Hi-Tech U

Map tile

Interior

**Hi-Tech U** (or **Hi-Tech University**) is a Location where players can Enroll and study Degrees, advancing towards their Education Goal and qualifying themselves for certain high-end Jobs. It is also a Workplace.

Getting a Degree requires players to pay a small Enrollment Fee, and then spend up to 60 Hours studying the course (not necessarily all at once). As each Degree is acquired, more Degrees become available for study. Players may enroll in up to 4 courses simultaneously, and may complete them whenever they desire.

Jobs at the University generally require players to hold certain Degrees, but they pay relatively well and give the player a good opportunity to study often. These jobs require no more than Dress Clothes as a Uniform.

## Opening Hours

**Hi-Tech U** is open every Week. Studying or Working at the University require at least 1 Hour remaining on the clock, but you may pay Enrollment Fees even if the turn has already ended.

## Enrolling

Before a player is allowed to study for a Degree, they must first pay their Enrollment Fees. This is done by clicking the "Enroll" button and accepting the fee. Enrollment has a base cost of **$50 per course**, adjusted to the current state of the Economy.

Enrolling allows the player to take one course. A player may enroll multiple times in a row without choosing any course to study; The "Enroll" action simply purchases the *ability* to take one course. For example, a player may pay 5 Enrollment Fees, and only later decide which 5 courses to actually take.

Once enrolled, the player may select any of the courses available to them in the University menu. This turns the course "active", and causes the player to take their first lesson in that course. A number then appears next to the name of the course, showing how many additional Study sessions are required to complete the course and acquire the Degree.

Though Enrollment takes no time off the clock (and can be done even if the player's Turn is over), it is not possible to choose a course (and take your first lesson in it) unless you have at least 1 Hour left on the clock.

## Studying

Selecting a new course from the University menu immediately expends one "enrollment fee" paid by the player, and causes them to take the first lesson in that course. Any additional click on the same course causes the player to take another lesson.

Each time a player takes a lesson in a course, the number on the right side of the course "book" decreases by 1. When this number reaches 0, the player Graduates from the course and acquires the relevant Degree.

By default, each course takes 10 lessons to complete. This number may be reduced by owning certain Durables (see Extra Credit, below), down to a minimum of 8 lessons per course.

To take a lesson, the player must have at least 1 Hour left on the clock. Each lesson advances the clock by 6 Hours. If there are fewer than 6 hours remaining on the clock, the player still takes the entire lesson without any penalty.

If the player has multiple courses "active" at the same time, they may take lessons in any of these courses as they see fit. There is no imperative to Graduate from one course before continuing with another. There is also no time limit on completing a course - you may study and complete it whenever it's suitable for you.

### Extra Credit

Certain Durables can decrease the number of lessons required to Graduate from any course:

* If the player owns a Computer, they require **1 fewer lesson** to Graduate.
* If the player owns an Encyclopedia, Dictionary *and* Atlas, they require **1 fewer lesson** to Graduate. This only applies if all three items are owned.

Owning all four of these Durables reduces the number of lessons required to Graduate to 8 - saving 20% of the time required to complete each course. This can be of extreme importance for players with a high Education Goal.

## Graduating

Once 10 lessons (minus Extra Credit) of a specific course have been completed, the player receives the corresponding Degree. The game signifies this by showing the player's new diploma. It then refreshes the available courses list, removing the completed course and adding any new courses unlocked by completing it.

Beyond the benefits of the Degree itself, there are several important benefits bestowed on a player **each time they Graduate**:

* The player receives **+5 Happiness**.
* The player receives **+5 Dependibility**. This bonus may push Dependibility beyond its normal maximum cap. However, Dependibility will continue to degrade each turn as normal from that point. This bonus somewhat offsets any Dependibility losses incurred by Studying instead of Working.
* The player receives a permanent **+5 Maximum Dependibility** and **+5 Maximum Experience**. They still need to Work to reach these maximums, but once that is achieved the player might be able to qualify for a better job than they could otherwise reach. Graduating from multiple courses may enable a player to go straight from a low-paying job to a high-paying job.

## Work

If you have a Job at the **University**, you can Work here to get money.

## Visuals

Like most other portraits, the Hi-Tech U Professor's face is slightly different in the CD-ROM version of the game.

Professor, CD-ROM version
## Quotes

### Greetings

* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. We will learn you for the future.*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. We'll learn you to talk English good!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Our Geology classes will put rocks in your head!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U, where you'll never be bored of education!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Enroll now for the third trimester!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. All our professors have tweed jackets with elbow patches!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Our diplomas are genuine cheepskin!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Our alumni haven't complained yet!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Next semester is Double Credits Semester!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. When it comes to education, we will NOT be undersold!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Already got your BA and MBA? We'll give you the third degree!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. No matriculating in the dormitories, please!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Enroll now for our fifth quarter!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. You come in with a skull full of mush and you leave thinking like a shyster.*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Draw Kenny and YOU could win an art scholarship!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Check out our Job Displacement Service!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Need financial assistance? What do we look like, a bank?*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U, where one good term deserves another!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. The CIA recruitment center's right here on campus!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Meet Ed Fiz, our Phys Ed instructor!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. CPA degrees or 65% x 1.2146/5ths of your money back!*
* *Welcome to Hi-Tech U. Where our campus ROTC stands for Really Obnoxious Teenage Civilians!*