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WASHINGTON (AFP) – The cost of a college education in the United States has long been dazzling, with a year costing tens of thousands of dollars.
But as the coronavirus crisis sets in, students, many of whom borrow heavily to finance their degrees, wonder how to justify spending $ 70,000 a year on … Zoom classes.
They feel like they’re getting the crude end of the deal and are holding their universities accountable.
“We are paying for other services that the campus offers that are not digitized,” says Dhrumil Shah, who is doing a master’s degree in public health at George Washington University.
The 24-year-old was based in part on loans to pay for his two-year program in the American capital. In a few days, you will earn your diploma, but there will be no traditional graduation ceremony.
Shah has signed one of several petitions demanding some form of reimbursement from the school.
“I think the quality of service has decreased,” Chicago-based Shah told AFP.
He complains that the move to distance learning due to Washington’s stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of the deadly virus has resulted in a loss of structure and supervision.
“It prepares the person going through that experience for failure,” he says, admitting that he has become “drastically” unproductive without the responsibility of the in-person classes.
Shah is not alone. Many students have lamented that their quintessential American college experience has been lost: There are no sunny afternoons on college quads playing frisbee, there are no classes in high-tech labs, there are no crazy nights.
Molly Riddick also signed a petition demanding that her school, New York University, make some kind of gesture to compensate her students.
“No matter how much NYU insists otherwise, it is simply not possible to provide a comprehensive performing arts education through Zoom,” he said in a comment on change.org.
Some students have taken their complaints to court. In a complaint seen by AFP, Adelaide Dixon accuses the University of Miami of awarding her a diploma with a “diminished” value due to the nature of the online and pass / fail courses.
She has sued the school for several million dollars, on behalf of about 100 students.
At least 50 American colleges and universities have been sued by students for similar reasons.
What happens in the fall?
Universities have generally remained silent in public about court action.
But those who have spoken insist that they are caught in an unprecedented and difficult situation caused by the pandemic.
While some have partially reimbursed students for room and board, as many left campus in mid-March, none have gone so far as to reimburse tuition for the spring semester.
And the problems could get worse. What happens in the late summer or early fall when classes would generally resume? Will 20 million students return to American campuses?
In university circles, the debate is raging.
“I look forward to coming back,” says Ashwath Narayanan, 19, who attends George Washington University.
He says school officials promised to give him better guidance in the next 10 days, but admitted: “I am mentally preparing myself not to return.”
It is somewhat difficult to imagine how life on campus could return to something akin to normal, as if the virus crisis did not occur.
“Dorms and cafeterias should be treated like grocery stores right now,” with social distancing in effect and plenty of hand sanitizer, Shah says.
Pamella Oliver, the president and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Fullerton, told a virtual city council: “We assume that in the fall, we will be virtual.” But for many schools, offering a virtual future puts additional pressure on students and their parents, who often pay the bill, especially given the dire economic situation in the United States.
“Many students and families will earn less and have less money available for postsecondary education,” said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, in a letter to Congress.
Mitchell predicts that enrollment for the upcoming academic year will decrease by 15 percent, translating into a loss of revenue of $ 23 billion (S $ 32.4 billion) for schools.
The stakes are high.
While the nation’s top universities, such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, have large endowments and the ability to borrow as they please, smaller schools could face bankruptcy if enrollment drops.
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