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Gulf Coast School Presidents Express Thanks, Urge Financial Sensitivity |
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September 6, 2005 |
Our nation -- our higher education community -- has been coping with one
of the most difficult weeks in our history. The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless, and perhaps
more than a thousand dead. We believe more than 30 colleges and universities in the Gulf Coast region have been severely damaged by the hurricane, and that
up to 100,000 students have been displaced. We are clearly facing a long and challenging road to recovery at every level.
While it has been nearly impossible to communicate with many campuses in the affected areas, we have been able to speak with several presidents and chancellors
- nearly all of whom remained on their campuses and rode out the storm. To a person, they are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of students, donors,
alumni and friends. They are particularly grateful for the outpouring of support from colleague presidents and institutions, and find it difficult to express
their thanks for all the efforts to care for and house the students impacted by the hurricane.
While their immediate needs include very basic items like phone service, power, and dry office space, each of these presidents is greatly concerned about
the long-term financial impact Katrina will have on their institution. Specifically, they are urging colleague institutions enrolling their students to
do the following:
• Admit students only on a visiting or provisional basis, so that they remain students of their home institution;
• Do not charge tuition if the student has already paid tuition to the home institution; and if the student has not paid the home institution, charge
the home institution's rate of tuition and remit that amount to the home institution;
• Certainly other fees, including room and board, would be charged by the host institution as appropriate.
We realize that every institution must decide for itself how to handle this unprecedented influx of student refugees, and that some state laws could make
some of these financial arrangements difficult. However we also know - as former presidents and chancellors - how each of us would feel if put in the same
disastrous situation. We urge our member institutions, to the best of their ability and in keeping with state and federal laws, to abide by these principles
as they seek to help these students. We hope each of our member institutions will hear the call for help from their Gulf Coast colleagues, and find ways
to honor these important financial requests as they continue their unprecedented efforts to help.
George Boggs, president, American Association of Community Colleges
Charles Currie, president, Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Deno Curris, president, AASCU
Nils Hasselmo, president, Association of American Universities
Peter Magrath, president, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
David Ward, president, American Council on Education
David Warren, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities |
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Information on what AASCU members are offering students and campuses affected by Hurricane
Katrina now available on http://www.campusrelief.org, a portal for government updates on displaced students policy.
The Society for College and University Planning also is collecting information for helping colleges and universities affected by Hurricane Katrina at http://www.scup.org/knowledge/katrina/ |
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