Post University Cuts Tuition As Fall Classes Stay Online

WATERBURY, CT — Seeking to prioritize "the health and well-being" of staff, faculty and students, Post University announced Friday that its upcoming fall semester will remain a virtual one. In a July 9 letter, the university's president, John L. Hopkins, acknowledged that the decision followed still-present risks related to the coronavirus outbreak.

"The upheaval we experienced in our Spring semester has not eased," Hopkins wrote.

The health risks of gathering students on campus makes a regular school "no longer viable," the letter continued. The state's system of community colleges and universities, as well as the University of Connecticut, have declared plans to reopen their campuses in the fall.

In his letter, Hopkins did not directly address other institutions' plans to restart in-person instruction, but he made the case that doing so would guarantee a further spread of the disease.

He wrote, "It is our thinking that any plan geared towards students returning to campus will only attempt to mitigate a viral infection," and added that it would be foolhardy "to think any college or university plan will eliminate an infection."

"The only way to do so is to keep students off campus during the next semester," Hopkins argued. "We anticipate everyone being on campus in January."

While classes will continue to be virtual, the campus will be open for athletes competing in the NCAA's Division II.

Hopkins' summarized the plan for on-campus athletics: The school will limit the number of athletes on campus to 140 students, or eight teams, at any one time. After one team's season ends, those student athletes will leave campus.

"All student athletes will reside in residence halls where they will create small communities by team, or ‘households,'" Hopkins wrote. "Students must also comply with social distancing policies and procedures in place. The students will take their classes remotely.

Citing the "huge strain on our economy as well as the finances for many families," the Hopkins wrote that the university is cutting its campus-based undergraduate tuition to 60 percent of its usual price tag, to $5,700.

For more information, Hopkins' letter can be read here.