As Colleges Move Classes Online, Families Rebel Against the Cost

[Merlin]

More people complaining about schools going online without reducing tuition. Of course they see this as a reduced quality of education (which it doesn't have to be if done right) and they don't realize that at many schools, a lion's share of the tuition goes into financial aid programs to compensate for reduced government support. So they probably cannot reduce tuition by too much or risk losing student aid for those who need it.

Yes, the schools should definitely refund student housing and campus-related fees, but schools are likely to be paying more to transition to support online tools and services and to hire people with online experience to set up and manage everything, so tuition reductions are a heavy ask... especially for smaller schools without external support who operate on thin margins.

This mostly comes down to a stigma against online education and people seeing it as inferior. Which again, it doesn't have to be if the schools prepare properly. At least IMO.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/co...ition.html

[LevelUP]

More people complaining about schools going online without reducing tuition. Of course they see this as a reduced quality of education (which it doesn't have to be if done right) and they don't realize that at many schools, a lion's share of the tuition goes into financial aid programs to compensate for reduced government support. So they probably cannot reduce tuition by too much or risk losing student aid for those who need it.

Yes, the schools should definitely refund student housing and campus-related fees, but schools are likely to be paying more to transition to support online tools and services and to hire people with online experience to set up and manage everything, so tuition reductions are a heavy ask... especially for smaller schools without external support who operate on thin margins.

This mostly comes down to a stigma against online education and people seeing it as inferior. Which again, it doesn't have to be if the schools prepare properly. At least IMO.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/co...ition.html

There isn't much difference if you are sitting in a classroom or watching the teacher via zoom.  But kids feel like they should be given a discount.

It is a big mess for schools.  They have a lot of fixed costs and aren't set up for a fully online school.  Some have bloated pension plans and were already having problems before the crisis.  Without sports, that is a major source of revenue.  They are already losing tons of money and can't afford to discount tuitions. 

The smaller community colleges will get crushed if this goes on much longer.  People will just go to places like WGU or wherever is the cheapest.  The big state colleges should survive.

By the end of the year, lots of vaccines will likely be released.  The question will be if they work at all, work permanently, and are safe to use.

I still favor the idea of going HAM (Hard as a MF) on testing:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...ay/615217/


Go to http://archive.vn/ to read nytimes or get around those annoying paywalls.

[cerich67]

MAny parents are paying for networking, especially higher ranked schools, as much as an education for their kids, they see that value gone.

[cannoda]

More people complaining about schools going online without reducing tuition. Of course they see this as a reduced quality of education (which it doesn't have to be if done right) and they don't realize that at many schools, a lion's share of the tuition goes into financial aid programs to compensate for reduced government support. So they probably cannot reduce tuition by too much or risk losing student aid for those who need it.

Yes, the schools should definitely refund student housing and campus-related fees, but schools are likely to be paying more to transition to support online tools and services and to hire people with online experience to set up and manage everything, so tuition reductions are a heavy ask... especially for smaller schools without external support who operate on thin margins.

This mostly comes down to a stigma against online education and people seeing it as inferior. Which again, it doesn't have to be if the schools prepare properly. At least IMO.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/co...ition.html

Your analysis is spot on.  However, I don't see online as equivalent to face-to-face in a traditional college setting, at least for traditional-age college students.     

I have long said that freshman learn more in their dorms and extracurricular activities than they do in their classes.  There is a richness of experience living on campus. For many it is the first time in their lives where they have to live and deal with people from different cultures, backgrounds, and educational experiences. For the first time in their lives many on-campus freshman have to make decisions without the readily available input and influence of parents. 

As a professor, I saw distinct differences in student engagement and the conduct of group projects with the emergency switch from face-to-face to online instruction in the eleventh week of a 15-week semester.  A student's bedroom or parent's basement has far more distractions relative to a classroom.  There were also significant issues with students living in remote rural locations with slow and unreliable internet access.  I also observed that many students took on jobs when they got home that conflicted with or reduced the time for coursework. In a pandemic, no less.

