CU Accepts 58 Student from UPR to Study at No Cost

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KEY POINTS: 

  • Cornell University will host and teach 58 students from Universidad de Puerto Rico at no cost as part of an Interuniversity Relief Program.
  • Puerto Rico expects to have 95 percent of its power restored by the end of February 2018. The government has struggled to stabilize and rebuild the island following the two hurricanes that struck it at the end of the summer.
  • A fund to defray the expenses of hosting the students has reached 56,695 dollars, surpassing its goal of 40,000.
  • In 2004, Cornell hosted 204 students from various institutions in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina.

Cornell University agreed to accept 58 students from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) to study at Cornell for a semester at no cost — including tuition, room and board — in January.

Although the University of Puerto Rico has opened since both Hurricane Maria and Irene struck the island, it has not yet been able to start operating at full-strength. NPR reported that in the months following the storms, Puerto regained only 50 percent of its power, which was later knocked down to 22 percent after a main transmission line shut down. By November 16, the power had been restored to 40 percent. Governor Ricardo Roselló announced that the island expects to have 95 percent of its power restored by the end of February 2018.

In a statement from Cornell’s president, Martha E. Pollack, she said, “These young people, and nearly everyone in Puerto Rico, have gone through a terrible trauma. This is our way of reaching out to them and our university colleagues in Puerto Rico to show we stand with them and their families during this difficult time in their academic, professional and personal lives.”

The students wishing to attend the Cornell had to apply before the December 1 deadline to be considered for a spot during the spring and summer sessions. Fifty undergraduate and professional master’s degree students will be enrolled through the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions. Eight graduate research students will through the Graduate School. After they are selected, students will not only take courses at Cornell and earn credits, but they will also receive an official Cornell transcript and have access to resources, including libraries, computing facilities, laboratories, support services and activities, like other students on campus.

Glenn Altschuler, dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, said that the campus wide effort has required and will require some extra work on the part of professors, staff and even students, but it’s what the interuniversity relief program call for and it’s a worthy cause.

“This is a campus-wide effort. Students are going to be giving up some room in their residences; faculty are going to be teaching some extra students; deans are doing the work to make it happen; and our president and provost are leading the way in how we should be responding,” said Atshculer.

Students in the Puerto Rican Student Association (PRSA) say they are excited about the UPR-Cornell program and have been working with the Latino Studies Program, student leaders, faculty and Cornell administration to finalize details concerning the UPR students’ transition into Cornell. In November the group arranged to separate events to raise money for hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

“We are coordinating a peer-mentorship program that will assign an upperclassmen with the same major as the Puerto Rican students to not only help them with the academic transition but also the cultural and social change,” said Marielisa Cabrera, co-president of PRSA at Cornell.

The university also opened up a fund to help accommodate any unexpected costs the students might accrue and “defray the expenses” of hosing the students during their stay. The fund opened mid-November with a goal of 40,000 dollars and since then has surpassed its goal by 41 percent, raising 56,695 dollars from 297 donors.

 

UPR students will responsible for the costs of their own transportation to the campus, books, health insurance and personal expenses. The fund page says that efforts to secure reduced airfare are currently underway.

This relief effort is not the first time Cornell has offered to host another university’s students. In 2004, following Hurricane Katrina, Cornell opened its classrooms to students from Tulane University, Xavier University of Louisiana and University of New Orleans, in total 204 students.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.cornell.edu

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