The coronavirus pandemic forced Russian universities and students to study online. But, as it turns out, online lectures and seminars are not as scary as the uncertainty and even despair which students or applicants, who are studying or just planning to study on fee-based terms, are currently facing.
According to experts, almost half of the students are receiving a higher education degree on fee-based terms in Russia today. But the virus deprived both parents and students of their jobs, some students often not only pay for their studies themselves, but also support their families. Today, universities are deciding how to support these students as much as possible. It is already known tuition fees in the new academic year will remain unchanged. A lot of universities will probably offer to pay for their tuition in instalments. Will it help students?
According to Rector of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Eskindarov, a high-quality education cannot be cheap. But in the present circumstances, everything must be done not to lose a single student.
About 50 students at the Financial University have already received some financial support. Students who are paying tuition fees as well as applicants who will be studying on fee-based terms are allowed to pay their tuition fees in instalments, if necessary even with monthly payments. Residence hall fees will be waived, as it was done in March and April. For those in a very difficult situation, e.g loss of a breadwinner or total unemployment in the family, we will first consider the possibility of transferring this student to a state-subsidised place. Each year a number of such places appear to be vacant due to academic failures. We are not going to keep any of these places, as we are going to transfer these students as soon as possible. Another option is transferring students to distance learning or correspondence programmes, while retaining the same academic programmes.
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