As classes go online, students want Stanford to lower tuition
School declines, saying it still is offering the full ‘Stanford experience’
STANFORD >> With the prospect of taking online classes for the remainder of the school year, thousands of Stanford University students are asking school officials to lower tuition for the spring quarter, even asking for as much as an 80% discount in some instances.
Provost Persis Drell, however, said in a March 16 letter to students and staff that “there will not be tuition discounts for spring quarter,” addressing the barrage of questions about a tuition decrease as the school remains closed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We realize that for many students, there is a disappointment that the experience of online instruction will not be the same as the Stanford experience they have come to expect,” Drell said in the letter, which followed an earlier announcement that the school would be transitioning to “virtual learning, rather than in-person classes.”
“If a student feels that a spring quarter with online instruction will not meet their expectations, they have the option to take a leave of absence for spring quarter and re-enroll at a later date.”
Three days after Drell’s comments, the school said it would delay the start of spring quarter by a week, to April 6, and cancel graduations and the traditional final exam period.
Now, more than 1,600 students have signed a petition asking the university to “consider the possibility of deducting the tuition for Spring Quarter 2020.” A similar petition asking UC Berkeley officials for a partial tuition reimbursement has garnered more than 1,700 signatures.
In a letter to Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the person who started the petition says students who have signed it “believe that the online education will affect our education experience, as interacting with faculty
and peers actually makes a more essential part of our time spent at Stanford.”
An online campus “makes us unable to enjoy an education experience qualified for the $10,000 we spent for this spring quarter,” the letter says.
With an empty campus, the letter continues, operating costs will be lower, including for instructors, as some classes have been prerecorded and “given to students with little alteration.”
“Plus, the coronavirus is bringing my family a financial crisis, so a reduction of tuition would benefit and even save many families,” the letter says.
At the Stanford School of Business, a different group of more than 700 students signed a letter asking the school to take 80% off spring tuition “to reflect the current price differential between in-person and online programs.”
“We understand that the Provost has stated that the University will not be issuing a discount, but we find this response unacceptable given the dramatic change in the experience, particularly for the GSB,” the petition says. “We also consider her proposal around a leave of absence unacceptable, given that this would defer full-time employment by an additional six months, creating a significant financial burden on students.”
That letter also says several people facing financial uncertainty in both the regular and the one-year business master’s programs have “made extraordinary financial sacrifices to participate in Stanford’s in-person program, and many of us have families who are dependent on us.”
“As an institution that prides itself on leadership and empathy, we are calling on you to exercise both by issuing a significant tuition discount for next quarter,” the petition says. “We recognize that the costs for the university might not change drastically by going online in short order, but we believe there must be increased room in the operating budget, and what is the purpose of our multibillion dollar endowment if not to give us room in times of such crisis?”
A third letter signed by nearly 1,000 graduate students, the majority of whom are law and medical students, asserts that signatories will never donate to Stanford if their demands are not met, prompting a large number of people on the petition to say that they “agree with the sentiment of the letter but not the specific demands contained therein.”
One law student said that taking a leave of absence is not an option for him and that he feels “cornered into paying full sticker.”
“It is incredibly unfair to make graduate students pay for full tuition and housing when the school is unable to provide the majority of the services and resources that were promised as available as part of our education,” School of Law student George Zhang said. “If the experience is not immersive, then it is not full and does not deserve the price tag.”
In a statement to The Mercury News on Monday, Stanford spokesman E.J. Miranda said switching to online instruction “does not eliminate the ongoing costs of providing an education” as tuition does not cover “the full cost of a Stanford education.”
Though the school won’t be lowering tuition, Miranda said, the university has been giving students affected by its coronavirus-related closure an aid package that includes $2,000 for living expenses and other support off campus to help them pay rent, as well as emergency funding and scholarships.
Undergraduate students can take a leave of absence for the spring quarter “for any reason,” and students can receive a full tuition refund if they file for leave by April 13, Miranda said. If they file for leave after that date, Miranda said, they may be able to receive a prorated refund.
“We understand the personal, academic and financial upheaval the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis has caused our students and their families,” Miranda said. “The university stands ready to help students facing financial hardships and we urge them to consult the Financial Aid Office or the appropriate office within their school.”