As more colleges stay online, students demand tuition cuts

As more universities abandon plans to reopen and decide instead to keep classes online this fall, it's leading to conflict between students who say they deserve tuition discounts and college leaders who insist remote learning is worth the full cost.

Disputes are flaring both at colleges that announced weeks ago they would stick with virtual instruction and at those that only recently lost hope of reopening their campuses.

Among the latest schools facing pressure to lower tuition are Michigan State University and Ithaca College, which scrapped plans to reopen after seeing other colleges struggle to contain coronavirus outbreaks.

The scourge has killed more than 175,000 people in the United States. Worldwide, the confirmed death toll hit 800,000 on Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and cases were nearing 23 million.

In petitions started at dozens of universities, students arguing for reduced tuition say online classes fail to deliver the same experience they get on campus. Video lectures are stilted and awkward, they say, and there's little personal connection with professors or classmates.

Many schools, however, respond that they have improved online classes since the spring. Some have instituted decreases of 10 percent or more, but many are holding firm on price.

At Michigan State, senior Tyler Weisner said the online classes he took last spring were less effective than what he gets on campus.

Weisner, who started a petition to reduce tuition, said he's also missing out on many of the benefits of college.

“You're paying that price tag because colleges bring students from all over the country together, to experience different cultures,” he said.

“People don't just choose strictly off education or the professor. They want a nice place to live and a new experience.”

Similar petitions have been started at schools from Rutgers University in New Jersey to the University of Southern California. Plans to continue virtual instruction this fall are further angering many students who were frustrated by the experience of studying online last spring, when colleges across the US abruptly sent students home as the pandemic intensified.

In the wake of that, students at more than 100 colleges filed lawsuits demanding partial refunds.

It also renews a wider debate about the cost and value of a college degree.

After years of increases, many students said they could barely afford tuition before the pandemic. Now, as families around the country struggle, many say there's a new need to rein in costs.

Some colleges lowered tuition as they moved classes online, often acknowledging families' hardships and the differences in online classes.

Several universities in Washington, DC, lowered prices by 10 per cent, including Georgetown University.

Princeton University also cut tuition by 10 per cent.

In Massachusetts, Williams College announced a 15 per cent discount after moving to a mix of online and in-person classes.

Others, however, have refused. Harvard University is charging full tuition, about USD 50,000 per year, even though all undergraduate classes will be online this fall. The Ivy League school invited freshmen to live on campus while taking classes online, but about 20 per cent have deferred enrollment, the university announced.

Many colleges had hoped to bring students back, with major modifications. But after outbreaks at many of the first campuses to reopen — often tied to off-campus parties — some are retreating from their plans.