For us high school students, the transition to online learning has definitely started to take a toll on us. Sleeping in sounds way more appealing than trying to teach yourself that online math lesson that you haven’t caught up on.

College students are undoubtedly beginning to feel this pressure as well, however in a different light. As their classes have gone online, most of them have either returned to their homes or requested an extended stay at their dorms. 

The unexpected shift from in-class learning to online learning has thrown almost everyone off their track completely. Some have been arguing that the classes being held on programs such as Zoom are not nearly as valuable as they were previously, when they were in person. 

Experts are urging people to understand that many universities financially cannot afford to pay their students back in tuition, as it is their main source of revenue (Chicago Tribune). Frances Lee (12), understands that colleges need their source of revenue in order to keep their facilities running, however she also wants these institutions to consider the financial situations of their students and what this virus has done financially to families. 

In fact, it has been reported that multiple universities have wrote to members of Congress asking for more federal aid, as the desertion of dorms on campus has lost schools a large sum of their revenue. 

Although these online courses from universities still credit to whatever type of degree a student is aiming towards, college attendees have started petitioning the division of spring tuition by one half. Students at the University of Chicago, Drexel University, Colorado State University, and students all across Oregon have rallied petitions to form their complaints towards the rigid tuition fees. 

University of Colorado students have claimed that if the university officials do not change their policies by April 29th, they will hold off on paying their spring tuition. 

In spite of the fact that UChicago is unlikely to lower their tuition fees, they have released a statement of their promise to unwaveringly honor all financial aid, scholarships, and loans towards students’ tuitions during these trying times. 

Over in Colorado, the petition on change.org started by Colorado State senior Alexia Roberts has already gained over 6,000 signatures, all signed by students who “feel there should be some justice or some kind of refund,” said Roberts (Collegian). 

Roberts said that once the petition has garnered at least 25% of the school’s population, she plans to address their concerns to the administration. 

This raised hope for many students, but unfortunately the university released a statement the same day the petition received 60% of its signature goal by saying they will not be refunding any sort of tuition fees to students.