Lang students aired their concerns about The New School’s transition to online learning during a Zoom-hosted Lang student virtual town hall Thursday. Three dozen students and faculty attended the town hall, hosted by Eugene Lang College Dean and Literary Studies Professor Stephanie Browner and joined by Senior Director of Academic Advising and Career Development Keisha Davenport as well as Senior Director for Global Engagement and International Support Services Gale Lynch, among other Lang Faculty members.
The town hall event focused on three main topics: tuition refunds, a cash refund of printing points, and clarity on attendance policies amidst the switch to online learning.
Tuition
As the student body rails against the impending 3.8% tuition increase and advocates for a tuition refund, Dean Browner claimed a refund would threaten the continuation of the semester. “The University is committed to making sure the semester wraps up, students get their credits, and to do refunds would start to jeopardize that,” said Dean Browner. “They’re also committed to paying all workers, even workers whose jobs will not be done because they require being on campus, so no one is losing income.”
The New School estimates that their plan to refund on-campus students, at a prorated rate, for their housing and meal plan costs will incur a 9 million dollar loss upon the university, according to Dean Browner.
Noting that The New School’s financial loss due to COVID-19 could be greater, Dean Browner said, “All that said, it doesn’t speak to the sense that many students have that this is not the education they pay tuition for and the sense of loss of the quality of the education.”
Speaking of the prorated housing and meal plan refunds, Gale Lynch said the original estimate for refunds was 6-8 weeks, further explaining that the process has been expedited and that the refunds will go out through the first and second weeks of April.
Resources
Printing points, the University Learning Center, and postgraduate resources are tuition funded resources that add up, as Lang Student Aleyna Ndaw noted. “Now we don’t have access to printing at school, for example, so I want to make sure that school will be taking that into account,” said Ndaw, a second year sociology major. Ndaw went on to say she hopes this year’s printing points will be rolled-over or refunded.
A potential refund of printing points is under consideration, according to Davenport, saying, “That would be for a student who, perhaps, added money to their account.”
The University Learning Center remains available for online tutoring, Monday through Saturday, and created a “Strategies for Studying Online” guide sheet. International Student & Scholar Services have transitioned to remote operations and have posted a Frequently-Asked-Questions page pertaining to the Visa processes. Resources for graduating seniors, such as broader access to facilities and equipment following graduation, are also being considered.
Attendance
As students and staff log onto Zoom from different time zones, concerns over attendance, especially for international students, arose. While faculty are instructed to take attendance through Starfish, Dean Browner explained, “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a record of if you attended a particular Zoom meeting, but that the student is continuing to submit or participate.”
For international students, Gale Lynch noted that international students are under more strict guidelines for proving progress in their degrees and that being in class is required.
In order to mitigate Academic related expenses, the Lang Student Emergency Relief Fund has been created with the aim of providing up to $1500 per student of relief for materials like laptops, utility bills relating to internet services, and textbooks. The application for this fund is said to be released shortly.