What SHOULD I Be Thinking?
Hello, Dear Friends-
This is a first for me. I really did not think I needed to blog. Pretty much stuck my stubborn jaw out front and said nope.
Then, as you may know, I published my first book, ENOUGH! The College Cost Crisis, on March 24, 2020 on Amazon. Right in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. In spite of these troubled times, many of you have supported it and written great reviews. Thank you all! Ah, but now a virus has changed everything!
As I chafe under quarantine, I am finding boatloads of information about the scramble colleges and universities are facing. In the Chronicle of Higher Education, there are daily posts about the most pressing questions. Will the campuses be allowed to open, and when? A blog by the Chancellor of a local university captured this dystopian event well. He said,
“We asked students to move out of the residence halls on short notice, resulting in people having to make living arrangements on the fly. We shifted almost 100% of our classes online in less than a week, putting great strain on our faculty and staff. We asked most of our staff to telecommute- creating challenges at home. We had to ask others to keep coming in because they were needed, which generated its own set of questions and concerns. We postponed commencement ceremonies, disrupting the opportunity for our students and their families to celebrate what is a significant accomplishment – getting a college degree (know that we continue to work on plans to honor our 2020 grads). And most recently, we announced that all summer school classes will be online.”
- Chancellor Franklin Gilliam, University of North Carolina- Greensboro 4/9/2020
Yet, we know there are more ominous, serious conversations centered around institutional financial gaps due to potential refunds of unused residence and meal plans and parking fees.
The article below appeared on the website www.diverseeducation.com on April 14, 2020, about university staffing cuts in the state of Oregon.
The University of Oregon said Monday it will lay off at least 282 employees, mainly because of revenue loss from student lodging and foodservice following the closure of campuses due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported Oregon Live.
Other universities in the state are also considering various kinds of cost tightening, as Oregon’s public colleges will be deprived of more than $100 million in revenue in the current quarter due to campus closures and cancellation of college events including sporting competitions.
The University of Oregon and Oregon State will likely be the biggest hit, proportionately, because they have more students living in dormitories and because their sports programs are relatively bigger.
Oregon State University is actively cutting employees’ hours and Portland State University may do the same.
“Only the novel coronavirus will determine what happens,” said an Oregon State spokesman. – Ben Carson
I believe this domino effect of lost revenues will impact all colleges and universities, everywhere. Period. Most campuses will undergo a deep and painful review of their majors and research systems as a result of fewer students and financial resources in the foreseeable future. This pandemic comes on the heels of a long slow decline in total students continuing into higher education over the past 8 years, according to a strong article found at https://thebestschools.org/magazine/us-college-enrollment-slump/
All this turmoil and upending of traditional patterns in pursuing further education got me thinking. If I were a parent of a student in late middle school, high school, or even someone in their first two years of college, how do I respond? What should I be thinking about? What exactly can I do right now?
Here are some thoughts:
FIRST- Now is the time for a checkup or assessment of your student. If your college student was doing well academically, emotionally, and making progress towards their future, great! But, if your student was struggling at college, was happy to come home, and doesn’t show any interest in going back, explore this a bit more.
If your student is still in middle or high school, it is a great time to take stock of their academic skills and their unique talents interests and gifts. Skills can be sharpened with training if needed. Discovering talents to be developed for their futures is a lifetime gift to them.
In my book, ENOUGH! The College Cost Crisis, there are several chapters devoted to you and your student finding out more about their native gifts and talents. Having a heart to heart about their concerns along with ways to identify interests, may bring more clarity and direction for you all. That is always where you want to be.
SECOND- Take a look at your own finances as well as the potential debt load of your current or future college student. You may have a 2020 high school senior who plans to attend XYZ University or a kid currently in college and, you just lost your job of 10 years. Yikes. Don’t panic. There are things you can do.
1) If your kid is already in college, you can appeal your FAFSA aid package because your circumstances have changed. Check out this article on the various issues that may improve your financial aid award. This appeal can occur NOW even if your kid won’t start until the fall of 2020. https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/how-to-appeal-for-more-financial-aid-for-college
2) Most universities and colleges have deferred college payment plans, which allow you to make payments monthly. Check out this resource:
3) Know these four critical numbers in your family financial picture: How much you have coming in, how much is going out, what is in your savings, what is in your emergency account (which you may be using!) are critical parts of your situation today. There’s a fifth and important next question; what needs to change financially? When things are tough, a simple rule is best- reduce expenses and find side hustles to increase income.
Crisis tends to bring great clarity to one’s situation. If things need to change for you and your student next fall, now is the right time to explore your options. Waiting until July to consider if you can make the August 2020 tuition, room and board bill will result in hasty, hard decisions for the whole family. Even if you are not a planner type, make some notes about possible changes in any direction you MAY need to consider. Talk honestly about these options with your student now. Reassure them you are doing all you can to think ahead, and here are some possibilities. The more they understand you are working together, the more reassuring it will be.
THIRD- We are all more adaptable than we think. Look at us- we may have learned how to work from home for the first time; we wear face masks; we practice “social distancing”; and - we have creatively adapted our lives to fight this virus. Give yourselves a pat on the back!
My prediction about all this is a no-brainer, almost a “duh.” I can guarantee that the college experience of the past will NOT be resumed anytime soon. And when it does, it WILL look different. Not just look, but BE. Maybe knowing that truth will help us handle the changes that are rolling over us now and down the road.
We can’t control a lot of things right now. BUT- we should each come up with a few different paths for our family and student just in case they are needed. Looking at your situation NOW and thinking through options will take a lot of stress out of the next few months.
Until next time,
All my best to you,
Bonnie Burkett
