AUSTIN, Texas — While summer tuition rates have been slashed for undergraduate students at the University of Texas at Austin, summer semester tuition remains unchanged for graduate students. Several hundred students have asked the university to change that.

• UT only slashed summer tuition for undergrad students
• Petition started asking for same benefit for grad students 
• UT said it is working to help grad students

Alexis Aguren said she’s grateful that she’s still able to attend school, but says it’s been a rough transition from in-person to online classes. Her unpaid internship helping to counsel students at a nearby school has moved online as well. 

"I think some majors and some programs might transfer to online classes better than others,” said Aguren. "Unfortunately, because social work is such a - literally it's in the name ‘social’ field. That aspect is lost in a lot of my classes, or it's clunky, it's awkward.” 

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On top of the major shift in how her life operates, the 26-year-old was let go from her service industry job. That job was helping her pay for the accelerated year-long master's in social work program she’s enrolled in. 

"I know many others are in similar situations, where their sources of income were lost,” remarked Aguren. “And not that your income can generally pay for tuition for a graduate student, but it does help with cost of living." 

Aguren said she is lucky that she was able to successfully apply for unemployment benefits. The University of Texas system has frozen tuition increases for the next two years in response to the COVID-19 crisis, which Aguren said is a good thing, but it leaves her out of the mix. 

“Unfortunately for people graduating like myself, it doesn't really impact us,” said Aguren. 

Aguren is required to take summer classes if she wants to graduate on schedule. It’s why she was initially excited to see the university would be discounting the upcoming summer semester, but later found out that only applied to undergrads. 

Monday, Aguren and at least 100 other graduate students and faculty members signed a letter urging UT to extend the summer semester discount to grad students as well. 

"We're not outraged, we're just asking for something simple, equity, and just understanding where these decisions are coming from and how we can make our voices heard,” said Aguren.

As of Friday more than 1,100 people have signed an online petition seeking the same relief for grad students. 

While there have been moves made to increase the number of paid teaching assistant positions available to grad students, Aguren said she and her cohorts are typically not looked at for those positions since their stay at the university is so short-lived. Aguren also said many of those TA and GA positions don’t really offer a living wage. 

In a statement sent to Spectrum News, University of Texas communications strategist Shilpa Bakre said the university is still working to help students impacted by the COVID-19 crisis:

“In response to the considerable financial impacts of the COVID-19 public health crisis, the university reduced summer tuition rates for undergraduate students. The focus of these efforts was to ensure students have opportunities to advance in their academics and lower the financial barriers. This is supported through a combination of a reduction in tuition and increased access to financial aid provided through the CARES Act and other sources. These reductions, in coordination with additional financial aid, is one way we are working to support students in this challenging time. 

"Graduate students are also impacted by this crisis in many ways. Unlike undergraduate tuition rates, graduate student tuition rates vary considerably by department and discipline. Providing financial support to these students requires an approach and strategy with the local context in mind. Instead of reducing graduate tuition rates, the university decided there were more effective and meaningful ways to provide financial support and relief to graduate students in need. For context, average financial support for graduate students amounts to a discount of 88% for PhD students and 43% for master’s students because of the many tuition waivers and tuition supplements that the university provides. 

"We have heard from some graduate students who are facing serious financial challenges, and the university is currently working to respond and quickly provide support. One example is the new investment of $1.3 million by the Graduate School this summer to fund additional teaching assistant and assistant instructor positions. To support graduate students who were on track to graduate but are now are unable to finish their thesis or dissertation requirements because of COVID-19, the university has worked to ensure they can register “in absentia” for the summer free of charge. The university is also actively pursuing additional avenues to provide financial relief and support to graduate students in need. This information will be shared with the graduate student community very soon.”

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