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Updates for Fall, 2020 Admitted Students

We've announced some changes to our policies for students admitted for Fall, 2020, as we indicated we might, now that we're deeper into the COVID-19 pandemic.

First, we're asking admitted students (via an email with a survey link) to tell us what they're thinking about fall: A "yes," a "no," or even a "maybe" is an acceptable answer, and it's completely non-binding.  We are asking for some sort of indication of plans just to help us plan for Fall.  If students give us an answer (any answer, even a "not sure") by June 1, we will:

  • Extend the deadline to submit the Advanced Tuition Deposit to September 1
  • Extend the date for a refund of the Advanced Tuition Deposit to September 1
  • Allow students to easily request a waiver of the Advanced Tuition Deposit for reasons of financial hardship (this won't be complicated; we'll trust students and parents)
If a student decides to enroll at one of our partner community colleges in the Degree Partnership Program instead of enrolling at OSU, we’ll keep the institutional merit scholarships waiting up until Fall, 2022.  Eligibility for other types of aid and scholarships that OSU does not administer can only be determined by the federal or state governments, or the scholarship program that awarded you, so students may have to re-apply for those again for the new enrollment term.

Some more updates:

OSU is continuing online instruction for the first terms of summer, 2020.  It is currently our plan to be back to traditional, face-to-face instruction in the final summer sessions, and in the fall.  If that happens, we will make several accommodations to ensure social distancing measures are in effect.  More details about that will be forthcoming over the summer as we monitor progress.

We want to be clear, however, that things may change rapidly over the next few months; whatever we decide, students will be among the first to know.

We are setting up a payment plan for students entering in the Fall.  This will allow parents and students to spread out tuition and other charges over a fixed period of time, to help manage cash flow.

We are encouraging students to look at how OSU has responded to COVID-19 this spring: Unlike many other universities, we allowed students to make a choice about staying in the residence halls; we allowed students who decided to leave to cancel a housing contract without penalty; we refunded student fees on a pro-rated basis; and we gave students extra time to add or drop a class without cost, knowing that online instruction might not have been the right learning environment for everyone.  Similarly, while many universities have cancelled graduation plans for this summer, we asked our graduating seniors what they wanted: They overwhelmingly told us that they wanted to finish their time at OSU with a fitting event, and we’re making plans to hold commencement sometime this fall, if at all possible.

And finally, we froze tuition for returning students, reinforcing our commitment to students who had already made a commitment to OSU.  Discussions about new-student tuition are continuing.

While we don’t know what the future holds, I do hope this shows you that we put students first in everything we do.  

It's how we roll Out Here in Oregon.



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