With the closure of the campus from March 23rd due to the COVID-19 virus, Illinois Institute of Technology has decided to implement several preventative measures to reduce likelihood of the virus spreading to the student population. Such measures include canceling all face to face classes and implementing remote online classes via collaborate ultra. While we applaud IIT's initiative for putting the student’s health and safety as the main priority, it is important to consider the financial impact of this situation on the students.

While this is a necessary safety measure that is crucial to student safety, we cannot ignore that the result is a vastly different educational experience. Due to the fact students are not going to receive the full education they are paying for. We are now essentially stuck paying full semester cost (approx 1570/credit hour) for online classes. It is not fair to charge students for such amenities which are currently not available like building, Student Life Center, Campus Recreation, Fine Arts, Library, and College library. There are other consequences for students losing access to labs and resources. We do not have access to any of the facilities and on campus resources. All extracurricular activities are on a halt now like events, lecture series, students organizations, etc.

 

The graduating class fellow have to deal with added financial burdens including layoffs in this pandemic and anxiety on top of having to manage school. The refund will allow students to alleviate some of those burdens that have been added. This money can be helpful to pay for rent,food,and other resources they might need due to this change. 

Other prestigious universities such as Harvard, Smith, Tufts, and Duke University(NC) already offered pro-rated refunds to their students.

The students of Illinois Institute of Technology understand that this is a tough time for the college as well, but we want to obtain the experience that we are paying for. College is much more than sitting in front of a computer screen and discussing critical topics via group chats. There is not much that can be done to change the situation that we currently are in so we should be accommodated with reduced tuition prices for the Summer 2020 semester and partial reimbursement for the Spring 2020 semester. The cost needs to reflect the reality of the tough times that we are going through. 

paid for but are no longer receiving:

Office Hours: Students are no longer able to easily access in person office hours with their professors. Many students thrive off this and is very hard to mimic within an online only setting. This limits the student’s ability to reach their full learning potential.

Internet, Computers, and Printers: Some students at IIT rely on the school internet to get their homework done, study for exams, and other miscellaneous activities because they may not have it at home. These students also paid to access the printers and scanners that many do not have at home. Most importantly, the computers. Students were able to use the computers in the computer labs that had programs needed for classes. These programs were paid for with our tuition money. Many students will now go without this computer and program access. When students paid tuition, they paid to use these necessities and now they have been stripped from us without reimbursement. 

Student Activity Fees: Students have now been stripped of the opportunity to plan, organize, and participate in events that our student activity fees have always paid for. We no longer have the opportunity to use the money that was taken from our tuition for these fees and it should be given back. Holding club activities online does not help students who are already living with anxiety due to being forced to attend all programing online. 

Laboratory Fees and Necessities: Students are no longer able to participate in laboratory and use the materials that they have paid for with their lab fees. Although the labs will continue online with the professor still preforming them, the students are no longer able to have the hands-on experience that required a fee.

Building Upkeep: The building upkeep at IIT while no one is allowed on campus is going to be extremely minimal. There are no students there to create messes that need cleaning, lights will not be on, and computers and other electronics will not be using power. 

Peer to Peer Learning Environment: Students are no longer able to access the peer to peer learning environment that they have paid for and that many thrive with. If students wanted to take online classes, they would have gone to another university that did not offer this type of environment. An online university would have been a lot cheaper. 

Tutors, Resource Centers, Library, Counseling, Health Services: Students are no longer able to access these campus necessities that are included within tuition. You cannot walk into the math center and have a tutor help you with your math homework, you cannot have an essay revised in the writing center, you cannot take books out from the library or use its resources, you cannot use the medical services offered by the school, and you can no longer use many other school services.

Quality of Education: The same quality of education cannot be delivered over a computer video chat. Students have paid for an in-class experience. We are paying to have small classes where the intimacy is lost when moved to Zoom. 

Transportation fees(U-pass): since its lockdown we are no longer able to use transport.

Parking Permits: Students pay for a parking permit which they are no longer able to use.

 

Best Regards, 

IIT Chicago Students