(03-17-2020, 04:54 PM)doug Wrote: Stanford has announced that all classes for the Spring Quarter will be online only at least to start. The administration hasn’t taken a formal position as to whether there will be any in-person classes at all during the Spring Quarter. Stanford has further announced that financial aid for the Spring will be reduced to reflect the lower cost to students of not living on campus. Yet the administration has also said there will be no reduction in tuition for Spring Quarter due to the online classes.
So students will at a minimum be partly deprived of the on campus experience during the Spring, and may be completely deprived for the entire quarter, but will receive no reduction in tuition. I might feel differently about such a decision for a less wealthy school, but that doesn’t seem to me to be the right thing for Stanford to do.
Sounds right to me.
Let's remember those families not making 6 figures annually are not paying anything anyway.
Those making big money likely would not NEED the money.
I get that Stanford might not NEED the money from those top 1% families, but Stanford is in the community of colleges and universities. If Stanford offers a discount then other schools would be under pressure to do a similar thing. Many would not survive the enrollment decline all schools are likely to see plus giving big discounts to those that attend. In the end Stanford might offer a reduction but I don't think Stanford should lead especially before the Federal government has announced any programs regarding forgiving student loans for the 2019-2020 year, or pegging interest rates to zero percent, or whatever.
The room and board thing is a bit quirky, but that particular part of financial aid is in the FAFSA playbook. At other schools students move off campus and get aid package adjustments all of the time. I am not super familiar with the formulas, but it wouldn't shock me to see that a school must update the package if students move from on-campus to living at home.
In the end, the financial aid gets very complicated and with so many Bay Area employees stuck at home it would be very hard to craft a new policy on this very complicated topic on teleconference BEFORE the Federal government has given guidance on any aspect of student loans, FAFSA, stimulus, etc.
FWIW - There won't be any in person classes. The University knows it. The students know it. The faculty knows it too. Best to have to announce the school will offer classes and declare they will make adjustments as we go. Remember that seniors, in particular, need some assurances that courses will be held so they can graduate on time. That's more critical to know than the cost of the classes.
Graduate into what will be the worst economic environment in two generations, but still graduate.
Most businesses just don't have a global pandemic scenario in their playbook. Everyone is making this up as they go. But at least now students know they don't need to try to find flights back to the SF Bay Area or off-campus housing.
I think most students left for Spring Break understanding their return to campus was HIGHLY unlikely. And then got messages right at the start of that weekend noting returning to campus would not happen this year.
Most of this has happened in less than 7 business days. And it is not as if the employees at Stanford don't have other worries to deal with (like say...their survival given their workplace has had multiple cases identified already).
So given all of that...Yeah, I think it is fine.
Health first...financial issues must be secondary.