What school is lowering tuition charge?
Definitely lots of competition…I started a separate thread, but Bard, Franklin & Marshall, St. Olaf, Miami Ohio, and DePaul all still taking apps. That’s well past their deadlines…some reopened the app, not sure DePaul ever closed it.
Many other schools haven’t closed yet either…specifically publics like U Alabama, Rutgers, Pitt. Not all programs/majors may be open at these schools, but many are.
@homerdog Of course, their email didn’t state an exact amount, just that they would be lowering tuition if classes end up being remote for fall semester. But whatever the amount is, we’ll take it!
Actually, we are one of the families that fall in the group of valuing the college ‘experience’ as well as being big believers in the LAC model for our kids so we were committed to proceeding with pre-COVID plan as we are looking at it long term - even if fall or god forbid, the whole year, turns out to be off campus, at least our son will have 3/3.5 years on campus. That is why this is such a nice bonus.
On the topic of putting a price on online versus in person, Harvey Mudd did reduce tuition for their summer session classes to $1500 for online. My D17 is at Pomona and is considering signing up as she thought it was a bargain - not sure what the original price was but she thought it was $4000. Yes, that is just summer and not the regular school year but it is interesting to note.
Summer session generally tends to be a buyer’s (student’s) market, and it does not come with any kind of continuing commitment for either the student or the college, so pricing and other market behavior for summer sessions is more likely to act like a normal market that is relatively unfavorable to sellers (colleges) who have to discount to fill seats.
Oh, okay, I see. You are talking about a scenario where they’d be on campus and then have to leave campus and move to virtual (like they did this spring). I was referring more to a longer-term scenario, once we’re back to a new normal. Everyone is on campus and in the classroom, and the actual class takes place in the classroom with the students present, and it is recorded and made available to the students. It’s a supplement to the in-person class, not a substitute for it. Of course, if there is an interpreter in the class, they could also be included in the video.
Guess I wasn’t clear?
So many of the comments here neglect the reality that states have widely varied strategies (or no strategy at all). Our state is a state working very hard at social distancing and controlling infection numbers. Our curve is low and flat.
There is no conceivable way the governor would permit tens of thousands of students from other states to come undo all the work we have been doing for months, while we still have inadequate testing supplies and PPEs. If there are suddenly massive supplies of all available, MAYBE, but it seems very unlikely.
The local students that are here are doing nothing to convince anyone that they are responsible members of the community by throwing parties and ignoring social distancing rules. Anyone who saw all those students flooding Florida beaches for spring break would question the williness of college students to make mature choices to protect their neighbors if it cuts into their normal college social experience.
I just don’t think it will be up to the larger schools to decide. Tiny schools may have more leeway, but definitely not a 30,000-60,000 student campus. Especially because some of our larger campuses are in rural areas with limited healthcare/hospital beds available for the local community members an influx of students would likely infect.
But what about all the students who have off-campus leases starting in late summer/Fall? I expect many of them intend on showing up, even if school is online.
The students near our big state school campus right now have been told the police will begin fines of $750 if they don’t follow state guidelines around large gatherings. We have rules against gatherings over 10 and some of our off campus houses have at least that many residents in one house. They will also face conduct consequences through the school for parties or gatherings off campus.
It won’t be pretty if students move into off campus apartments and choose not to put the community first. If students move here and respect the rules like everyone else, they will be fine. That doesn’t mean the state will allow schools to open though. The fewer students here, the more likely we are to be able to get numbers down in the state to open businesses etc.
Yes, hopefully they will follow the guidelines in place when they move in to their already paid for and not refundable off-campus housing…many communities will be getting thousands of students moving in come late summer/Fall even if school is online.
Definitely adds a level of complexity, because even if they follow guidelines, they still need to go grocery shopping, etc.
Yeah, sorry, but my family room is not a TV studio. I have a smart phone attached to a support bracket which can look at an old art tablet I’ve taken to writing in as the best “board” option. Plus my laptop, so I’m on Zoom with 2 devices, 2 dogs pestering me, and my H in another room yelling around at his colleagues about punctuation in his proposal. Periodically, I manage to hit the wrong spot on one of my devices somewhere and either cut the video feed or turn to the wrong powerpoint page.
I’m talking into black space. Many of my students don’t have camera feeds, so I can’t see them. If I turn on their microphones, people, kids, and pets provide too much distracting background noise. I assign them youtube videos to watch in lieu of laboratory and I can’t proctor their exams. High-end video equipment? Seriously? I’m an adjunct. CNN this is not.
Email from my wife is going to Dean of Students at my d22s school. It will state that our daughter, several of her friends being named and their parents all want to suggest moving back the start date in lieu of online learning.
This group is just not getting that much from it. The reading and writing papers and lectures simply feeling the same as viewing a good live podcast twice or three times a week- is not the educational experience that we or they all are hoping for at this time.
It’s ok to finish this semester of course and appreciate their quick decision to safely get the students off campus. Ok to offer as a summer option for those who choose.
Professors are humans and they have the same distractions, fears and cabin fever as everyone else. The hour and half interactive lectures are more like 45 minutes and the students just are not as engaged.
Full pay tuition alone is 51k. This isn’t getting it done.
