BAU to Refund Some of 2020 Spring Semester Fees

Dear President of Bahçeşehir University Prof. Dr. Şirin Karadeniz & The Board of Trustees,

We hope our words find you in good health. We, the students of Bahçeşehir University, write to you to make you aware of a matter we find to be of utmost importance and seriousness.

It should be emphasized that we, the students, do not prefer resorting to publicizing our issue with the university, out of concern for our university’s great reputation. As well as our understanding of the economic consequences the pandemic of Covid-19 has brought to many sectors, one of those being the educational sector, however, we also expect our university to understand and consider the consequences the pandemic has left us with individually and as families. We resort to this rather public method of addressing the situation after several individual attempts from multiple students to bring the same matter to your attention in person on university grounds to no avail.

We ask of the university to set a just price in accordance with the alternative form of education that has been provided during most of the fall semester of 2020 due to the effects of Covid-19, which is distance (online) education, which would require the following:

1- To refund a percentage of the tuition fee charged for the fall semester of 2020, not less than 30% of the total sum of the tuition fee.

2- In the case that the upcoming semesters were to be taught online completely (%100 online education), or partially (%50 online classes, %50 face-to-face education), then it would require the university to modify the tuition fees to be charged for us as students in accordance with the hard times the world is suffering from.

Noting that tuition fees were paid for the university for a different form of education than the one received, which violates the form contractually agreed on by both the students and the university as an educational institution providing physical, practical education which is at odds with distance (online) education, for a sum of money.

Lastly, we trust the kind, revered decision-makers in our beloved university to respond adequately to our due demands, knowing that other private universities in Istanbul that have also switched to online education have responded appropriately to similar demands from their students, hoping our university will continue its honorable path as an educational institution.

Kindest regards,

Your grateful students