Stanford University will reopen this fall, but due to continuing concerns over the coronavirus, online classes will continue even for students on campus, especially undergraduates.
In a message to the school community, Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne said that “while in-person classes will be offered on campus, much of our undergraduate teaching will still need to be done online in the 2020-21 year.” He said online classes will be “the default teaching option for 2020-21.”
Stanford University will reopen its campus this fall, but most undergraduates – even those on-campus … [+]
Stanford shut down face-to-face instruction in March and students completed the spring semester online. Its plan for the fall – to offer an on-campus experience with what appears to be largely online instruction – presents a scenario that may not be sufficient for many students to want to pay full tuition. Undergraduate tuition at Stanford for 2020-2021 is listed at $55,473, an increase of 4.9% from the previous year, with room and board bringing the total to $78,218.
Many universities are offering hybrid solutions for their fall semester, such as the University of South Carolina which will open its campus for the fall semester, but cancel fall break and end face-to-face instruction before Thanksgiving, with students completing classes online as well as taking exams remotely.
Stanford President Tessier-Lavigne acknowledged the shortcomings of the university’s fall plan, saying, “for our incoming first-year undergraduates, we know this is not how you originally envisioned beginning your college career,” adding that “if, upon reflection, you choose to take a gap year rather than enrolling this fall, please let the admissions officer know by June 15.”
Universities are already heading into the fall with significant financial losses from a disrupted spring semester, due partly to some reimbursements to students for dormitory and meal plan fees. Prior to the pandemic, universities had grown increasingly reliant on room and board fees to support their operating revenue and some experts say keeping campuses closed through the fall would be financially calamitous, due to existing fixed costs.
With most universities who have announced their fall plans including an online component to their curriculum, students and their families are weighing the value of a tuition investment, especially against a backdrop of diminished personal financial resources.
“There’s price and then there’s value,” said Rick Staisloff, founder and Senior Partner of consulting firm rpk GROUP, who specializes in higher education finance. “What am I paying in terms of what I get?”
Staisloff added that, while there was some forgiveness about the quality of online learning this spring due to the volatility of the situation, the bar will be higher this semester. “Students won’t accept the same service they got this spring in the upcoming fall,” he said. “They expect something more robust, something that better meets their needs.”
Stanford said it did not have enough on-campus classrooms to offer all classes in person while allowing for adequate physical distancing of at least six feet, so classes larger than 50 students will be delivered online. The fall quarter is scheduled to start a week early, on Monday, September 14, and end by Friday, November 20, with final exams for all undergraduates and some graduate students held remotely the week after Thanksgiving.
