Today (July 23, 2020), we have received new information with regard to the school’s Fall semester; University of The Arts will not be holding any classes in person, and the campus will be closed.  While this may come as a surprise to some, many of us saw this coming.  I, for example, have been preparing for this by taking my own precautionary measures including scheduling online-only courses and planning to stay with my family in New York for the foreseeable future.

This is an open letter, a petition to demand NOT a freeze, but a substantial and significant decrease in the Fall tuition bill.  In today’s email-update, UArts’s president, David Yager, wrote, “We acknowledge the financial strain that the global pandemic has placed on our students and their families. Though the University’s cost of instruction and operations will not decline and our revenue will decrease, the Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to reverse the previously approved tuition increase and freeze tuition at the 2019–2020 level for the fall semester.”

After so clearly patting themselves on the back with this statement, I can’t help but wonder if they truly believe that this is enough.  It is not.

I am a BFA Directing student with a Music minor.  If this were not my final semester and I weren’t so ready to earn the degree and hit the ground running, I would undoubtedly be taking these next few months off.  There is absolutely no way UArts--or any academic institution, for that matter--can promise to uphold learning outcomes, provide meaningful opportunities, offer hands-on application of core concepts and key creative practices, or deliver proper instruction under these circumstances.  This is abundantly clear and plain to see.  How can a Musical Theatre major sharpen their ensemble singing and intonation-adjustment skills without others present?  How can a Sculpture major work towards a large group project without access to a studio?  How can I, a Directing major, hone in on my directing (for theatre) when our senior-level directing course has been cancelled altogether?

This is all to say I am deeply grateful that the university decided to shift to an online-only model of learning, and it does make me feel as though they take the safety of students, staff, and faculty alike quite seriously.

In short, we ask that University of The Arts drastically cut student bills.

I believe that a decrease in tuition would, in fact, benefit the university greatly in addition to students, as many of my peers are likely to justify a modified education and adjusted curriculum at a lowered cost.  More people equivocates to more money, and that is an ultimate goal for any private undergraduate institution, at the end of the day.  Additionally, there are many other art schools taking steps to assist and support students in this time, and we urge and encourage the administration to take note and look to other undergraduate programs like BoCo/Berklee, Yale, and UNCSA, to name a few.  Thank you.