After canceling all in-person courses promised on July 15th, 2020, the Fashion Institute of Technology has decided to withdraw their decision nine days before the deadline for bill payments. An extension of bill payment and scheduled payment plans, in addition to cancellation of late fees is a fair compromise for prolonging the Fall 2020 Restart Plan and withdrawing statements within days whilst continuously asking students to be patience and flexible, but not giving students the same flexibility.
On March 16th, 2020, all students at the Fashion Institute of Technology were forced to evacuate the Residence Halls due to the growing outbreak of COVID-19. This forced many students who require in person instruction or on campus resources to relocate and finish the remainder of the semester from other locations. As we saw during the switch from in person instruction to remote learning, many students who require hands on demonstrations and access to equipment struggled with the switch. This includes fashion design, communication design pathways, film and media, fine arts, and a myriad of other students.
It was apparent that Fall 2020 would not return to normalcy, however, as other institutions became aware of the plans set in place to safely continue their education, FIT did not notify students until early July, a month before students are scheduled to begin moving in. They also failed to announce the list of courses that would remain in-person due to lab and studio restrictions. On July 15th, in-person courses were distributed, however, the following week students received an email stating the suspension of in person courses for all students, but access to all academic buildings, labs and studios through reservation. This poses a larger threat to students' exposure to other peers within their department, whereas in person instruction only will expose students to those in their graduating year.
FIT continues to change their plan of action, but still continues to push for the final bill payment on August 3rd, 2020. They have given students less than ten days to decide whether or not they choose to continue with their education and claim to still be providing a quality education despite deciding to suspend in-person courses for classes that do not translate to an online format. All students who require on campus housing have also been told that move in will be conducted from August 3rd-August 16th. The most current email states that students will not move in until late August, and have yet to provide a solid timeline.
While us students do understand the severity of this virus and wish to be as cautious as possible, we believe that it is simply unjust to put this financial burden on students during a global pandemic and an economic crisis. We, the students, are calling for the Fashion Institute of Technology to extend the deadline for bill payment or discard of the late fee. This includes delaying of the scheduled dates for both payment plans. We, the students, are not asking for a reduction in tuition, but simply more time to gather funds or ponder on deferment from the institution until the proper resources are available.
