Short sighted monetary interest during Covid19.
VIU makes no effort to curb student fees during the Pandemic of 2020. Do students want debt for social services billed but not provided. Fees of every imagination charged to international students and online students that are not possibly accessible to the student. It’s Covid, we are isolating, and VIU still charge students, disguising them in services. I paid 400 for my registration which is normally 200 because someone insisted, I be registered in two programs if I wanted to take a special interest class that was not part of my program. Then due to an community emergency directly related to covid, I could not be in school for the spring semester and VIU is charging. I took part in one get to know you class via zoom and had to drop. If not for a work emergency, I’d not cancel. I could not get in touch with staff or teacher at VIU online, through email or by phone. What option was there. I expected registrar to understand the situation. But NO.
I understand VIU wants to turn a profit, but during unprecedented times, under circumstances for which students are not possibly in control, despite emergencies, and calls to action, the registrar is sending me a fee for this semester which I am not enrolled that also includes service fees for student life, which they cannot possibly provide.
I was forced to drop the class as my work responsibilities included a community mental health emergency that lasted 7 days and started 4 days after the class began. How can this be predicted; it's never happened before?
I couldn't get through to talk to anyone, neither the school or the teacher. I took one zoom meeting and my work situation rotated 360d. I think it's unreasonable to charge fees, despite the emergencies. I am not swimming in money and if VIU wants it, with the amount of money our Canadian Government has thrown to people to encourage them to isolate, although I have not researched it, I am sure schools are being subsidised in excess of what has happened as well. But VIU squeeze students, nonetheless. This is unpalatable.
This school is not transparent. I my case, it showed online that I owed for registration fees approximately $650 and an additional 10% late fee. Including an activity fee and union fees that were scrambled if not halted and on top of that --I am an online student. I do not use their activity fee; what services are they thinking about? I still cannot get someone on the phone. I don't even use their library.
Problem one: the lack of transparency of the only portal does not provide you with any explanation as to how this fee is calculated. You must contact the registrar for clarification. Its time consuming and questionable.
Problem two: Covid forced people to isolate. Students life was dramatically impacted and the education in many cases failed. This is to be expected. Some students were forced to leave the country and leave the school premises. VIU employees were laid off or forced to work in isolation. Businesses stopped; businesses went bankrupt, people could not even get to a doctor and the death toll increased dramatically impacting people in hundreds of ways. Mental health is a serious consideration in this state of being. These influences caused emergencies. I contacted VIU and had a very unwelcome response that the fees that were automatically applied to my account were not being reversed.
If I continued to take classes at VIU I would be spending nearly 10,000 dollars in the next year. But instead of considering my singular student position, they risk this loss. I have my career and have been taking a series of classes online out of personal interest. I feel deeply sorry for students who are starting out in their educational pursuits. It is downright dirty how their system treats students and charge students, many of whom are going into debt for their education.
VIU is unsympathetic of the Covid crisis students may befall and inconsiderate of student conditions. VIU should be supporting students better during this time.