Message from the Office of the President
April 3, 2020 —Sent Systemwide
Dear students, faculty, and staff,
At my direction, and with the support and approval of the University of
Minnesota Board of Regents today, we have created the Comprehensive
Student Fee Refund Plan. This systemwide program considers an extensive
list of specific student expenses and fees, and outlines appropriate
financial credit for these items in light of changes to University
operations in response to the public health challenges of COVID-19.
Because individual credit amounts will vary depending on the campus, the
services students access from the University, and the housing or meal
plans that were purchased, students should read the following
information carefully to estimate what their individual credit will be. Please
know that receiving financial credit requires no action. The credit
students are entitled to will be automatically placed in their student
accounts in April.
The "Stay at Home" executive order, issued by Governor Tim Walz for the
entire State of Minnesota, went into effect at 11:59 p.m. on March 27.
March 28 was the first date that all Minnesotans were required to stay
at home. In other words, no one was allowed to return to campus; only
those already living on-site or those who were designated as essential
on-campus employees were allowed on campus. Based on this change in
circumstances, all credits for on-campus housing and access to other
University services are calculated using March 28 as the first full day
that most students could no longer use many on-campus services.
The situation we find ourselves in because of COVID-19 is challenging
for all of us and constantly evolving. The difficult, real-time
decisions my leadership team and I have been forced to make are
decisions none of us ever anticipated. We know these decisions affect
many lives across our University family. We will continue to carefully
consider every decision we make and if we can improve upon it, or make
it stronger for our students, we will do so. We hope this comprehensive
approach helps to address questions many of you have raised directly to
me and to other leaders at the University.
The Comprehensive Student Fee Refund Plan includes:
-
Housing and Residential Life: Students who have a spring
semester contract for any Housing and Residential Life service (housing,
dining plans, and flex-dine/dining dollars), on any campus, will
receive a 100% credit of their housing and dining fees from March 28 to
the end date of their contract. This credit does not apply if students
have remained on campus and are currently a resident of a
University-managed residence hall or apartment.
-
Voluntary Meal Plan: For students with block, standard 11-meal,
14-meal, or Anytime voluntary meal plans, they will receive a 100%
credit of their dining plans from March 28 through the end of the spring
semester.
-
Parking fee: For students who have paid for parking on the
Crookston, Duluth, Morris, or Twin Cities campuses, they will receive
100% of their parking fee credited from March 28 to the end of their
semester contract. Rochester has no University-owned parking.
-
Recreation and Wellness fee: For the Crookston, Duluth, Morris,
and Twin Cities campuses, students will receive 100% credit of the
recreation and wellness fee from March 28 through the last day of finals
in May. Students on the Rochester campus will not be charged for April
and May fees from the Rochester YMCA since the YMCA will, in turn, not
be billing the University of Minnesota Rochester for this time period.
-
Student Services fee: Students will receive 50% credit for the student services fee from March 28 through the last day of finals in May.
-
Transportation and Safety: For the Duluth and Twin Cities
campuses, students will receive 100% credit of the transportation and
safety fee from March 28 through the last day of finals in May.
Crookston, Morris, and Rochester campuses do not charge this fee.
What to Expect Next
We will credit all accounts within one
month. This will happen automatically and requires no action. This
period will allow us to calculate credit amounts and ensure that all
credits are compliant with financial aid rules based on Department of
Education guidance. If students have not received their credit by the
end of April, please contact the One Stop Student Services or business
offices on your campus. Students who have a remaining balance will see
these credits offset remaining charges. Any excess credit will be
applied to current student accounts, and if there are no charges owed,
will be refunded to students in a credit balance refund either via
direct deposit or check.
Please note that financial credits associated with study abroad/study
away programs are in process and will be issued on an ongoing basis.
Students will receive a separate communication once credits for these
programs are finalized. Please contact the One Stop or business office
on your campus with questions.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. Your success has never
been more important to all of our University’s leaders, including me. We
stand behind all of you through this uncertain time and in support of
your continued academic and other successes.
Join Our Upcoming Town Hall Meeting
Lastly, I hope you will join me
for a systemwide COVID-19 Town Hall, reviewing our response and some of
the innovative and exciting research underway at the University to
combat this public health emergency. Join me at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April
7. A link to access the Town Hall will be available on Monday. In the
meantime, faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to submit questions in advance using this form and your University login.
With warmest wishes,
Joan Gabel |
