St. John’s University students demand answers
following tuition hike amid COVID-19 pandemic
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Many St. John’s University
students are frustrated to see
the institution has increased
its tuition as well as room and
board for the 2020-21 academic
year.
“I’m really concerned about
how I’ll pay for my next year
of college, as well as the whole
St. John’s community,” said a
rising junior at St. John’s, who
asked to remain anonymous in
fear of the university retaliating.
“More students are questioning
this decision because
the majority of our classes will
be online, so what am I paying
for?”
The Catholic Vincentian
university, with its main campus
located in Jamaica, Queens,
increased its undergraduate tuition
from $41,900 (or $1,397 per
credit) to $43,160 (or $1,439 per
credit) — a 3 percent increase.
The private university has
different schools with distinct
tuition and credit fees, meaning
fees vary for students depending
on their year of graduation
and degrees.
While the university’s room
and board increased by 2 percent,
there are fewer dorming
options offered for their on- and
off-campus housing locations.
For their on-campus Residence
Village, there are now only
single and double dorm room
options starting at $11,130. Last
year, the Residence Village had
seven types of dorming options.
A disclaimer at the top of
their room and board page
states rates and types of selections
may change “due to ongoing
planning and state and
federal guidance for social distancing
due to the Covid pandemic.”
New housing applicants
must pay a non-refundable $400
deposit.
The meal plans also increased
by 3 percent.
‘We’re outraged’
Students created a petition
asking the university to not
raise the tuition for the fall,
which has garnered more than
2,300 signatures at the time of
publication.
Many students say they are
shocked to see the university’s
increased tuition without explanation,
as students and their
families are struggling financially
amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it’s insane,” said a
rising senior majoring in Legal
Studies, who asked to remain
anonymous. “They’re not hearing
us, and choose not to cooperate
or compromise. We’re
outraged.”
That student created a
spreadsheet with colleges in the
state of New York and around
the country, in which they
found St. John’s is among the
universities with an above average
tuition increase.
In comparison, other Catholic
and private universities like
DePaul University and Molloy
College have opted to freeze
their tuition.
But St. John’s maintains the
increase follows the national
trend.
“St. John’s University provides
our students with a worldclass
education by investing in
our people, programs, and facilities
with minimal impact on
the price of tuition,” St. John’s
Spokesperson Brian Browne
told QNS. “And, in keeping
with our commitment to an enhanced
educational experience,
our 2020-2021 academic year
tuition will increase by 3 percent,
which remains below the
national average.”
TIMESLEDGER | 2 QNS.COM | JULY 10-16, 2020
“As we move forward, we
continue our dedication to assisting
students most in financial
need by way of the robust
distribution of institutional
financial aid, which this past
year totaled more than $275 million
and provided financial support
to 96 percent of enrolled
students,” Browne added.
The Legal Studies rising
senior — who pointed out that
their tuition has increased from
$39,000 to almost $50,000 since
they enrolled — said they’ve
had issues with transparency
about fees in the past.
They said they’re currently
having a hard time getting answers
from the Financial Aid’s
office. Tuition payments for all
students are due in full or on a
payment plan on July 22.
The Westchester-based student,
a first generation college
student of Puerto Rican and
Cuban descent, said they didn’t
have to take out any loans in
their first year thanks to a generous
package in part due to attending
a Catholic high school,
but has applied for FAFSA loans
the following years.
“They’re not very transparent
with their students,” they
said, referring to an instance
when they asked what a “maintenance
fee” on their bill was
for, and was told by a Financial
Aid staff member that it’s “not
real.”
“If it’s not real, why does it
add up in my bill?” the student
said.O
ther students are particularly
concerned about the $250
technology fee.
When asked about this fee,
St. John’s spokesperson pointed
to the website’s description
which states it’s assessed to all
students that includes “the use
and maintenance of the technology
infrastructure, including
wireless networking, general
classroom technology, online
content and specialized technology
in lab spaces.”
COVID-19’s impact and
university response
A few days before New York
City announced schools would
officially close on March 16,
St. John’s informed students
the university would cease inperson
classes and told students
who dormed they’d have to return
home. Some students, including
foreign and out-of-state
students, were given the option
to stay at one of their off-campus
locations.
But that message came a few
days after students returned
from their spring break, meaning
many had to purchase another
flight in less than three
days.Many students said the process
was confusing, as they
had to leave belongings in their
dorms with a pick-up date that
wasn’t set until the end of May.
On top of that, some students
felt the transition to remote
learning wasn’t uniform. A saving
grace for many of them was
the university’s option to pass/
fail their classes.
“Having courses switched to
online was awful,” said Matthew
Panchyk, a rising senior majoring
in Cyber Security. “Half of
my professors gave up, others
gave assignments without notes
or lectures. They just expected
us to do the same amount of
work with no actual teaching.
I’m not looking forward to having
another semester similar to
that.”
St. John’s spokesperson
noted the university created
the St. John’s Emergency Fund
to assist students and their
families impacted by COVID-19
with tuition. For this fund, the
university asked alumni and
friends of the school to donate.
They raised more than $100,000
by the end of May, according to
their website.
“To date, we have already
awarded more than $3.5 million
to currently enrolled students
who have experienced a loss of
household income to assist with
tuition,” Browne said.
The university also received
$12.5 million from the federal
government’s CARES Act, $6
million of which had to be used
for emergency financial aid to
students. The university disbursed
$5.4 million funds to
10,330 students (they enrolled
19,748 students in the 2019-20
academic year) as of May 24, according
to their website.
Students had to apply for
each relief — which the university’s
spokesperson clarified are
different — via a survey sent to
their school email in May. Some
said they haven’t heard back
from the university since then,
and weren’t clear what made
students qualify for relief.
The university’s CARES Act
reporting page lists the requirements
for students to receive the
relief — Federal Pell Grant recipients
automatically received
$1,000, for instance.
Read more on QNS.com.
Out of an “abundance of caution,” St. John’s University is suspending all face-to-face instruction due
to coronavirus. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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