Hopkins takes in Tulane students

Along with many universities nationwide, Hopkins has welcomed 24 displaced undergrads as visiting students -- all but one of them from Tulane University -- after Hurricane Katrina forced the closure of their schools.

Because the 23 Tulane students, and one student from hard-hit Xavier University, were admitted to Hopkins as commuters, the only requirement for their admission was residency in Maryland or the District of Columbia.

John Latting, dean of undergraduate admissions, called the Tulane students' enrollment process straightforward. "We weren't in the mode of being selective," he said. "We were just trying to help people out."

While no specific academic criteria were required of the displaced students, Dean of Enrollment and Academic Services William Conley said, "Their admission to Tulane [acted as] a surrogate for Hopkins' admission requirements."

Some students were denied admission, but, as Latting clarified, "Usually it had to do with cases where we simply didn't have the major or the couses [appropriate to the student's academic route]."

"Hopkins collaborated with a group of AAU [American Association of Universities] schools that wanted to work collectively in support of Tulane and to develop some guidelines to make the process seamless," Conley said.

One such guideline was the decision to act as "collection agency" for those Tulane students who had not yet paid for the fall semester. "We have agreed to collect tuition for Tulane," said Conley, "but the money is forwarded to Tulane." In this sense, the University is not receiving any direct compensation from the students, but, as Conley explained, their enrollment did not incur any additional costs: "They are not residential students...and they enrolled only in courses that had existing capacity."

On Sept. 27 the House of Representatives passed and on Oct. 3 the Senate approved a bill that would provide up to $36 million in federal financial aid to students affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The measure would be funded by existing aid programs -- for example, Stafford Loans and Federal Work Study -- from which universities annually receive more money than they use. The bill allows the secretary of education to send the surplus to colleges in the Gulf Coast area and to those that have enrolled displaced students.

Dean of Undergraduate Education and Vice Provost Paula Burger discussed the legislation. "My impression is that the money made available to colleges and universities would be considered as aid to the students, to be dispensed by the University to students to help them cover the expense of relocating to new campuses," she said. She added, however, that it remains unclear to administrators whether all displaced students are eligible for the aid or if it is limited only to students eligible for other types of federal funds.

Students were admitted on a temporary, one-semester basis and are considered to be on "visiting status." Any credits they earn while taking classes at Hopkins can only be used as transfer credit.

Conley noted another rule. "Hopkins would not admit any of these students as transfer students if they apply in the future." He said the administration implemented the limitations because, "We didn't want [the students' temporary admission] to be a back door to Hopkins."

He made clear that the students were not given special registration priorities. "We gave them the caveat up front that some of the courses may be full and that they would have to be like any other student," he said.

Many universities have opened their doors to Gulf Coast students, and some institutions, including the University of Chicago, have similarly stipulated that visiting students will not be accepted as transfer students.

In contrast to Hopkins, the University of Pennsylvania's policy states that any transfer applications from displaced students will be considered in the normal way. According to Assistant to the Deputy Provost Anita Gelburd, "[Tulane] students would apply just like any other students."

Despite these restrictions, senior international relations major Madeleine Pryor feels that the classes she is taking this semester at Hopkins will allow her to graduate on time from Tulane.

"It went really well and was a really quick thing," said Pryor of the process. "I sent in my application that Saturday [before classes started] and I got an e-mail Sunday saying I was accepted. It was really quick [because] someone was working over the weekend." She compared the speed at which she was enrolled in Hopkins with the experiences of her friends, who had to wait much longer to hear back from other universities.

Freshman Julia David said she does not foresee any difficulty with having to once again readjust to a new school when she returns to New Orleans. "Once we get back to where we originally wanted to be it will be easier," she said.

"I feel a loyalty toward Tulane, I picked Tulane for a reason."

Tulane University has already set plans in motion to reopen for the spring semester on Jan. 17. The school's president, Scott Cowen, also announced that an additional seven-week semester -- called a Lagniappe semester -- would be held in May and June for students who decided not to attend school this fall or fell behind in their studies.