I believe that the online stigma isn't much different and is probably derived from the "part-time," "correspondence," and "night school" stigmas that has been around for decades.  It is only in the past six or seven years or so that traditional colleges have begun to accept online courses and degrees as equivalent to their face-to-face equivalents.  My transcripts (from a few decades ago) clearly indicate the courses were completed by correspondence even though they had the same course numbers and syllabi as the face-to-face class and were taught by regular (tenured) faculty members.

[nomaduser]

They should offer 80% tuition discount!

[Life Long Learning]

Southern Oregon University now charges $1000 more per term due to online.?

[Elitis]

More people complaining about schools going online without reducing tuition. Of course they see this as a reduced quality of education (which it doesn't have to be if done right) and they don't realize that at many schools, a lion's share of the tuition goes into financial aid programs to compensate for reduced government support. So they probably cannot reduce tuition by too much or risk losing student aid for those who need it.

I just recently learned this and it's fascinating. I never realized this was part of why college is generally so expensive. Just how much does this tend to increase tuition costs? I'm assuming a good portion of tuition is going towards sports as well as facilities. Just how much could feasibly be cut to reduce costs?

[Lacedonia4]

Maybe it will bring the costs down to a more realistic level, as colleges are so overpriced in the US.

Campus life can be distracting and despite the multiculturalism which one can be exposed to anytime to if you live in a big city, colleges tend to really homogenize the ideological diversity.

It is a move in the right direction now that parents finally realize cost/worth ratio of a college education.

Maybe this covid situation was a sobering experience for colleges, parents and students alike.

[rachel83az]

More people complaining about schools going online without reducing tuition. Of course they see this as a reduced quality of education (which it doesn't have to be if done right) and they don't realize that at many schools, a lion's share of the tuition goes into financial aid programs to compensate for reduced government support. So they probably cannot reduce tuition by too much or risk losing student aid for those who need it.

I just recently learned this and it's fascinating. I never realized this was part of why college is generally so expensive. Just how much does this tend to increase tuition costs? I'm assuming a good portion of tuition is going towards sports as well as facilities. Just how much could feasibly be cut to reduce costs?

In addition, how many students wouldn't even need the financial assistance if tuition weren't so high in the first place? 

Sports does cost a lot but it also can bring in a ton of money for the school. Not only does sports mean ticket sales but also increased merchandise sales. There is a big push to buy hoodies, water bottles, backpacks, etc. to show support for the local sportsball team. I used to live near ASU. Their teams are relatively popular. A lot of the people who wear ASU merch locally are probably not students, staff, nor alumni. That's money that the school wouldn't be getting without its teams. I'd definitely be interested in seeing a breakdown of how much sports teams cost colleges vs. what they bring in. I guess we'll be running a huge experiment this year to find out the actual cost/benefit of sports to a college.

[Life Long Learning]

More people complaining about schools going online without reducing tuition. Of course they see this as a reduced quality of education (which it doesn't have to be if done right) and they don't realize that at many schools, a lion's share of the tuition goes into financial aid programs to compensate for reduced government support. So they probably cannot reduce tuition by too much or risk losing student aid for those who need it.

I just recently learned this and it's fascinating. I never realized this was part of why college is generally so expensive. Just how much does this tend to increase tuition costs? I'm assuming a good portion of tuition is going towards sports as well as facilities. Just how much could feasibly be cut to reduce costs?

In addition, how many students wouldn't even need the financial assistance if tuition weren't so high in the first place? 

Sports does cost a lot but it also can bring in a ton of money for the school. Not only does sports mean ticket sales but also increased merchandise sales. There is a big push to buy hoodies, water bottles, backpacks, etc. to show support for the local sportsball team. I used to live near ASU. Their teams are relatively popular. A lot of the people who wear ASU merch locally are probably not students, staff, nor alumni. That's money that the school wouldn't be getting without its teams. I'd definitely be interested in seeing a breakdown of how much sports teams cost colleges vs. what they bring in. I guess we'll be running a huge experiment this year to find out the actual cost/benefit of sports to a college.

In only the about top 30 football schools are Athletics Self-Supporting.  The rest lose money.
https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/...ending.pdf