Program changes due to COVID-19

[MPAdreams2020]

Hello forum friends! Congratulations on your recent grad school acceptances! Have you all begun to hear about changes to programs you have been admitted to in light of the coronavirus? Sounds like lots of New Admit days will be virtual only. Is there anything else? Have your schools started to communicate with you about other things that might shift, i.e. start date, date you must respond to your offer by, etc.? 

(FYI, Goldman School is hosting a webinar for new admits next week to talk about how they are handling the situation. The MPA program is slated to begin in May, which suddenly seems very soon in light of everything that's going on. Per the school's Instagram, I see that the plan for current students is on online learning through spring semester.)

[njapp2020]

Thanks for starting this topic!  In short, no I haven't heard too much from my schools (Georgetown and UVA) about any changes or other information.  More information is supposed to be coming out, but we're now less than a month from enrollment date and I'm starting to get antsy.  

[PP2020]

Brown just cancelled their study abroad component for the incoming 2020 class. I would really be disappointed if classes shifted to online in the fall. 

[thediesel]

17 minutes ago, PP2020 said:

Brown just cancelled their study abroad component for the incoming 2020 class. I would really be disappointed if classes shifted to online in the fall. 

I'll probably defer if that happens. No way I'm paying full tuition for online classes.

[LazarusRises]

16 minutes ago, thediesel said:

I'll probably defer if that happens. No way I'm paying full tuition for online classes.

Same. I really hope it doesn't come to that, but if it does I'll gladly keep working for another year rather than pay to webchat for 20 hours a week. Also feeling lucky that I can work from home, it's scary times for those who can't...

[njapp2020]

51 minutes ago, thediesel said:

I'll probably defer if that happens. No way I'm paying full tuition for online classes.

I would tend to agree... but my enrollment deposits are due April 15th.  Would we possibly know by then?

[thediesel]

36 minutes ago, njapp2020 said:

I would tend to agree... but my enrollment deposits are due April 15th.  Would we possibly know by then?

Maybe. Maybe not. Before I submit any deposit, I will ask what their plan is for the fall.

[MPAdreams2020]

On 3/17/2020 at 9:44 AM, thediesel said:

I'll probably defer if that happens. No way I'm paying full tuition for online classes.

On Tuesday Berkeley said it will be doing the first of its two mandatory summer sessions (late May to mid-June) online only for the MPA program.

[mm1029]

My friend forwarded me something that NYU will be offering remote courses for the fall semester for those who cannot relocate in time to start classes, but they are still offering in-person classes as of now.

[Covid-20]

In the worst case scenario I believe that universities will accept one semester deferrals. What do you all think?

[MPAdreams2020]

@Covid-20 my (totally unfounded) guess is that this is why it has taken so long for HKS to release its decisions... not just because of the present chaos of coronavirus but because yields need to be re-thought, a new policy for deferrals considered, etc.

[njapp2020]

3 hours ago, Covid-20 said:

In the worst case scenario I believe that universities will accept one semester deferrals. What do you all think?

For a 2 year/4 semester program, that would throw it off schedule quite a bit.

Start Spring 2021, summer, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, second summer, Fall 2022 finish.  That's a whole extra summer of interning?  Temp work?  I'm not sure if people would go for that.  You might be right, it would just be an adjustment, unless people want to try and wrap things up with winter or summer sessions.

[sloop7]

Also worried about this. Seems like the fluidity of the situation will prevent schools from committing to any Fall timeline before deposits are due...Hopefully programs establish some sort of deferral policy before then?

On 3/17/2020 at 1:15 PM, thediesel said:

Maybe. Maybe not. Before I submit any deposit, I will ask what their plan is for the fall.

 

[sgr2020]

Yeah I really hope to see some deferral policies. To me it would totally defeat the purpose of graduate school to take courses online. 

Would we be able to defer after the April 15 deadline?

[GradSchoolGrad]

Something I recommend people think about is how COVID-19 could possibly create massive resource issues for their graduate program / University for the next year or so.

For elite programs like Harvard Kennedy School,  Princeton's Woodrow Wilson, Columbia SIPA, this will likely be less of an issue since resource wise they tend to be relatively sheltered. They have the combination of A: A crazy war chest of endowment money, B: a name brand, and C : A persistent large pool of applicants (even if it shrinks, it will be fine) to deliver high quality students.

All other policy schools (even other well-regarded ones) may struggle because COVID-19 has A: hurt their endowments and B: Massively shrank their applicant pool.