I, for one, thought that this forced migration to online options would lead to a paradigm shift in education. Online breaking out.
After further review, it appears to me that an on campus experience and the absolute luxury of being able to attend any excellent university while having the privilege of an on campus residential life will be appreciated even more. Especially the current students. Many, I feel, had taken it for granted. My d included.
"So many of the comments here neglect the reality that states have widely varied strategies (or no strategy at all). Our state is a state working very hard at social distancing and controlling infection numbers. Our curve is low and flat.
There is no conceivable way the governor would permit tens of thousands of students from other states to come undo all the work we have been doing for months, while we still have inadequate testing supplies and PPEs. If there are suddenly massive supplies of all available, MAYBE, but it seems very unlikely."
Given the guidelines issued by the White House today (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Guidelines-for-Opening-Up-America-Again.pdf) which envisage schools reopening in Phase 2 (and don’t say anything about colleges being treated differently from elementary and high schools) and a minimal interval of 14 days to move from one phase to the next, I think we will see the first states starting Phase 1 (the first stage of opening with schools remaining closed) in early May and many/most others in Phase 1 by the end of May. That gives a lot of time to get to Phase 2 before August.
And I note that the NCAA said no football unless campuses are open (https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/commissioners-tell-vp-mike-pence-college-sports-wont-be-back-until-students-return-to-campus/) so the pressure to get students back to school is only going to increase. One way for high school graduates to pick a school which they are more likely to be able to attend in person in the fall may be to select a top football school.
Our state is in a group with other nearby states who have made it clear they are going to follow their own guidelines, not those from the federal government. The governors seem like they have much stricter ideas about what will keep us safe than the white house.
I will also say that I would not be eager to send my student to one of the states without strict guidelines and guidance. As the parent of a HS junior (who will be on our local state campus full time this year for dual enrollment), several states’ schools are no longer on our list due to how little interest they have shown in protecting public health.
Colleges will definitely be handled differently than other schools. They were the first to close and will surely be one of the last things to open. Every time our governor is talking about concerns with the prisons, the exact same issues are present on college campuses and dorms.
Just watched a very well done Q&A given by the President of Davidson College for admitted students and families. President Quillen first expressed empathy for the difficult decisions incoming and current students are facing. Though there is so much uncertainty, Davidson is hoping to have all students back on campus in the fall but is “modeling multiple scenarios” for the fall semester. In doing so, she said Davidson first and foremost wants its students to retain the kind of intimate college experience which makes Davidson special. The options she mentioned include (1) a delayed start to fall semester or (2) a split semester with the first portion being online and then on campus with a focus on what enrichment opportunities Davidson can provide during the time away from campus.
A few attendees asked about gap year options (since Davidson in the past had a pretty open policy of accepting gap year requests). Though she didn’t directly address those questions she assured that-- in the spirit of Davidson-- incoming students and their families would be given the opportunity to make informed decisions on the best way forward ONCE the college decided on a fall plan. She said Davidson did not want to add to the stress facing students and their families in the midst of this pandemic and basically told incoming students that Davidson has their back.
The federal guidelines put out there were fashioned by the head of the cdc dr Redmond, nih dr Fauci and Ambassador/Dr Birx working with their staffs.
The WH presents these guidelines but it’s not like the businessmen and women on the staff decided.
When the feds create guidelines the states can of course use what they wish. They can also have funding cut. A state can have a 200mph speed limit if they choose for their roads. They might lose federal highway funding.
fed guidelines are strong guardrails that are not taken lightly.
My guess is schools, like states, will be a matrix based on location and the facts in real time later in the summer and fall.
There will be new cases at that time and how we decide to react to them is the key. Isolate, test, treat, trace.
If that’s not available. Stay at home will occur or stay in place.
Online, in general, is simply not as good, and in some cases (lab intensive classes) impossible. The question is how long until students can get back on campus. Our S is finishing undergrad this quarter ( 1 class) and starting his Masters ( 4 classes). Luckily, the classes he’s taking are amenable to online delivery and his schools is experienced with capturing and hosting lectures on video, so he is challenged and putting in many hours on psets. He’s actually teamed up with a fellow student in HI working on a project. That said, he needs to be on campus (that is clear), and if classes are online only in the fall he’ll probably sit out the quarter (or more) and extend his internship (remote if needed).
@privatebanker Please keep us posted on your wife’s email to the Dean of Students at your D22’s school.
My S20 is at a private liberal arts HS that does online learning well and it still is a struggle.
@privatebanker I know a lot of parents who are writing emails to college task forces. It’s good for colleges to know what their current students are thinking. Anyone here who has an opinion should be contacting their students’ college. Some even have forms that parents and students can fill out to give feedback.
@mtnsun13 I will for sure. We are part of the parents council and it will be read for sure. Impact tbd.
Janet Napolitano talks about the UC system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LE8VYYzUKs&feature=youtu.be&t=2135
Schools would have to replenish supplies for labs and cleaning too, which might still be hard to do by August. I know CU donated all its masks, goggles, shoe covers, gloves, and other PPE to locals hospitals, FDs, Police. They went into every supply closet and cleaned them out, including all the food service PPE.
Again, it is not like they can just wipe off counters that haven’t bee used in 5 months and start business as usual.