are popular with auditors, though, due to demand, Spanish courses are unavailable for audit.

DeBlecourt finished last fall’s class at Sanford with a deeper understanding about the health care system. She learned how medical insurance evolved, how money flows through the system and the challenges of paying for late-life care, which inspired her to speak with her parents about their plans.

“This is such a great perk,” deBlecourt said. “It’s something that you only find at an academic institution like Duke.”

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