Schools

Northeastern Reverses Course On Tuition For Dismissed Students

The university will credit the $26,760 fall tuition to the spring semester for the students caught partying in a hotel-turned-dorm room.

Northeastern University dismissed 11 first-year students for partying in a hotel-turned-dorm room.
Northeastern University dismissed 11 first-year students for partying in a hotel-turned-dorm room. (Jenna Fisher/Patch)

BOSTON — Northeastern University is crediting the fall semester tuitions for the 11 students it dismissed after finding them partying in a hotel-turned-dorm room.

The university's decision to credit each of the students $27,760 for the spring semester comes after heavy criticism, with some parents considering legal action. The school is not refunding or crediting room and board costs, which are pre-paid expenses that amount to $8,774 per student.

An attorney representing two of the students' families told The Boston Globe the "university's response is still not acceptable."

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Northeastern said the students' discipline was upheld in their appeals hearings.

"Nevertheless, the university retains discretion to modify the sanction and, in the case of all 11 students, the tuition portion of their fall semester expenses ... will be credited toward the spring semester at Northeastern," the university said in a statement Thursday evening. "While the students remain dismissed from the NUin program, they will continue to have access to academic advising, mental health, and other support services."

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The students were part of the NUin study abroad program, which was adjusted so students could live in Boston. There are over 800 NUin students living in the Westin Hotel.

"Those people who do not follow the guidelines—including wearing masks, avoiding parties and other gatherings, practicing healthy distancing, washing your hands, and getting tested—are putting everyone else at risk," Madeleine Estabrook, senior vice chancellor for student affairs, said after the discipline was announced in early September.

Northeastern's punishment was criticized by some as overly punitive, while some applauded the university for sending a strong message. The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time and Fox News all prominently displayed the story on their websites.


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