Roberta Colangelo forwarded your petition to me. I recognize how the pandemic has impacted our students and I want you to know all our focus has been on finding every way we can to support students and our community to help them meet the many challenges we all face. I understand that the answer I am going to give you may not be what you are hoping to hear. All of what I will explain has been previously sent to the student body in various communications over the last few months.
In March when NYFA was forced to move to remote education, we allowed any student to withdraw and receive a refund and/or start the semester over at a future date. This action was very unique to our institution.
Since then, in addition to the financial support we always offer students based on need and talent, NYFA has distributed special grants and tuition reductions to students due to expenses or losses they incurred related to COVID-19 and the move to remote learning. All students were asked to complete an application for this pandemic related assistance. We have helped those who need help most, and we have reduced costs for students in programs in the Summer semester by removing the equipment fees from all programs that usually have them. It is important to understand that most NYFA students are already paying a lower tuition rate and/or receiving some financial relief for Fall 2020. Additional help is still a possibility for anyone whose financial situation has further declined due to COVID related issues. If you or other NYFA students want to explore this possibility, I encourage you to connect with Financial Aid (financialaid@nyfa.edu).
Tuition is NYFA’s only revenue source, so it has to pay for all operating costs, and NYFA has no endowment to draw from. Unfortunately, adding remote learning has cost the school more, not less, as NYFA still has to maintain a campus during this time, including paying for teachers, rent and all other costs associated with providing your education. I should also note that NYFA faculty and staff have made many sacrifices to ensure the school could continue operating throughout the pandemic. For all the reasons stated above, NYFA has not lowered its tuition rates.
Again, I encourage you and anyone who has not spoken to our financial aid department about their specific situation to do so. NYFA will continue to do all it can to provide you and your classmates a quality education at a reasonable cost.
Best,
Dan
DAN MACKLER
CSO / SVPDean of NYFA Los Angeles
p. +1-818-333-3558 e. dan@nyfa.edu
mobile. +1-917-582-7622