Countless universities throughout the nation have accommodated students displaced by Hurricane Katrina by waiving tuition and fees.
Even though New Orleans-based institutions will not be able to offer classes this fall, Tulane and Loyola universities are still requiring displaced students to pay tuition.
In a letter to Tulane students, Tulane President Scott Cowen expressed the need for the university to collect funds this semester.
“Enrolling our students as visitors at no additional cost to the student beyond his or her original Tulane tuition is an incredible act of philanthropy on the part of my colleague presidents, because despite our many financial resources, tuition remains a key source of revenue for the long-term financial health of Tulane,” Cowen wrote. “Without fall ’05 tuition revenue, we would find it difficult, if not impossible, to reopen Tulane on schedule – retaining our key faculty and staff.”
These tuition charges come at no small price. Tulane charges more than $17,000 per semester. Loyola charges more than $12,000 per semester to attend the university.
In the case of the University of New Orleans, the Louisiana Board of Regents formed an agreement with the state’s four system presidents allowing displaced students to attend other public universities in the state at no further charge.
For those students from Tulane and Loyola, who enrolled as visiting students at LSU, it is still not known what their financial obligations will be.
Bob Kuhn, associate vice chancellor for the Office of Budget and Planning, said the LSU visiting students received a fee bill just like established students.
“As these students came through, they were assessed the appropriate tuition and fees,” he said.
But Kuhn said the expenses that were assessed will be deferred until further notice.
“We’re waiting for instructions from the Board of Regents and the [LSU] System’s office,” he said.
Kuhn said LSU will be as accommodating as possible to displaced students. As a result, there is no timetable for when LSU will attempt to collect tuition and fees from these students. Tulane is asking its displaced students to send tuition checks to the University’s Houston office before Dec. 1.
Still, Cowen is attempting to put students’ financial concerns at ease.
“No Tulane student will ultimately have to pay more than they would have if they were at Tulane for the fall semester,” he wrote. “If students are going part-time, we will make some adjustment to tuition as appropriate, based on circumstances of the individual student. If funds are due, they will be credited to tuition for a future semester.”
In Tulane’s plan of action, any student who pays tuition for the fall semester as well as tuition at another university like LSU will be credited in the spring.
To compare, LSU’s tuition and required fees for in-state students is $4,226. As a result, displaced Tulane students at LSU will pay more than $12,000 extra to attend LSU this semester than established LSU students.
Loyola students may have to pay more than $7,000 extra than established students.
If these students ultimately have to pay tuition and fees to LSU without the benefit of government assistance, that price will be higher.
Tommy Smith, associate director for the Office of Budget and Planning, said the students’ financial responsibilities will remain in limbo until the federal and state governments decide what, if any, relief they will offer students.
“The main thing we were told to do was to get these students in class,” he said. “There’s talk the federal government is going to come in and pay, but we’re just not sure. We’re just waiting for some decisions to be made.”
Contact Mathew Sanders at [email protected]