BU Announces Prorated Refunds for Dining, Meals for Students Forced Home by Pandemic
Since BU notified students that they must leave residences because of the coronavirus pandemic, the University is giving prorated credits for dining and housing charges. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi
BU Announces Prorated Housing, Dining Credits and Refunds for Upended Semester
No refunds for tuition or mandatory fees
Driven off campus by the global COVID-19 pandemic, BU students will receive prorated credits on the dorm rooms they left and the campus meals they didn’t eat this semester, Jean Morrison, BU provost and chief academic officer, announced on Friday, April 3.
Undergraduates’ student accounts will be credited by April 15 for the unused portions of their room and board charges, Morrison wrote in an email to students and their parents. Students will qualify for refunds “only to the extent that their overall student account is settled and results in a credit balance,” she wrote.
If the prorated sums result in a credit balance on a student’s account, Morrison said, that credit can be applied to a future semester at BU. Graduating and continuing students who want a refund of the credit balance can request a refund here.
“Financial aid awards will not be reduced as a result of these refund calculations,” the provost wrote in the email, adding that there will be no tuition refunds, as spring semester classes are continuing remotely, nor will adjustments or account credits be made for mandatory fees.
“We recognize that this semester has been a time of unprecedented disruptions,” Morrison noted.
These excerpts from the provost’s letter explain how refunds will be calculated:
Room Charges
Residence license agreements for the spring 2020 semester began on Friday, January 17, 2020, and were to end Sunday, May 10, 2020, for a total of 114 bed nights. Undergraduate residence halls were officially closed on Sunday, March 22, 2020. Students who left undergraduate housing on or before that date will receive a prorated room credit as of March 22, 2020, based on the room type and the number of bed nights remaining.
Board Charges
Board service for the spring semester began on Saturday, January 18, 2020, and was to end on Saturday, May 9, 2020, for a total of 16 weeks. The meal plan credit will have two components: dining points and missed meals. As of March 22, 2020, there were seven board service weeks remaining in the spring semester. Given that students did not have the opportunity to use dining points after March 22, 2020, 100% of their remaining dining point balances (as of their departure date) will be credited to their student accounts. Credited missed meals will be dependent on the meal plan and will also be calculated based on departure date.
Study Abroad Residential Charges
Students will receive a prorated credit to their student accounts based on the date that the residential portion of a study abroad program was canceled.
Spring Semester Tuition
Since classes are continuing for the remainder of the semester via remote instruction, there will be no credits to student accounts related to spring 2020 tuition charges.
Mandatory Fees
There will be no adjustments or account credits for mandatory fees.
Under the direction of the Dean of Students, funds collected through the Community Service Fee are allocated directly to support student organizations, programs, and services. Funds not used by the end of this academic year will be carried over to the subsequent year and used to augment future allocations beginning in the fall.
Proceeds from the Student Services Fee and the Health & Wellness Fee are directly allocated to support student health services, wellness activities, student support services, and technology resources across campus. While it is true that some services, activities, and programs for students have been curtailed due to the current COVID-19 situation, many health, wellness, and student support areas have required an influx of resources to address and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on students, necessitating a reallocation of resources.
“I appreciate your patience as we work through the challenges that have arisen,” Morrison wrote. “Our faculty and staff are working hard to deliver quality instruction and to do what is necessary, consistent with the guidance we receive from public officials, to ensure the safety and wellness of all members of our community.”
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