The applicant pool shrinkage issue is particularly relevant if a grad program has become financially dependent on Chinese international students paying full cost. I have encountered some MPP programs that were approx up to 40% Chinese international students. With everything going with COVID-19 and all the related consequences. That population will likely shrink drastically. That means less resources for the program to spend (especially after fulfilling scholarship funding promises to students) on programming.

What does this mean? If you were sold on a graduate program that had a sales pitch of "we are investing lots of resources into XYZ - like a new building, a new center, a surge of famous faculty" + the student population is not diverse, that program will suffer the most with COVID-19. If you were thinking about enrolling in that program, I recommend you think of alternatives that are more COVID-19 durable. 

As for deferring, I think that all depends on how stable your job is now and how much you want to gamble on when the recession will end. 

Edited March 22, 2020 by GradSchoolGrad

[ehallwyo]

I just got off the phone with the head of graduate enrollment at American SPA, who said that they are currently focused on contingency plans for the summer and that they have not begun to accept the possibility of needing a contingency plan for the fall. I don't know if this is representative for other east coast schools, but American is currently expecting normal operations for fall 2020.

[prokem]

3 minutes ago, ehallwyo said:

I just got off the phone with the head of graduate enrollment at American SPA, who said that they are currently focused on contingency plans for the summer and that they have not begun to accept the possibility of needing a contingency plan for the fall. I don't know if this is representative for other east coast schools, but American is currently expecting normal operations for fall 2020.

That's what Michigan is saying too. Although the dean did hedge his bets and said they're going to be getting better at online stuff over the summer, or something along those lines

[MPAdreams2020]

I have a feeling the coronavirus will have the biggest impact on the mid-career programs, most of which seem to have a mandatory summer component. Definitely concerned about doing intensive schoolwork online from a learning perspective. Also it's definitely not an ideal way to make relationships within a cohort. 

1 hour ago, prokem said:

That's what Michigan is saying too. Although the dean did hedge his bets and said they're going to be getting better at online stuff over the summer, or something along those lines

 

[EspressoDoble]

If Fall 2020 classes are offered only online, then do you think they will offer a fee reduction too? 

If I have to pay the same amount for online classes - but also forego the opportunity to network in-person, and to engage with people face-to-face - then I'm gonna lose it.  

[MPAdreams2020]

3 hours ago, EspressoDoble said:

If Fall 2020 classes are offered only online, then do you think they will offer a fee reduction too? 

If I have to pay the same amount for online classes - but also forego the opportunity to network in-person, and to engage with people face-to-face - then I'm gonna lose it.  

For the MPA program at Goldman, the first of two summer sessions (a six week intensive) is now going to be offered online only. Have yet to receive any indication that there will be a tuition reduction. Beyond the money, I am just really concerned about thriving in an academically rigorous environment that runs from 8:30-4:30 everyday... online. Also (and I think this is what you are saying) I am in it for the cohort. Lack of person-to-person, while understandable in these circumstances, seems like a real loss. 

[EspressoDoble]

1 hour ago, MPAdreams2020 said:

I am in it for the cohort. Lack of person-to-person, while understandable in these circumstances, seems like a real loss. 

I agree, although I'd feel better if they at least reduced the darned fees! 

[MPAdreams2020]

20 minutes ago, EspressoDoble said:

I agree, although I'd feel better if they at least reduced the darned fees! 

Oh yeah... it definitely hurts to pay top dollar for an online education!!

[LazarusRises]

Popping in to say that Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment has pushed back their deposit deadline to June 1. Very glad to hear that and hoping others follow suit.

I was on an admitted students' webinar for Columbia SIPA the other day and someone asked if they had similar plans. The answer was "not as of now, but we'll keep you updated."

[MPAdreams2020]

Not related to the programs we have all applied to, but in tracking the student response to online learning and paying full tuition... https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyu-tischs-students-want-tuition-fee-back-amid-coronavirus-shutdown-dean-responds-with-dance-video/2346626/ (yikes)

 

[EspressoDoble]

3 hours ago, MPAdreams2020 said:

Not related to the programs we have all applied to, but in tracking the student response to online learning and paying full tuition... https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyu-tischs-students-want-tuition-fee-back-amid-coronavirus-shutdown-dean-responds-with-dance-video/2346626/ (yikes)

 

Wow, talk about being tone deaf. Glad NYU alumni are speaking up against her.