The students of St. Francis College have been taking online courses for two consecutive semesters and have been required to pay full tuition. Tuition for the Fall 2020 semester was raised even though a tuition-freeze had been implemented. St. Francis students are sending out cries for help to an anonymous campus page where they have been revealing thoughts of suicide, stress, mental health and depression which is at an all time high. They have expressed that the main factor of these feelings has been due to tuition costs. Not only are the students required to pay full-tuition, they have no access to the campus or it's facilities. However, at this time St.Francis is undergoing renovations and has not given us a time table for reopening the campus for in-person learning. 

Covid-19 has left many families without jobs and many students are suffering extreme economic hardships. Yet the students have been told by the college administration that they have until November 18th to pay full tuition or they can not register for classes for the Spring 2021 semester and a late fee will be added in addition to any balance due. I, myself, owe $8,000 and I do not know how to come up with the money. We are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic; economically, emotionally and mentally; it is unconscionable that we are not receiving more support within our school community. I feel that leniency should be given these next two semesters. The “no registration allowed” should be banned for the rest of the year and the late fee should be prohibited. 

St. Francis is a private school and live-sessions should be implemented, an 8 AM class is often changed to a 3 PM  the day of, making it difficult for those who have other responsibilities. Professors have cancelled class the day of or have not submitted work for weeks, then assign an exam to be given. Many professors have been called out for assigning absurd amounts of work without any guidance which is placing a toll on the mental health of a majority of students. This is not right. Students are completing and submitting assignments, just to have more waiting to be as soon as it’s finished. We’re not robots. We all have other priorities besides sitting in front of a computer screen. A stack of homework is only teaching us to do assignment, I can’t name one student that has actually learned something this semester. To the St. Francis College administration I say:

1. Students use their own internet 
2. Students use their own computers 
3. Students have had to double up on their work shifts to even be able to pay their home bills
4. Students mental health is deteriorating
5. Students are facing more responsibility at home than ever before

Homework is being piled on us, but the school has the audacity to implement these rules during this time? Understanding in the past it was okay, but Covid-19 has put students in families in financial stress, it is unfair and inhumane of the college to prevent students from receiving their education over the cost of these fees.