St. Joe’s has outlined plans to partially reimburse students for room, board and fees for the spring semester due to the move to online instruction, according to an announcement sent to students and parents on April 15 from David Beaupré, vice president for Finance & Administration.
“Keep in mind that student accounts are being reviewed individually,” Beaupré wrote in the announcement. “Every student’s circumstance is unique, and charge adjustments will be evaluated based on a number of variables, including a student’s housing arrangement, meal plan type, institutional aid and account balance.”
There are no plans to refund tuition as the university continues to deliver all instruction, advising and academic services virtually, Gail Benner, director of PR and Media at St. Joe’s, wrote in an email to the Hawk on April 2.
St. Joe’s first announced they would be offering refunds to qualifying students for room and board and select fees for the spring 2020 in a university announcement on March 19. A petition for St. Joe’s to reimburse students for semester fees called for refunds earlier in April.
Residential students will receive a 50% reimbursement for the cost of spring semester housing unless they have remained on campus. Most students who were enrolled in courses as of March 13 will receive a 50% reimbursement for course, parking, residence life, student activity, dining and other miscellaneous fees for the spring semester.
Meal plans will be credited at 50% for the spring semester, plus any remaining declining balance. Block Plans will be reimbursed based on the average cost of a meal and the number of meals remaining, in addition to any unused declining balance dollars.
Meal plan access has been deactivated for any students who indicated that they are not staying on campus. Students with deactivated cards who would like to use on-campus dining options must use Hawk Cash, cash or a debit/credit card.
Beaupré wrote, all of the reimbursements will be applied to the current academic year, based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Education in order to ensure that a student’s financial aid is not negatively impacted in the upcoming year.
Beaupré strongly encourages students to sign up for direct deposit by April 20 as applicable reimbursement transactions will be processed shortly after that on April 24. Students can sign up for direct deposit via the Nest by visiting the tuition and aid tab and selecting payment options and information.
Students can log into their Nest accounts on April 24 to see the adjusted changes and applicable reimbursements for housing, dining and fees.
If a student’s reimbursement results in a positive account balance after any outstanding charges, the university will process a direct deposit transaction around April 24 for those students with direct deposit, or mail a check for the amount to the student’s permanent home address the week of April 27.
