Texas Students - Tuition Should Decrease due to Pandemic
Students with financial hardships and a hurting economy say tuition should be lowered at their Texas universities. But some colleges are adding new fees related to an increase in distance learning.
Texas students said pandemic-era tuition should be cut. But it’s going up at some schools due to distance learning fees.
"Texas students said pandemic-era tuition should be cut. But it’s going up at some schools due to distance learning fees." was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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Paying for her tuition at the University of North Texas was already going to be a challenge this fall for Aimee Tambwe. Just recently, her dad — who helps pay for her education — lost his job because of pandemic-related layoffs.
So Tambwe, who is taking most of her classes remotely this semester, was dumbfounded to see her tuition bill increase by $315 because of “distance education” fees for five courses she’s signed up to take.
“This is not something that we can control. I didn’t plan for a pandemic,” Tambwe said. “I don’t think it’s fair to increase the fees on top of students losing their jobs and funding. This does not help me.”
Students across Texas are denouncing what they view as unfair increases in fees that add to the financial strain on students, especially during a pandemic in which thousands of Texans are losing their jobs and their homes. It’s further injury to students who have instead argued for tuition decreases because of restrictions to campus amenities and experiences that are typically paid for with their fees.
At the University of North Texas, the distance learning fee is $35 per credit hour, capped at $315. According to the school’s website, the fee is used to support the management, delivery and technology for distance education courses.
UNT officials say it’s not a new fee, but because the pandemic has necessitated more students going remote, the fee is being applied more widely.
UNT Provost Jennifer Cowley said in an interview that she was sympathetic to students’ frustration.
“I totally understand where it would be coming from,” Cowley said.
Currently, 28% of the fall’s course offerings are online and come with the corresponding distance learning fee, Cowley said.
As students call for tuition cuts, Texas university officials have defended their prices, saying that online classes are not less expensive than in-person classes because faculty and staff still need to be paid. There are also some additional costs associated with technology upgrades needed for more remote instruction.
At other schools across Texas, students are facing sticker shock over some price hikes made months before the pandemic. At the University of Texas at Austin, undergraduate tuition rates will increase by 2.6% per year until 2022, a move that will increase tuition by more than $140 per semester for the next two years.
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A recent petition from the Texas State Employees Union calls for a tuition decrease of 10% for the duration of the pandemic across the University of Texas System. There are at least five tuition-related lawsuits against Texas universities, stemming from students demanding discounted tuition or reimbursements because of the campus changes related to COVID-19 responses.
A recent survey of UT-Austin students also showed that 91% of students were not satisfied with tuition rates.
Gabrielle Vidmar, a Texas State University student, said the San Marcos school had estimated she would pay nearly $7,000 in tuition and fees for the fall semester – including almost $1,000 in new “electronic course” and “off-campus class” fees for classes that had been designated as online because of the pandemic. Her previous tuition bills have been around $4,000.
Texas State later reversed course and shaved off many fees for students, including Vidmar. But the sting remains, compounded by the fact that Vidmar’s money will still be going toward services like athletics and the library, neither of which she plans to participate in or use during the pandemic.
“We are not getting the bang for our buck,” Vidmar said. “It sucks ... that the general consensus is that we feel Texas State doesn’t care about us. And that they’re in it for the money.”
A spokesperson for the school declined to comment and referred questions to a statement released by the school.
Texas State University revised its fee structure in late July. If a student has at least one face-to-face class, school officials said, the $50 per-credit-hour electronic course fee would be dropped. But if a student only takes online and hybrid courses, the electronic course fees would remain while $342 in on-campus fees will be waived.
“Texas State leadership recognizes the hardships our Bobcat Community is experiencing because of COVID-19,” a message from the school reads. It notes that the change will waive more than $7 million in fees for students.
Students like Vidmar, with one in-person class, are off the hook. But others, who may be afraid to go to campus or who simply are placed in online-only classes, will be charged the full slate of distance education fees.
“We didn’t get a stimulus check, we didn’t get help from anyone,” said McKenzie Decker, a Texas State student who started a petition to erase all the online fees. “They’re screwing over students that may not have a choice here.”
Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas System, the University of North Texas and Texas State University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/24/texas-tuition-universities/.
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International students at Texas universities can’t return without in-person classes
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 visa holders in the United States under the Student Exchange Visitor Program will not be allowed to enter or stay in the country if they are attending American schools that will offer only online classes this fall.
