WSU Gives Asians Extra Time To Pay Tuitions College Helps Students Whose Families Lost Fortunes In Economic Collapse

Asian students at Washington State University, whose family fortunes were swept away in an economic collapse, have been given four extra months to pay spring semester tuition and fees.

The move, which was announced Thursday at a meeting of 200 Asian students in Pullman, buys time for students to raise money and weather a dramatic devaluation of currency in their homelands.

“It’s an unfortunate situation. We’re doing what we can,” said Susan Wohld, WSU director of international programs.

Devaluation of the Korean Won has already forced some students to return home, said Wonjun Ko, president of the Korean Student Association.

Korean undergraduates, who paid 4.14 million Won to attend WSU classes in the fall, now must pay 6.52 million Won for the same education. That would be equivalent to hiking an American student’s tuition by $900 per semester.

Asian students have until May 8 to pay tuition and room and board. The fees had been due Jan. 12 when the semester began.

The university also said it will help students find jobs because they are restricted by immigration laws from working off campus.

Students from the five hardest hit Asian nations - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea and the Philippines - account for 22 percent of the 1,232 foreign students at WSU, Wohld said.

As nonresidents, foreign students pay the highest tuition allowed. Nonresident tuition is $4,655 per semester for undergraduates; $6,493 for graduate students.

That compares with $1,633 for Washington resident undergraduates, $5,100 for graduates.

Room and board for both resident and nonresident students is about $5,300 per year, though many foreign students save money by living in apartments with kitchens.

, DataTimes