At the bottom of the Tuition and Fees page on NYU’s website, a disclaimer states: “The Board of Trustees of New York University reserves the right to alter the schedule of fees without notice.”
While this disclaimer is not new, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management Lynn Higinbotham said that NYU’s right to alter the scheduling of fees is an act of precaution meant to help students met with extenuating circumstances.
“In the event of a catastrophe or dramatically unforeseen circumstances that could drastically impede the student’s ability to make the payment, leadership may elect to extend the due date to assist students,” Higinbotham wrote in an email to WSN.
The disclaimer was alarming to some students, such as Tisch sophomore Iman Mirza. She was unaware of the disclaimer, and said she was uncomfortable with the idea of a sudden change in the schedule of fees.
“It does worry me that they have a right to change it because now I know there is a chance that they could change it to work against us,” Mirza said. “And we won’t be able to do anything about it because technically they did give out that disclaimer to admitted students.”
Higinbotham assured WSN that the university would not alter the scheduling of fees in any way that would negatively affect students.
“Leadership would not entertain abbreviating the time allotted for students to pay or any scenario that would accelerate the due date and potentially affect students adversely,” Higinbotham said.
Although this disclaimer exists, Senior Presidential Fellow and Professor Ellen Schall said the Board of Trustees has not been in a situation that warranted a sudden change in the scheduling of fees.
“In their memory and at least for the last dozen years, there has been no year in which the board changed the amount posted,” Schall said.
Email Jesse Jimenez at [email protected].