“It’s insane that this is not even up to me”: International students at Texas universities can’t return without in-person classes
"“It’s insane that this is not even up to me”: International students at Texas universities can’t return without in-person classes" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
When University of Texas at Austin senior Stephanie Flores-Reyes checked her fall course schedule earlier this week, she was shocked to see all five of her classes were slated to only be online. But as an international student from Mexico who spends the school year here on an F-1 student visa, it could suddenly be problematic for Flores-Reyes to be enrolled only in classes that meet online because of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 visa holders in the United States under the Student Exchange Visitor Program will not be allowed to enter or stay in the country if they are attending American schools that will offer only online classes this fall. Instead, they must either transfer to a school with in-person instruction or “potentially face immigration consequences," according to a release.
For students attending schools with hybrid plans, the category most Texas universities will fall under as they forge ahead with a mixture of in-person and online classes this fall, colleges must certify to ICE that the students are enrolled in the minimum number of classes required to progress through their degree plans at a normal speed — and that they are "not taking an entirely online course load" this fall.
Flores-Reyes chose her courses carefully in order to graduate on time next May. She doesn’t want to budge from her schedule, which could potentially delay her degree progress, but having all online classes means she can’t return to the U.S.
"It's insane that this is not even up to me," Flores-Reyes said. "I can't make those decisions. If I'd known, obviously I would have chosen in-person classes."
On Wednesday, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, seeking a temporary restraining order against the policy. Harvard announced its move to full online instruction for the 2020-21 academic year earlier this month. No Texas university has yet said it has similar intentions.
ICE's new guidance drew heavy criticism from education groups.
"We urge the administration to rethink its position and offer international students and institutions the flexibility needed to put a new normal into effect and take into account the health and safety of our students in the upcoming academic year," the American Council on Education said in a statement.
The move also has some higher education experts worried about what will happen if more classes get pushed online, even if a school is designated to be hybrid.
“The online-only rule is a good one, if it allows international students to enroll, take classes and not have to come to campus,” said Michael Olivas, the former director of the University of Houston’s Institute for Higher Education Law. “But ... there’s a tidal wave of online classes coming our way, to hybrid schools. And if the international students that are here have to return to their home country midway, that’s going to be bad.”
Olivas said the hope is that if universities transition to online-only classes midway through the semester, ICE will be flexible and implement special-circumstance rules similar to those that helped the same group of students when the pandemic swept the country earlier this year.
But Student Exchange Visitor Program documents indicate that may not be the case.
“If a school changes its operational stance mid-semester, and as a result a nonimmigrant student switches to only online classes, or a nonimmigrant student changes their course selections, and as a result, ends up taking an entirely online course load, schools are reminded that nonimmigrant students ... are not permitted to take a full course of study through online classes,” the new guidance reads. “If nonimmigrant students find themselves in this situation, they must leave the country or take alternative steps ... such as transfer to a school with in-person instruction.”
ICE's decision could potentially alter fall plans for thousands of international students in the state. At UT-Austin alone, there are more than 5,000 international students, according to the school’s international office. Spokesperson Fiona Mazurenko said in an email that staff members are working to respond to and support students with the limited information they have received, but declined to comment on how situations like Flores-Reyes' would be handled.
"We continue to advise all F-1 students to enroll in classes designated as in-person or web-enhanced," Mazurenko said in the email.
The University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at El Paso also said they would work with each international student to make sure that their course schedule meets federal requirements for F-1 visas. Texas A&M University said it was monitoring the situation and would update students as more information became available.
On Wednesday, University of Houston President Renu Khator said in a tweet that the university would work with international students to support their education.
"As a university with global footprint, we deeply value what international students bring to our classrooms, research labs and to the campus in general," she said.
Some Texas faculty members are considering taking matters into their own hands. David Arditi, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said he would do an independent study course for international students so that they could have the requisite in-person instruction required to stay in the country.
Arditi said he would not be compensated for the independent study course. He views this as a necessary way to protect international students – an "already vulnerable" group.
"In normal circumstances, I'm protective of my time," Arditi said. "But this is a horribly repressive system. ... We have to step up and find alternatives."
Flores-Reyes would prefer to return to Austin, where she rents an apartment still stuffed with her belongings. She hasn’t been able to cross the border to retrieve anything since she fled in March to Nuevo Laredo.
Now she is looking to speak with her international adviser to plan her next steps, all while dealing with an unfamiliar set of constraints.
"I had no idea this was going to happen," Reyes-Flores said. "Now is not the time to be enforcing these rules."
Disclosure: Texas A&M University, the University of Houston, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at El Paso have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/08/texas-international-students-college-classes/.
The Texas Tribune is proud to celebrate 10 years of exceptional journalism for an exceptional state. Explore the next 10 years with us.