While we understand the difficulty, uncertainty, and rapid changes during the COVID-19 crisis, we the NYU Silver School of Social Work community are committed to continuing our advocacy. 

Course Tuition Reimbursement: The NYU Silver School of Social Work, as well as the other NYU schools, have been denied any course tuition reimbursement. The cost of tuition at NYU is already very high, and the ineffective quality education through Zoom makes it unfair for students to be paying the same price. We support and acknowledge the professors and their teaching, but this platform is not how we intended taking our courses. Online course prices should not be the same amount and the differences should be refunded. The school has failed to realize that we are not gaining the same quality educational experience as an in-class environment. NYU can afford partial tuition refunds! We cannot be expected to pay for services and resources, as well as the locations of our campuses, when we cannot even access them. NYU must leverage its $4.3 billion endowment and $9 billion in
net assets to ensure that we are not pushed further into debt at the onset of an economic crisis.

Less Effective Courses Online: Some courses are not meant to be suitable online because of the need for human interactions, interactive supplies, classroom settings, resources, etc. Some examples such the groups courses, creative art therapy course, field courses, and more have been more impacted greatly by being online because these courses were meant to be most effective in a classroom setting. We acknowledge that the professors are doing their best and we thank them for everything they are doing. We are are advocating about the elements of the course that we are missing out because they are now online. For example this can include supplies, resources, use of art studio, the making of art projects, etc. Another example, the groups course, is very interactive with role-playing and observations and those experiences cannot be done online. We are NOT singling out these courses but using them as EXAMPLES. We want to clarify that these issues are NOT because of the professors, but because of the elements that can only be done in the classroom setting. The professors are doing an amazing job with what they have and we cannot thank them enough!

Field Placement Hours: Furthermore, for many individuals our field placements had weeks left to complete but our abilities to participate became non-existent for many. While some individuals could complete remote access, others could not.  We paid for the hours of our field experiences, and once those were terminated we should have gained the money back for the remainder hours. A remote assignment had been given however we feel this assignment was not beneficial to our clinical experiences and our hours could have been offered with at least better clinical trainings online. NYU determined that since students are still getting full credit for the field course and still exceeding hours expected by CSWE and NY State Board of Education for the MSW, that this equates to students still getting what they paid for. We did not pay for hours, we paid for experience that we did not get!

Unexpected Termination: It is also important to address that the ending of our field placements was given with almost no notice. For many individuals, they got an email stating they could not return the next day to their placements. This created us to complete rapid terminations or for some no terminations not only with our clients but also our agencies. While this decision was made out of safety, we believe less than a day's notice was not sufficient and more time could have yielded to less panic and devastations. Many students experienced emotional distress from the abrupt departure that has impacted them mentally, emotionally, and academically. Unfortunately, the abrupt decision caused negative consequences of the students, clients, and agencies.

Inability to Access Buildings/Resources: inability to access on-campus resources such as computer labs, libraries, fitness centers, and more. These activities should also be partially refunded for students. We cannot be expected to pay for services and resources, as well as the locations of our campuses, when we cannot even access them. 

Networking/Events: The Silver School of Social Work has been incredible trying to create Zoom networking events etc. but we all know this is very different from the face to face opportunities of job fairs, cocktail hours etc. and the power of meeting someone in person and making a real connection. We are missing out on the many events that the school holds in person. In addition to this, many students were looking forward to attending the Silver Ball and now that is another event that has been taken away from us. We are thankful for the address of graduation concerns and we hope that we can still look forward to a graduation celebration in-person in the future.

Early Graduation: SOCIAL WORKERS ARE ESSENTIAL AND WE THE GRADUATING STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GRADUATE EARLY, JUST AS NYU MEDICAL STUDENTS DID!

Overall one of the core values of the NASW Code of Ethics are human relationships, where we as individuals should "understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process. Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities." Indeed, the Silver School of Social Work community will continue to advocate for these injustices and provide additional responses in the comments below to further have our voices be heard. We understand that we are in a time of crisis and just as we advocate for others, now is a time we need to also advocate for ourselves. 

Thank you for supporting the NYU Silver School of Social Work community and our ability to challenge injustices of equality, even when it is for ourselves. While this is a difficult time, it does not mean that unfairness should be accepted. Even through these challenging times for ourselves, we still stay strong in our passion and dedication to help others during this crisis. Even though our roles are reversed and we are advocating for ourselves, we are still also putting other individuals and the community above ourselves. Dedicating our time and volunteer services to help those in this COVID-19 crisis. 

We are thankful for the NYU Administration for the changes that have been made and we appreciate the ability for you to listen and address our concerns. We hope that you continue to listen and address the concerns of the NYU Silver community. We especially thank the GSA as well for the collaboration and being the voices of our concerns!

Overall we believe New York University has the resources to better help their students and we will continue to advocate to gain what we believe is fair. Thank you for your support and please continue to stay safe during these times!

Sincerely,

The New York University Silver School of Social Work Community