Dear Students,
We hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer. While the campus is quieter than usual, it has been great to see students who are conducting research through SRI or interning or working locally, and we are awaiting others who will be taking classes beginning in July through our summer session.
Plans are underway for the Fall semester! We look forward to welcoming to campus the class of 2026, selected from over 12,000 applicants, along with a dynamic group of transfer students and the multi-talented classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Outlined below is important information to get everyone ready for Fall 2022.
Move-in and New Student Orientation
The Student Experience and Engagement office and student leaders are busy putting together our New Student Orientation Program (NSOP), which begins for first-year and transfer students on August 28. First-year students will move into the residence halls in the morning and begin a week of NSOP programming, designed to acclimate students to the campus and community and New York City. For those new transfer students who will be living in the residence halls, move-in will also be on August 28.
New international students, and those students participating in Access Barnard’s pre-orientation program, will receive a separate communication from Access Barnard about their move-in dates. Parents and families are also invited to participate in family programming on August 28.
Information about move-in for new and returning students is available on the Residential Life and Housing website.
Public Health Response
We have evolved our pandemic response and are introducing the Public Health Response Team (PHRT) beginning in July to advise the community and set policies to keep everyone informed, prepared, and safe in this shifting pandemic landscape. The PHRT, an outgrowth of Barnard’s singular approach to COVID-19 response over the last two years, will focus on the public health of our community in a more expansive way. As we prepare for the start of the academic year, we will host a series of webinars for families and students to learn more about our updated approach to COVID-19 management and the newly established Public Health Response Team (PHRT). Dates for the webinars, hosted by the PHRT, will be announced later in the summer, though we anticipate scheduling them closer to residence hall move-in for new students.
Tuition Bill and Financial Aid
The Barnard Board of Trustees has approved an increase of 4.75% to the annual 2022–2023 rates for tuition, fees, room and board. We work hard to relieve the pressure from term bill increases through ambitious fundraising and are sensitive to the effect of costs on families and students. As one of only a small number of colleges and universities committed to admitting students without regard to their financial need or ability to pay, we also meet the full demonstrated need through our financial aid packages. This academic year, the College will provide approximately 25% more in financial aid than last year, nearly $60 million, representing approximately 21% of the College's operating budget. The new rates also reflect our commitment to achieving the very highest level of academic excellence through expanding support for students, faculty, and academic programs.
In the last week of June, first-year students will receive an email to accept their updated financial aid awards and students in other classes will receive their 2022–2023 financial aid award letters. The Fall 2022 term bills will be sent electronically to all students on July 5th via Nelnet (the College’s payment provider), with a due date of August 1st. Students receiving financial aid should know that financial aid awards for the coming academic year will be adjusted to take into account the new term bill rates.
Parent and Family Engagement
The Office of Family Engagement supports Barnard students by helping their parents and guardians stay informed as their students navigate college life. We partner with families to empower their students to thrive, chart their own paths, and make the most of their time at Barnard.
The Office sends regular emails to the parents and guardians of current students, including updates from senior leadership, newsletters highlighting the exciting things going on at Barnard, and invitations to events. If your parent or guardian does not already receive emails from Barnard, please share their information using this form so that they can be included.
Barnard 411
In mid-July we will transition our email distribution lists to your Fall 2022 class year. As many of you know and our new students will soon learn, we send a bi-weekly newsletter called Barnard 411 with announcements and updates, which will begin in July. So be on the lookout for a welcome from your Class Dean and other helpful information in the newsletter!
Save the Date: Convocation
Finally, save the date for Convocation, a tradition in which the entire Barnard community gathers together to officially open the academic year. Convocation 2022 will take place on September 12 at Riverside Church and will be followed by an on-campus reception. All students will receive a class color t-shirt to wear!
Stay well and enjoy the remainder of your summer.
Sincerely,
Dean Grinage