A Loyola University-New Orleans student who took refuge at Saint Louis University for the fall 2005 semester withdrew from SLU almost two weeks ago, after the University announced that Loyola students’ tuition dollars would be transferred from Loyola to SLU. Other Jesuit schools harboring students from universities affected by Hurricane Katrina have waived tuition for the visiting students so that the schools can use the tuition money to maintain their staff and re-open in the spring. Loyola is paying its faculty and staff through the fall semester, according to a university announcement issued Oct. 3. Kayte Rossi, a Loyola junior who is from St. Louis, said that SLU’s decision to take tuition dollars from Loyola “was incredibly unfair.” She did not return to SLU when classes resumed after fall break on Oct. 26. “We [as a family] can’t abide by the decision that Saint Louis University is holding up Loyola for ransom,” said the student’s father, John Rossi. “I’m at a loss to understand why SLU is taking this approach.” The tuition decision was conveyed to visiting students via e-mail on Oct. 18 after bills dated Sept. 28 had been sent to them, charging them the full amount for a semester at SLU, which included various student fees, a meal plan and housing, if applicable. For Rossi, who commuted from home, that amount was $13,420. John Baworowsky, vice president of enrollment and academic services, explained in the e-mail that the students were not required to pay SLU by the deadline printed on the bill. He said that SLU would credit the students’ accounts for the amount they had paid to Loyola, once Loyola confirmed those amounts, which include any scholarships or financial aid the students received at Loyola. The students would then be charged for any balance that remained, and the tuition from Loyola would be transferred to SLU for all visiting students, in a lump sum. He said that Loyola offered to transfer the payments directly to simplify the process. Many Jesuit universities have waived the tuition for transfer students from the Gulf Coast, including St. Joseph’s University, Santa Clara, Georgetown, Loyola College in Maryland, Loyola University-Chicago, Boston College and Fordham University. This waiver was granted with the stipulation that students maintain their registration at their home institution. Students at these universities were required to pay for room and board and other student fees. “Our intention [in waiving tuition for the displaced students] was to help the affected institutions to remain solvent, if at all possible,” said Mark Kelly, assistant vice president and director of public relations at Loyola Maryland. Loyola-New Orleans’ policy, as explained on the university’s Web site, is that students for whom tuition has been waived will pay tuition to Loyola-New Orleans for the fall semester. If the students are charged tuition at their current institution, the amount they paid to Loyola-New Orleans for the fall will be credited to their account for the spring semester. This policy will “allow Loyola to retain the faculty and staff it needs to resume classes in the spring,” according to the university’s Web site. Decisions regarding tuition payments at SLU had not been made at the time that students from Loyola and other Gulf Coast universities affected by Hurricane Katrina enrolled at SLU. Their admissions process was expedited, and University officials said that financial issues could be worked out later. Many Loyola New Orleans students and their parents were under the impression that the tuition they had paid to Loyola would remain there, based on statements published on the Web sites of Loyola-New Orleans and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities as students rushed to enroll at other universities for the fall semester. These statements were never official and have been amended to reflect that some universities would charge tuition to the visiting students. The only guarantee was that students would not lose any payments made to Loyola, and this has been upheld, Baworowsky said. “As too often happens in the case of emergencies, many competing voices make well-meaning statements that confuse rather than clarify,” Baworowsky said in his e-mail to visiting students. “We greatly regret the confusion about billing and financial aid.” The University of Missouri-St. Louis waived tuition and fees for students whose permanent institutions were closed because of Katrina. Washington University, where many Tulane students reside this semester, did not waive tuition fees for the displaced students. Rossi was one of 160 students from Loyola who enrolled at SLU for the fall. SLU admitted almost 190 students from those universities affected by Katrina. “I believe we acted in good faith. We are consistent in what we do, and we hope that these [transfer] students have found that this has been a good experience, academically,” Baworowsky said. He also said that Rossi would be held to the Sept. 30 withdrawal date-the last day to obtain a partial tuition refund-and will be expected to pay her tuition balance along with the other Loyola transfer students.

Rossi said that she has withdrawn from her classes but has not settled financial issues with the University.