As we enter our third semester affected by COVID-19, we return to our computers to learn remotely. While we attempt to learn from our homes, students continue to pay the same tuition costs as we did when we were attending in-person classes on cam- pus. College students everywhere have begun to ques- tion the costs. If we are not on campus, what are we really paying for? Colleges and universities all over the country are dealing with students bringing up this question. At New York Institute of Technology, while students learn remotely, attendance costs saw a slight hike before the school issued a freeze to tuition. In Fall 2019, New York Tech’s yearly tuition costs for full time undergraduate students was $36,060. For the 2020- 2021 academic year, the tuition slightly increased to roughly $38,060. After the increase, students received an email from President Foley on September 28, 2020, detailing a tuition freeze. The email addressing both Long Island and Manhattan students explained that New York Tech will be freezing the current tuition and fees for the upcoming 2021 through 2022 Spring semesters. Included within the $38,060 price tag for tuition from New York Tech are a bunch of miscellaneous fees. For full-time undergraduate students, these fees amount to roughly $2,400. They include costs for library and Academic services, technology - IT, recre- ation and athletics, SGA, and student services. Should students be paying for these services while we are not on campus to use them? In comparison to students from other east-coast universities, New York Tech students have been rela- tively quiet. Currently, Columbia University is facing up to 1,200 students threatening a tuition strike for the current Spring 2021 semester. Many universities are facing lawsuits and decreased enrollment due to the high tuition costs for online classes. Seton Hall, Mont- clair State University, and Drew University are a few of many universities facing lawsuits from students.
Although New York Tech students have not been vocal with their frustrations regarding tuition costs, they are seemingly unsatisfied. Elle Polani, a Com- munications and Media Production student, explains that she feels as though it is inappropriate to be pay- ing full price tuition for a makeshift learning envi- ronment that is suboptimal. “Within my major, I rely heavily on the technology provided by the school. I currently have to pay for programs, editing software, and equipment to be available at home when it was initially accessible on campus. To have to pay full price while having to obtain and even teach myself is an affront to me and the students,” said Polani. As mentioned by Polani, students no longer on campus to make use of these resources that are provided by New York Tech, causing them to have to pay for their own programs in order to complete their classwork. “Though Corona Virus was not NYIT’s fault, we shouldn’t have to pay full tuition when we are not receiving a full-tuition’s value out of our edu- cation. I have not been able to utilize any resources such as the library or any of the Communication Arts department’s equipment or studio,” said Christian Arrieta, a digital film and tv production student. In a time where many students are struggling financially, some are finding themselves with more costs than if they were on campus.
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