Empty colleges still charging full price
Stanford undergraduate students begin their spring quarter Monday scattered across the country as they shift to the curious reality of online classes.
Another, more familiar reality looms May 15 when tuition is due for the quarter.
That’s a hefty number at Stanford, ranging from at least $17,619 for undergrads to $20,725 for law school students and $24,354 for firstyear business school students. Despite three petitions demanding a reduction in spring quarter tuition, Stanford plans to charge full fare amid disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
This decision, reiterated in an email Provost Persis Drell sent to students Thursday, reflects a wider saga unfolding at colleges and universities throughout the Bay Area and the nation. The coronavirus has thrust the spring term into upheaval, jeopardized summer programs and even threatened the 202021 school year.
So, not surprisingly, students are clamoring for relief on tuition, given the move to online instruction and the pandemic’s economic impact on families. Universities and colleges, confronting their own severe financial issues, largely are holding firm.
Like Stanford, the University of California and California State University systems will not offer tuition reductions for the spring term, according to spokespersons. They are giving prorated refunds for housing and dining services (as is Stanford), because most students left campus for the rest of the school year.
Students sought more in petitions circulated on change.org. Stanford undergraduates secured 1,758 signatures, as of Friday, on their petition calling for a deduction in tuition; graduate/professional students and business school students crafted similar petitions.
But last week’s email from Drell, sent to the entire campus community, flatly stated, “Tuition remains unchanged” for the spring quarter. Drell also announced Stanford’s summer program will be online only, and she and university President Marc TessierLavigne will take 20% cuts to their base pay.
Much of Drell’s email focused on the economic crunch Stanford faces, though she insisted the university would “provide financial assistance to students in need.”
“The scale of disruption created by the COVID19 pandemic is unprecedented in most of our lifetimes,” Drell wrote. “… We understand family circumstances are changing, and we will work with students and families in financial distress due to the coronavirus pandemic to ensure you are able to continue your education at Stanford.”
As for the university’s finances, Drell added, “The challenge begins in the current fiscal year, when we are seeing both increased costs associated with our pandemic response as well as major loss of revenue from programs that are being canceled or curtailed. We also expect major financial impacts in fiscal year (202021).”
This response did not exactly placate student groups. They are fully aware Stanford valued its endowment at $27.7 billion as of Aug. 31, 2019. A U.S. News & World Report story in September ranked the school’s total third in the nation, behind Harvard and Yale.
On Friday, the day after Provost Drell’s email, the Stanford students who initially organized the graduate and professional student petition provided a statement to The Chronicle, expressing their disappointment in the university’s position.
“In three separate petitions, thousands of Stanford students implored the administration to address the challenges facing the Stanford community during the COVID19 pandemic,” the statement read. “Despite multiple attempts by Stanford’s student leaders to meet with the administration, President Marc TessierLavigne and Provost Persis Drell have been unwilling to engage with students directly.
“Instead, their policy changes ignore the needs of Stanford graduate and professional students and the hardships many are now facing.”
In its letter delivered to TessierLavigne on March 26, the students raised the possibility of Stanford tapping into its endowment to cope with “this emergency.” The letter, beyond requesting a tuition reduction this spring, suggested the school’s inaction could have longlasting implications.
“If Stanford assists students in this time of need, then many of us will feel indebted to this institution and proud to be associated with it,” the letter read. “However, if Stanford fails to take meaningful action, we will not donate to the university in the future unless we have already made commitments to do so.”
UC Berkeley students launched a petition of their own, gathering nearly 2,400 signatures. That petition noted the University of Maryland Board of Regents unanimously voted in favor of partial refunds of spring fees in response to coronavirus disruptions.
But the University of California system has avoided a similar move, to the dismay of students such as Bradley Devlin.
Devlin, a senior from Yorba Linda (Orange County) majoring in political economics, returned home to help his dad run his small business during the coronavirus crisis. Devlin pointed to the oncampus resources and professor visits not available to students the rest of the spring semester.
“You’re not getting the full value of these services you’re accustomed to,” he said in a phone interview.
Another factor worth considering: Medical and education students, for example, will lose valuable inperson experience because of the move to online instruction. So they’re paying full price for an education that might not leave them fully prepared to enter the job market.
Devlin proposed a prorated tuition refund for the balance of the semester, deducting the standard online instruction rate at UC Extension from the inperson tuition on campus. Total tuition and fees for a full semester at UC Berkeley is $8,769 for California residents and $23,646 for nonresidents.
“The effect would be that students paid tuition expenses up until the last day of class, and then pay the online rate for the rest of the semester,” Devlin said. “This would put money in the pockets of hurting families who need those funds to get by.”
He added of the administration’s intent not to reduce tuition, “It would say a lot about the university’s values, or lack thereof, if they go through with a plan like this.”
Andrew Gordon, associate director of media relations for UC’s office of the president, acknowledged the serious health and financial concerns students and families have because of the coronavirus pandemic. He also insisted the university’s campuses are still offering an experience commensurate with the cost.
“Students are generally able to access all required instructional materials, complete their coursework, make timely progress toward their degree and earn full course credit,” Gordon said in an email to The Chronicle. “Mandatory university charges for tuition and student services will continue to help cover ongoing operations such as the delivery of instruction and the cost of student services such as registration, financial aid and remote academic advising.”
Michael Uhlenkamp, senior director of public affairs for the Cal State University office of the chancellor, made a similar point. Cal State campuses are still operating and delivering instruction, Uhlenkamp said, even if it’s in a “different manner” than when the semester started.
E.J. Miranda, senior director of media relations at Stanford, said online instruction “does not eliminate the ongoing costs” of providing an education and support to students.
“The university remains deeply committed to providing an engaging and rigorous quarter for students,” Miranda wrote in an email.