Booted students can roll over tuition
Lose room and board costs
The 11 first-year Northeastern University students booted for breaking coronavirus rules by gathering inside a hotel dorm room can roll over $27,760 of their tuition, the college said.
The partial reprieve comes as the school tweeted a college appeals board decided to give the freshmen a break.
“While the students remain dismissed … they will continue to have access to academic advising, mental health, and other support services,” NU said. “Nevertheless, the university retains discretion to modify the sanction and, in the case of all 11 students, the tuition portion of their fall semester — $27,760 — will be credited toward the spring semester.”
A semester at Northeastern runs about $36,500.
The Student Conduct Appeals Board — comprised of two administrators and one student — “unanimously upheld” the original penalty, but eased up on the hit to the college bill, the school added in a tweet Thursday evening.
New York lawyer Brett Joshpe, representing two of the students and their families, said the initial discipline was “absurd” and he’s now “evaluating our options, including litigation.” He added keeping $9,000 in room and board that wasn’t used is wrong.
“They were out to just humiliate the kids and their families,” he told the Herald, adding the rules were “unclear” from the start.
The students were given 24 hours to pack up and leave after they were notified earlier this month they would not be allowed to continue with the fall semester.
The 11 students were were found together in a room at the Westin Hotel — a pricey violation of the school’s pandemic-related public health rules. The 11 freshmen were among the 818 students staying in two-person rooms at the Westin.