College in the Age of Covid

[Snicks]

We are all standing by to see if college is going to resume in the Fall. My son is going into his Senior year of college. DD will be starting her freshman year. But, in reality, who wants to pay 30, 40 50K to sit socially distanced in a dorm with no social events, sports, on campus activities, etc? That surely is not what most people are paying for in that tuition. Part of the tuition is the college experience. I think they are going to destroy colleges if we cannot soon return to normal.

[disneysteve]

We are all standing by to see if college is going to resume in the Fall. My son is going into his Senior year of college. DD will be starting her freshman year. But, in reality, who wants to pay 30, 40 50K to sit socially distanced in a dorm with no social events, sports, on campus activities, etc? That surely is not what most people are paying for in that tuition. Part of the tuition is the college experience. I think they are going to destroy colleges if we cannot soon return to normal.

I think I posted previously that college enrollment for the fall is off sharply because of this. A lot of admitted students held off on committing until they know what the fall will look like. If it will be all online, they don't want to be paying full price as you said because they won't be getting the experience they are actually paying for. If that's the case, colleges are going to have to make accommodations and charge less. Their costs will be a lot lower with nobody on campus and no campus activities to run so they'll have the savings there that they can pass along in the form of lower tuition.

[Snicks]

Young adults need to be able to live their lives. They are not in a high risk population. This has reached absurdity.

[cypher1]

The college I go to switched all their courses to online for Fall semester, so I'm not surprised. I'll be curious if Spring will follow. I really couldn't care less about the college experience and hope they start lowering tuition rates if they're going to continue more with online direction.

[Snicks]

The college I go to switched all their courses to online for Fall semester, so I'm not surprised. I'll be curious if Spring will follow. I really couldn't care less about the college experience and hope they start lowering tuition rates if they're going to continue more with online direction.

I see no reason to pay brick and mortar rates. There are online schools that are less expensive. And, you may not want that experience but many do and the college is often selected not only for major but also for Student Life and other opportunities. I also do not believe that the quality of online education is anywhere near the quality of education one receives from an in person professor.

[disneysteve]

Young adults need to be able to live their lives. They are not in a high risk population.

Can you imagine how quickly COVID would spread through a dormitory, with everyone living in close quarters, sharing a community bathroom, etc?

Many students are in a high risk population due to medical conditions - asthma, diabetes, etc. My daughter's freshman roommate had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which can compromise the immune system and make you more prone to infections. Plus what about the professors and other staff members who are older and at risk for various reasons? It's not only about protecting the students.

[disneysteve]

The college I go to switched all their courses to online for Fall semester, so I'm not surprised. I'll be curious if Spring will follow. I really couldn't care less about the college experience and hope they start lowering tuition rates if they're going to continue more with online direction.

If it's online-only, it should be cheaper. You're not getting the same facilities and experiences that are built into the tuition so the price should go down.

[cypher1]

I see no reason to pay brick and mortar rates. There are online schools that are less expensive. And, you may not want that experience but many do and the college is often selected not only for major but also for Student Life and other opportunities. I also do not believe that the quality of online education is anywhere near the quality of education one receives from an in person professor.

I completely agree that others shouldn't have to pay brick and mortar rates if everything is limited or restricted going forward. As well as the majority of online courses being more limited for learning and retaining information in comparison to in class experience. My point was just offering another perspective since I'm older, in a different point in my life, and value my time management from where I was in classes 20 yrs ago. Being back in school part-time has me more focused on completing my program quicker, than paying 2x or 3x more for an experience and being onsite all the time. You don't have to agree with my view, but I'm just sharing a different perspective on the current education system evolving given the circumstances.

[cypher1]

If it's online-only, it should be cheaper. You're not getting the same facilities and experiences that are built into the tuition so the price should go down.

I meant classes normally with in class lecture are all being modified for online only for that semester. I don't believe that will be a permanent transition, but I would think the tuition rate should be adjusted for online costs, which is about $20-30 less than local classes. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the administration leaves it hoping no one will point it out, which is a separate discussion.

[Snydley]

If my child was supposed to start as a freshman in the fall and the school was planning on holding classes virtually the first semester, I would advice him/her to defer until Jan 2021 and make up the credits in the summers. NO WAY would I pay high tuition dollars if my kid could not live on campus and take classes in person.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

[disneysteve]

If my child was supposed to start as a freshman in the fall and the school was planning on holding classes virtually the first semester, I would advice him/her to defer until Jan 2021 and make up the credits in the summers. NO WAY would I pay high tuition dollars if my kid could not live on campus and take classes in person.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

I think that's exactly what many students are doing, hence the lower enrollment numbers. Take a gap year and start later when things are hopefully back to pretty much normal.

It will be interesting to see if schools adjust fees. You shouldn't have to pay for a bunch of services and facilities that you won't actually have access to (fitness center, library, computer center, etc.)

[Snicks]

I completely agree that others shouldn't have to pay brick and mortar rates if everything is limited or restricted going forward. As well as the majority of online courses being more limited for learning and retaining information in comparison to in class experience. My point was just offering another perspective since I'm older, in a different point in my life, and value my time management from where I was in classes 20 yrs ago. Being back in school part-time has me more focused on completing my program quicker, than paying 2x or 3x more for an experience and being onsite all the time. You don't have to agree with my view, but I'm just sharing a different perspective on the current education system evolving given the circumstances.

Yes, I understand. I mean people are going to college at all ages and for a lot of different reasons and times in their lives. I do think many degrees could be much more streamlined. But, they hold the keys and make everyone jump through the hoops

[moneybags]

I think that's exactly what many students are doing, hence the lower enrollment numbers. Take a gap year and start later when things are hopefully back to pretty much normal.

It will be interesting to see if schools adjust fees. You shouldn't have to pay for a bunch of services and facilities that you won't actually have access to (fitness center, library, computer center, etc.)

My daughter is a grad student and she received a refund for fees for the Spring semester, so I assume they will adjust fees in the Fall semester in a similar fashion.

[disneysteve]

My daughter is a grad student and she received a refund for fees for the Spring semester, so I assume they will adjust fees in the Fall semester in a similar fashion.

That's good to hear. It's certainly the right thing to do, not charge students for things they aren't actually getting.

[cypher1]

My daughter is a grad student and she received a refund for fees for the Spring semester, so I assume they will adjust fees in the Fall semester in a similar fashion.

Ah, that probably explains the refund email I keep getting from BankMobile (?) service through my college. I kept thinking it was a scam saying i got a free $100.