Hi GSB community,

We write with an update on where things stand in our attempt to secure a tuition discount. Here are the areas where the GSB administration has budged:

Fee reduction of up to $643

1. Removal of course materials fee: $397
   Will be automatically waived from bill
2. Ability to waive Vaden fees for those now residing outside of Northern California (with no verification of residential address): $224
   Go to this site and search for "health fee"
   First option is "Apply for Exemption from CHSF"
   Fill out the form with N/A's in the section about authorizers
3. Reduction of student activity fee: $22
   Will be automatically waived from bill
4. Postponement of tuition payment due date to May 15
5. Ability to secure additional financial aid on a case-by-case basis for demonstrable costs incurred due to COVID. Email receipts of additional expenses or proof of family change of circumstance to FinAid@gsb.stanford.edu
6. CMC + Center for Entrepreneurial Studies + .edu email extended until end of December

Next steps for you are below:

1. Respond to this survey to coordinate next steps (https://forms.gle/ZUgSGDLqULzYsQZB6)
2. Ask for more financial aid (FinAid@gsb.stanford.edu). If your appeal is rejected, forward the response to Dean Levin (jdlevin@stanford.edu) and Dean Hayes (mlong@stanford.edu).
3. Email or call Provost Drell (details below)

Last week, a group of us met with Dean Hayes and Courtney Payne to continue our conversation on potential tuition reductions. We discussed the following concerns that you included in your survey responses:

Our belief that the quality of the experience has declined
Our confusion about why we are expected to spend the same amount of money despite the university’s ability to save costs (event cancellation, operational staff reductions, etc.)
Our frustration with the administration's verbose and avoidant communication with us

Dean Hayes reiterated that tuition cost basis decisions are made at the Stanford-wide level, not at the GSB level. The course materials fee represents the largest tuition cost item over which the GSB administration has control. The fact that they have removed that cost completely demonstrates that they are listening.

As a result, our team’s next steps are focused upon getting through to tuition decision makers at the University level. In this pursuit, we are working with counterparts from the other professional graduate schools.

Next steps for you are below:

Respond to this survey to coordinate next steps
Ask for more financial aid (FinAid@gsb.stanford.edu). If your appeal is rejected, forward the response to Dean Levin (jdlevin@stanford.edu) and Dean Hayes (mlong@stanford.edu).
Email or call Provost Drell and the Board of Trustees
Provost:

Phone: (650) 724-4075

Email: provost@stanford.edu

Board of Trustees:

Phone: 650-721-2926

Email: boardoffice@stanford.edu

Dear Provost Drell and the Board of Trustees,

We have seen your position that there will be no tuition discounts for spring quarter.  I, as a student of the Stanford GSB, am frustrated by this decision. 

<INSERT PERSONAL STORY AS TO WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT TO YOU>

As we have experienced in the last week of winter quarter, despite impressive and appreciated efforts from professors, virtual classes are dramatically subpar to an in-person experience. The experience is now much more reflective of what we would receive on online platforms that offer Stanford courses. As a comparison, HBX, Harvard Business School’s online portal, offers online courses at a 70 - 94 percent discount to its in-person MBA program. It is evident that the Spring Quarter tuition due to the GSB in mid-April is not the appropriate one for the experience that will be provided-- and does not consider the costs students will independently shoulder to make remote learning possible in their personal workspaces.

On top of a subpar classroom experience, we are now also unable to take advantage of professional and social programs, such as brown bag lunches, View from the Top, and C4C, which define the GSB experience. The value of in-person learning is held in particularly high-regard at the GSB. The very strict attendance policy is a testament to that fact. The fact that the GSB makes Wednesdays (rather than Fridays) off is another sign of how much the administration, and we, value being co-located on campus as a community. 

We therefore insist on a significant discount on spring tuition, increase to financial aid, or stipend to reflect the current price differential between in-person and online programs. We also consider the proposal around a leave of absence unacceptable, given that this would defer full-time employment by an additional six months, creating a significant financial burden on students. 

We recognize that the costs for the university might not change drastically by going online in short order, but we believe that our multi-billion dollar endowment can and must serve the community in times like this. Students should not bear the brunt of this unexpected change. We agreed to enter the GSB with the promise of two full years of experiential learning and networking with each other and the broader Stanford community, and this experience has been severely compromised due to the crisis. We, as students of the GSB, believe we have the right to ask for a decreased tuition in-line with the decreased value of our experience and ask you to show your commitment to the community by extending this financial relief. 

All the best,

<INSERT NAME>