The Only Plan for Poor Students
MIT’s Reopening Plan Outperforms Peers’ to Accommodate All Students
As the 2020 school year creeps closer, schools across the US released plans to reopen classrooms in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and educators are concerned about the number of students who lack internet connectivity and subsequently fell behind in the switch to emergency remote learning. Despite the social and academic benefits of classroom-based learning cited by the federal government, many students will continue to learn online in hopes of reducing viral spread.
Free from government pressures, the Ivy+, a small group of elite private universities including Ivy League Schools like Harvard along with MIT, Stanford, and UChicago*, created plans for undergraduate learning and community-building this fall.
While the Ivy+ schools all produced reopening plans centered on protecting community health, MIT stands out as the only Ivy+ institution that directly addressed the gap in opportunity and resources that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face in remote learning.
MIT made a goal of protecting student wellbeing with “equity, fairness, and caring” in a letter from university President Reif, core values which influenced the institute’s actions to help under-resourced students.
MIT’s reopening plan displays concern for equity of access in 4 ways its peer institutions failed to do:
- Puts money and tools into the hands of students that need it most, immediately.
Eligible students can receive a $5000 grant, wifi hotspots, and work stipends up to $1900. MIT is loaning Apple iPads to all enrolled students and teaching assistants to upgrade their current technology and promote collaboration. MIT also reversed a planned tuition increase, in contrast to USC’s determination to raise tuition during a pandemic).
While Princeton announced a 10% tuition decrease, students may benefit more from directly receiving funds or technology, especially if parents may be unemployed due to the pandemic. Low- to middle-income families often pay tuition through loans, so the tuition decrease does not produce the immediate funds they need to purchase remote learning essentials, such as a laptop or desk for the student’s bedroom.
2. Focuses on physical and mental health.
MIT was the only Ivy+ institution to list mental health resources on its COVID-19 response page. MIT acknowledges the increased stress and anxiety students experienced during the pandemic, especially in lower income communities where talking about mental health may still be taboo and home lives more cramped. MIT will also focus on nutrition by giving a 40% discount for on campus meal plans in a reversal from increasing meal plan costs against student protests in prior years.
3. Provides a more flexible grading policy.
Grades of D or F will not automatically show on the student’s transcript. MIT also allows a Pass/No Record option for one additional class for upperclassman. This encourages students to challenge themselves academically, but does not punish them if unforeseen situations negatively affect their studies during the semester.
4. Prioritizes seniors who need on-campus resources and labs to graduate and begin their careers.
MIT’s plan also clearly defines the “hardships” that would qualify other students to return to campus.
The other Ivy+ reopening plans fail low-income students because they assume a wealthy and healthy home for students to return to at any point. The flexibility that other Ivy+ institutions ask of students in their reopening plans demands fluid funds to make last minute changes.
The other Ivy+ institutions failed to show the same concern for low income students’ access to the resources needed to create a safe and consistent learning environment during remote classes this fall. Instead, they put procedures above people. Most websites first listed the procedures for returning to campus in a whirlwind of travel forms, conduct agreements, and testing schedules. Harvard College’s reopening page provides tips to improve connectivity, but no direct guidance on how to achieve the necessary tools to learn online (computer, internet connection, microphone) if the family lacks funds.
Several Ivy+ schools changed the academic calendar in ways that affect student housing options in expensive urban areas leaving unanswered questions: Where will the freshman class live for their remote winter term between autumn and spring terms on campus at Dartmouth? How many students will find a two month off-campus lease for the abridged Autumn term at UChicago? What is the cost to fully relocate twice in a year if a student is not allowed on campus for continuous quarters at Stanford?
None of the Ivy+ reopening plans state how janitorial staff will be compensated for the increased cleaning to meet rigorous health standards nor provide extended childcare benefits for all employees.
Princeton changed their reopening plan just three weeks before the semester started. The update barred undergraduates from returning to campus even though many students may have already booked flights or signed costly rental agreements near campus that now must be cancelled.
MIT’s focus on equity of access in their reopening plan stems from the fact that they have one of the highest percentages of low-income students in the Ivy+. 6.2% of MIT students are from the bottom fifth US households by income, compared to 4% at Stanford or 2.2% at Princeton. The income diversity of the MIT student body occurs in part because MIT does not practice legacy admissions. MIT’s reopening plan cares for their low-income students because MIT knows these students have equal potential, but may need help obtaining equal access in remote learning.
MIT will benefit from their income-inclusive reopening plan. Already, less incoming freshman deferred than expected. Perhaps this will be followed with increased alumni pride and donations? Or more applications for future classes because students admire how the put students’ wellbeing and access over financial gain?
Either way, 2020 is the year by which governments, universities and companies will be evaluated based on how they treated those in need.
* I included MIT, Stanford, and the University of Chicago in the Ivy+ because I think they offer technical and liberal arts undergraduate studies at a level that rivals (and sometimes outdoes) the Ivy League schools. This is an opinion, not an official definition.
