What High Schools and Colleges are Doing

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I’ve put together what I know and some reasonable predictions about the current behavior and future decisions of high schools and colleges. For more on this topic check out this post. It has some useful advice on how to maximize this interruption from the normal routine.

Updates on Essays, Testing, and Admissions

High Schools

Secondary school response has varied by state and by institution type, private vs. public. 

Kansas and Virginia have decided to cancel school for the rest of the year. Most states are still clinging to an April or May return, but this is likely to change. I think it is unlikely that students will return to school this year. For advice on how to use this time to your advantage, check here. 

Michigan public schools won’t count any online work for credit, but Indiana’s online work will count. By-in-large, how (or if) high schools will make up time and deal with credits is undecided. Many districts and their students have no choice but to wait and see. 

Private schools are in better shape. Catholic high schools in particular have the infrastructure to soldier on. As can be expected, I have noticed a significant difference in rigor, implementation, and expectation between institutions. 

AP & IB

The AP exams will happen. The format will be a 45-minute exam taken at home, and all questions will be free-response. Because semesters vary, the exam will cover what most classes would reach by early March. Test dates are here. Students can take free online AP review courses, courtesy of the College Board. They can find those courses and register through their AP portal. We also offer tutoring for many AP subjects, so feel free to contact us. 

IB exams are canceled. Students will receive certificate or diploma recognition based on their coursework to date. A FAQ is available here. 

Colleges

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Many campuses are watching their financial doomsday clock tick towards midnight. LIU and Quinnipiac have announced layoffs and pay cuts. Central Washington has declared a state of financial exigency. This could have a serious effect on students. There’s a lot of variables here, so contact us if you have a question about your institution. 

On the idiotic side of the coin, Liberty University has returned to on-campus classes. This is a wild outlier, one that won’t be repeated.

The Senate stimulus package has about $30 bn in grants for schools and colleges. $1 bn is for colleges that serve low income, first-generation, and minority students. 

Student Loans

The Senate package also included a tax break for employers making student loan payments for employees. This practice has been growing for new hires but remains limited to large employers. 

The Department of Education announced there would be no involuntary collection of student loan payments for at least 60 days. The Senate package would defer payments for up to six months. 

Pass/Fail & Grading

Almost all colleges will remain online only for the remainder of the spring term. Most colleges have gone to some system of pass/fail grading. This varies from true pass/fail systems to hybrid systems like choosing which courses will be for grades and which will be pass-fail. Take as many graded hours as you can, if you can. 

Refunds for Room, Board, Student Activity Fees, & Lab Fees

Colleges are beginning to respond to mounting pressure to issue refunds. The state of Maine has estimated its refund will cost 2.3% of the system’s operating budget, $13 million of $585 million. Unified state systems are more likely to issue refunds, in my view, because many of their campuses have a high portion of commuters as students. 

Other colleges are resisting, or outright refusing refunds. The current crisis is having a bigger effect on smaller, poorly funded and endowed institutions. Like many American families, these colleges are only a few paychecks away from disaster. 

This is not limited to poor colleges. Large, successful universities like Michigan State have told students that they won’t be receiving refunds. Further, even “rich colleges” are affected. Georgetown announced it could not afford to give students refunds. Tuition revenue forms the bedrock of most operating budgets. 

The fat endowments of “rich” colleges have taken a hit. While colleges are navigating this crisis day-by-day, like all of us, they are anticipating tougher times ahead: lucrative international enrollments have been trending down, tuition per student is flat or declining, and there will be fewer students graduating high school in coming years. 

Check back next week for more on how high schools and colleges are navigating the crisis. Check out our updates on admissions, testing, and the one thing you can do to put yourself in the front of the admissions line. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, I always answer them for free!