College of General Studies freshmen will receive no change in tuition for their six-week Summer semester following the cancellation of the Boston-London program, said Dean of CGS Natalie McKnight in an online town hall Tuesday night.
The Boston-New England Program will be offered in person and virtually in place of the London program.
“Every other BU student gets charged full tuition for full semester,” McKnight said. “Our freshmen are the same.”
A $2,000 program fee, which has been decreased from the London fee of $5,600, will cover the costs of educational excursions and special events. In-person activities include an evening cruise trip dinner at the Boston Harbor, guest speaker appearances and online guided tours, McKnight said.
“The amount of experiences you have in the Summer,” she said, “are probably five times more than what you have in the Spring.”
Although students are required to pay full tuition, the Boston-New England program is less expensive than the London study abroad because of the significant decrease in travel costs, McKnight said.
Remote students will pay the same tuition as on-campus learners and will have the opportunity to attend a variety of virtual experiences and receive academic support from resources such as the CGS Writing Center.
“If we’re spending $10,000 to take everybody to the Metropolitan Opera that’s online,” McKnight said, “everybody’s going to take part in that remote experience.”
In-person students will be subject to COVID-19 compliance standards including testing, McKnight said.
Director of BU Housing Nishmin Kashyap said at the meeting on-campus students can move into their Summer accommodations May 18.
“All the Summer students will be in [Myles Standish Hall],” Kashyap said.
Kathleen Vandenberg, senior lecturer at CGS, said regular classes will be two hours long, and she anticipates that her team’s Mondays will be class-free, meaning they can potentially go on academically related excursions.
“We’re hoping to come up with an excuse or a reason to go to Martha’s Vineyard or Cape Cod by ferry,” Vandenberg said.
Vandenberg also said CGS students may have the opportunity to paddleboard or swim in Walden, Massachusetts as an excursion.
Students will have the opportunity for socializing outside of the classroom in engaging experiences, she said, much like past CGS Summer programs.
“It’s not just those 12 hours in the classroom that they’re getting,” Vandenberg said.
John Regan, master lecturer at CGS, said he and all of the faculty are ecstatic to teach and create new memories for both in-person and remote freshmen this Summer.
“As a faculty, we spend hours planning activities and going back and forth to make things as meaningful as possible,” Regan said.
Elliot Kim, a CGS freshman attending the meeting, said while he was excited at the prospect of in-person excursions, he was concerned about the quality of the remote experience.
“It just seems pretty disappointing that, while all my friends would be going on a cruise dinner,” Kim said, “I’ll be at home by myself just watching them on a Zoom meeting.”
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said while everyone is disappointed with the cancellation of the Boston-London Program, it’s up to students to maximize the opportunities provided by the Boston-New England Program.
“The program they’re putting together in place of the London program will be a terrific program,” Riley said, “but each student will make those determinations.”
Riley said he anticipates that CGS will look to return to the Boston-London program next year.
CGS freshman Kaylynn Michael, who wrote an open letter with student signatures calling on the University to reduce tuition costs for the program, said after the town hall, she feels especially disappointed with the $2,000 program fee.
“Speakers cost money, but again it’s $2,000 for each student, and there are about 600 students,” Michael said. “I don’t see how guest speakers and excursions can cost a total of $1.2 million for the summer.”
Michael said many students’ questions were not answered because of the limited time and added that there should be another town hall.
Michael said CGS freshmen should be allowed to have 18 credit hours this Summer like other students at BU if they are also charged for full tuition.
“The issue is that they can’t guarantee that we’re going to be able to do outings in-person,” she said. “I think it would put our minds at ease if they lowered the cost.”
Michael said the administration’s “lack of reassurance” makes her skeptical of the program, not the CGS professors. Currently, she added, she is unsure of her plans for the summer.
“As of right now,” Michael said, “I genuinely do not know if I’m going to stay on campus or do remote.”
