We have 16 students in our rentals. No idea how many will be able to continue paying rent, or how many of our other tenants will be able to pay April, or how many vacancies we may end up with :(. We expect to take a hit like everyone else. Fortunately we have enough equity that it’s unlikely to pull us under. The inevitability of the whole situation is daunting.
At our college only a few students are still here (due to finances or other extenuating circumstances), so the campus is still open but on an extremely limited basis. The extra cleanings are being done by staff who would normally be on campus anyway but no longer have a lot of dorms or campus events to occupy their time. So I don’t think there’s any extra cost there.
Our faculty already has online technology. All the professors are issued a computer when they get hired and they get upgrades every few years. The campus already has licenses with Zoom and similar vendors, so any extra costs there would be minimal. A few professors may need an external mic or camera, but those are inexpensive.
Staff pay is already in the budget, so there aren’t any extra costs there either. And most of us are working at home, so the only difference there is that we’re using our utilities and not theirs.
Colleges have budgets for things they’re no longer going to be using much: paper, printing, ink, department events, student travel, campus wide events, etc. I think some of the money they need to reimburse families can come out of this year’s unused budget lines.
CU has announced that summer school classes will be online, at least those that start before July 1. They do not expect dorms to open for students this summer.
Big customers of the dorms in the summer are all the youth camps - baseball, tennis, cheer leading, debate, government, etc. It’s not looking like these will happen, at least in June.
Room and board refunds can ding a budget for several million dollars in a midsize university. The University of Maine refund to cover room/board is $13 million-Inside Higher Ed-March 26. That is a big hit. There is great uncertainty of the number of foreign students who will attend the next semester, a number of these are full pay. Summer programs that generated income more than likely will be cancelled or cut back. Also uncertain is what yield will be due to economic considerations.
But they also will not have revenue from summer use of the dorms as hotels or classrooms for conferences, etc…
Haven’t seen this mentioned…UofSC announced May commencement has been moved (optimistically) to August. It will be live-streamed for those who can’t attend in August.
Any other colleges?
Purdue is doing a virtual graduation and an in person one in August for those who can get back.
Penn will hold a virtual commencement and an in person one on a date yet to be determined.
In response to requests by students for partial refunds of their tuition, the dean of NYU Tisch posts a video of her performing a weird dance to REM music: https://news.avclub.com/nyu-tisch-dean-replies-to-pleas-for-tuition-refunds-wit-1842526202
I don’t know what to say.
588 That is so bizarre and out of touch!
Even more befuddling when you know that “Losing my religion” is actually an old southern expression for being at the end of one’s rope, and the moment when politeness gives way to anger. Is she trying to express her anger, make fun of the students’ anger, or simply so clueless that she doesn’t understand the meaning of the song she’s dancing to?
That video… wow. No words.
Ironic that the dean of a well-known performing arts school is tone deaf.
GW messed this who thing up royalty. They rushed kids out Spring Break right after midterms and told them they needed to just bring what they needed for 3 weeks and sometime after April 5th they could get their stuff. Well at some point they knew this was not happening after everyone was gone and sent out a Survey asking if students wanted the school to pack and store for them, or if they would like to come back and get their stuff. Then on a Friday after 5pm they announce they there is no longer a choice and some 3rd party moving company will be coming in and packing and storing everyones crap (and maybe shipping stuff). If they knew this was coming, earlier this week they could have allowed some staggered move outs for those who wanted to , to be done by this Sunday Or they should allow those who want to wait, to see if they can pick up later. My D left things that cannot go into storage and she needs sooner than later. you are talking about over 7 thousand students. They messed this up big time . They should still pack and store for those that picked that option, but allow time for the others to get their stuff as when it is safe.
Since there are non-single rooms or apartments, what is the chance that the movers will put everything into the correct boxes for each student?
So going up to Ann Arbor in an hour or so to spend a day or two with my son at his apartment. He is by himself and “busy”. Always busy… Lol.
He asked if I wanted to stay there since my mother is 90 and really doesn’t want anyone from the “outside” coming in. He also said that he wants to cook a meal for me since he never did that… Did the cvid virus get ahold of my son and make him delirious?? Not wasting this opportunity… Lol.
I am bringing his favorite Chicago deep dish pizza (Art of Pizza on North Ashland. Yes, I will wipe down the box BTW. Have wipes.
I am also bringing him stuff that is hard to find for him like TP, wipes, Zinc tablets. He really hasn’t gone anywhere. Might take a walk and/or go for a drive to look at where housing is off campus for him for next year. Just like to get him out a bit. Exciting trips to Aldis and the like are planned…
My wife made him Passover sedar food, if he doesn’t come home. We can do something virtual with him if not. He can freeze the food till then.
Planning on leaving between the Chicago and Michigan storms.
What a mess. I agree poor leadership and decision making. After going back to my daughter’s college to pack up her stuff (room of 4 gals)…I can say with certainty that there’s no way movers would be able to figure out whose stuff is whose.
