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Dear President Ruth Watkins and Vice President Dan Reed,


We are collectively in the grips of a global health and economic crisis. The University of Utah, in fulfillment of its stated commitment to its students, is honor-bound to provide relief for struggling students and their families during such times of crises. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, no one will escape impact, and it will have a widely disproportionate effect on our marginalized communities. We have come together as a community to address the new realities that graduate and undergraduate students are now facing.

The University of Utah, which has $1.2 billion in endowments and received over $9.2 million from the CARES Act, has both the financial means and the responsibility to provide relief for us and our families. We urge the University to recognize students’ and families ’joint loss in income and address the direct impact of this loss on our ability to pay for tuition, along with housing, utilities, food, transportation, and other expenses. 

The University must consider reducing tuition by at least 50 percent and waive all fees for the duration of the crisis, beginning in the Fall 2020 semester, to uphold its commitment to every student’s ability to succeed. Further, we call for COVID-19 concerns to be included in deferral/Leave of Absence, long-term budgetary transparency, and a tuition freeze. 

We urge the University to: 

1. Reduce tuition by 50% and waive all fees for the duration of this crisis, beginning Fall 2020 semester.
a. All students, regardless of financial aid status, are asked to pay only 50% of their cost of attendance and all fees are waived. 
b. There must not be any change to existing financial aid or refunds.
c. The University must recognize the long-term effects of this crisis and be prepared to halve tuition as long as necessary.
d. Tuition relief must not come at the cost of payment, benefits, or services for any staff, faculty, or students.
e. The University must refund students the reduction in tuition if they have already paid for the Fall 2020 semester.
2. Grant all students the ability to defer or take a leave of absence due to COVID-19–related concerns without penalty.
3. Release a budgetary breakdown of University expenditure and spending.
4. Institute a tuition freeze by pledging not to raise tuition in future semesters.
 

Reduce tuition by 50% and waive all fees for duration of the crisis
Because of the University’s generous endowments, we believe it is in the strong interest of the University to direct some portion toward aiding its students during a global crisis. Full-time students who have lost their off-campus jobs are unable to apply for unemployment, and therefore have no financial safety net to pay for living expenses and are making increasingly difficult decisions. These include the decision to take out additional loans, incur further debt, and take a leave of absence or in some cases, drop out. 
Despite the best efforts of instructors, for many students, in-person interaction is integral to their studies. This change in learning format will highlight deep-seated inequities present in our community, as students have varying access to WiFi, stable housing, computers/technology, and the ability to work effectively away from the University. Tuition and fees also go toward campus resources and facilities, which will not be available for full use for the foreseeable future. Tuition should reflect these current offerings from a perspective of fairness: a student attending University in Fall 2020, for example, will simply not have the full scope of facility access and usage as past students. Additionally, the University has demonstrated that public health is a priority. In concordance, we hope that the University will prioritize students’ mental health as students face extreme financial stress and anxiety during this very difficult and unprecedented time.

Grant all students the ability to defer or take a leave of absence
According to the University’s website, a student may apply to defer or take a leave of absence for the following reasons: illness (personal or familial), military service, humanitarian or religious service, and those participating in University of Utah-sponsored activities. The University needs to redefine and update this to include COVID-19. The Coronavirus has disrupted the lives of most (if not all) students and their families. All students should be able to, without penalty, be granted leave or deferral due to any COVID-19–related concerns.

Release a budgetary breakdown
University of Utah students and families pay a hefty amount for tuition with little to no transparency about how the budget is allocated, or why tuition continues to increase. Students struggle to understand how the University can justify charging full tuition for online classes; it has become resoundingly clear that full financial transparency is a must so that students know where resources are being allocated.

Institute a tuition freeze
Finally, we urge the University to institute a tuition freeze. Despite efforts to improve financial aid, many students and their families cannot currently afford to pay tuition, causing students to take out loans, transfer, or even drop out. Now, we are facing a financial recession caused by the virus which will likely far outlast the health crisis itself and will put many students and their families in an even more precarious position to pay tuition. The University must pledge not to raise tuition as projected by instituting a long-term tuition freeze after the health crisis has resolved.

Conclusion

We know that funding decisions are complex, especially during this unprecedented time, and that many of the University’s operating costs continue. We want to affirm and commend the University’s commitment to continue paying employees whose jobs have been suspended during this time, and we understand that student tuition is a part of the University’s operating costs. However, given the University’s endowment, reduced campus operating costs, fundraising capabilities and other revenue sources (e.g., the hospital), we also know there should be enough resources to continue paying staff while providing a tuition reduction to aid all students.

In light of this global crisis and its effects on our community, hundreds of University of Utah students will be continuing to engage the University around these issues through call-ins, email campaigns, and wide media outreach. All students are deeply concerned and significantly affected by the crisis, and many are unable to justify the cost and are either prepared to withhold tuition, or not attend should the University not negotiate with us before the tuition deadline on September 4th, 2020.

We hope the University recognizes how demonstrating support for its students by taking these steps creates the opportunity to further solidify its position as a national leader within the field of higher education. The decisions that the University makes during this time will directly impact current and future students, and will greatly influence students’ future engagement with and perception of the University post-graduation. The relationship between the University of Utah and its students is a symbiotic one, and has the powerful potential to grow stronger than ever amidst these challenging times, through working together.

Thank you for your consideration of this petition and we look forward to further collaboration.

Signed,