Student Remedies Task Force Update and Survey Results
A Message from Dr. Robert Mack, Vice Provost for Student Success and Engagement, Co-Chair of
the Student Remedies Task Force; and Mikayla Durham, Lang, Director of Engagement in the University Student Senate, Co-Chair of the Student Remedies Task Force
Dear New School community,
We are writing to you today to share the progress of the Student Remedies Task Force. This Task Force of students, faculty, and staff was established to recommend a set of equitable and achievable remedies that can be implemented for current and graduating students. The group has been meeting regularly to assess how the strike and a variety of other activities on campus affected the student experience in the fall.
Last month, the Task Force conducted a survey to gather feedback directly from students to better understand the impact of the strike, the support they are seeking, and what ways we can address student concerns. We received 995 responses and are sharing a takeaway from the multiple-choice section of the survey below.
With over 400 write-in responses, there were several similar themes. A desire for a financial remedy was the most prominent. To this end, it was recently announced that all enrolled fall 2022 students who are continuing at The New School next year will have a grant added to their account that will offset the university tuition increase. The task force strongly recommended this special consideration be given to students impacted in the fall. To clarify, this means that tuition bills will reflect a 3.5 percent increase as approved by the Board of Trustees, but the university will provide continuing students with an “offset grant” that will effectively keep their tuition costs for next year unchanged.
We received specific feedback from graduating students for career-related support, and we are prioritizing remedies for these students. Other key themes from the survey included additional access to courses, spaces, or subscriptions to support students’ work. Lastly, we continue to hear of a lack of community trust among students, faculty, and administration and are working to address this important concern.
The Student Remedies Task Force will continue meeting and discussing the survey results and provide final recommendations to senior leadership by early May. We will share this in our final communication toward the end of this semester with students.