Finally got a chance to sit down and catch up…wow…what the hell is the Tisch video thing? I would pull my kid out just for that…LOL…
When people ask me about Tisch that is the Video I am sending them.
I don’t think you can blame GW. Everything is changing so fast.
A friend’s son came home for spring break and assumed he’d go back and live in his off campus apartment and take online classes. That was two weeks ago but before he’d even finished his spring break the school had ‘suggested’ all who could stay home stay home. So then he flew back to pick up his things.
The schools really thought they’d reopen. The NBA and NHL never thought their seasons would be suspended for a week, never mind probably for the season.
My daughter was living with her boyfriend and he’s enlisted in the Army, was supposed to report on March 31. I kept telling her that if she wanted to move back, she’d better do it now. She finally did drive across 6 states on Thurs. On Friday, there was a storm that closed access and now they are trying to restrict interstate travel. And he was just told that his report date is suspended until Aug, after being told right up until Friday it would not be. They’ve given up their jobs, their apartment, and sold or packed all their things.
Wake Forest cancels on campus classes for spring and summer, postpones on campus commencement, to issue prorated refunds for housing and meals:
Dear Wake Forest Community,
My message today is one of continued gratitude. Thank you, to our faculty and staff working to sustain our vital educational mission through remote learning options. Thank you, to the essential staff still on campus delivering resources and support to approximately 400 students, who, out of necessity, still call our campus home. And thank you, to our students who are adapting to a new learning experience and adjusting expectations along with the rest of us for how this semester will play out. I am grateful to all of you for your flexibility in these unprecedented times.
The public health community is now unified in their advice that we will not be able to resume in-person classes this spring. Therefore, Wake Forest courses will be delivered remotely for the remainder of the semester. This one decision has an impact on final exams, refunds for housing and meal plans, summer school and summer international trips, and the logistics of safely retrieving personal belongings from residence halls. Of significant importance to all graduate and undergraduate members of the Class of 2020, we must also rethink our plans for a traditional Commencement ceremony this May.
Final Exams
Final exams will be delivered virtually. The University has extended the pass/fail decision period to minimize the impact of final exams being delivered remotely.
Academic deans will communicate with faculty about options and resources to support remote delivery of exams. Students should direct questions to their professors for information about expectations specific to each course.
Refunds for Housing and Meal Plans
Undergraduate students will receive a prorated refund for meal plans and on-campus housing and will receive information about their refunds on or before April 17. Please note, there is a high degree of variability based on room and board packages, and we have created different options to claim your refund. We are grateful to those families who have indicated a desire to decline any refund and to contribute these funds as a charitable gift to the Wake Forest Crisis Response Fund, and we will provide information about how to do so.
Retrieving Personal Belongings From Residence Halls
Wake Forest will continue to put the safety and health of students, their families and University staff among our top priorities. The University asks students and families NOT to travel to our Winston-Salem campus to retrieve personal belongings. Access to residence halls is currently restricted to those currently approved to be living on campus.
On March 27, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a “stay at home” order that runs through April 29. This order is in addition to the “stay at home” order issued earlier in the week by the mayor of Winston-Salem. These orders restrict travel and activities throughout the state with exceptions for essential activities as defined by these orders. On or before April 30, we will send an update about plans regarding retrieval of personal belongings, as well as options for storage of such belongings.
Commencement for Class of 2020
My heart goes out to the Class of 2020. I regret the need to postpone the opportunity to walk across the stage and hear your name called in front of your classmates, family, friends and faculty. We will soon address plans to celebrate your accomplishments in an email specific to each undergraduate, graduate or professional school.
We will be in touch to seek your input to help shape the postponed Commencement experience. In general, you can anticipate two things:
- A virtual conferring of degrees on May 18
- An in-person Commencement ceremony when it is safe to gather in large numbers (undergraduate, graduate and professional schools will each tailor a ceremony to meet the needs of their respective students)
Future Academic Sessions
Based on current information, we have made the following adjustments to future academic sessions:
• Summer Session I classes will not be held on campus, but opportunities will be available for remote and online classes.
• All summer Wake Forest-sponsored study abroad programs are regrettably cancelled.
• Our ability to hold Summer Session II classes on campus has yet to be determined, but remote and online classes will be available.
• We plan to conduct fall semester classes on campus.
• We plan to conduct fall semester Wake Forest-sponsored study abroad/away undergraduate programs as usual; if you have questions, contact the Center for Global Programs and Studies.
Please note that these plans are subject to change depending on evolving circumstances, and an update will be sent should changes be required.
This worldwide pandemic continues to stretch us all to think differently about how we create, share and acquire knowledge. It is redefining how we connect and how we celebrate. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the way the Wake Forest community is facing each new challenge head on, moving together toward a better tomorrow.
With great appreciation,
Nathan O. Hatch
President