From: President’s Office <president.office@fredonia.edu>
Date: Sun, Mar 15, 2020 at 8:14 PM
Dear Campus Community:
This memo focuses exclusively on the issues of credits and refunds. Guidance from SUNY regarding financial issues was received this afternoon. To summarize, SUNY recommends:
- For students leaving the residence halls, campuses should credit the unused portion of their room and board.
- For off-campus students returning home who have a meal plan, campuses should credit the unused portion.
- Campuses should consider crediting student accounts for a portion of the fee-bearing accounts.
- Refunds instead of credits are recommended for graduating students.
Based upon this guidance, SUNY Fredonia has made the following decisions regarding credits and refunds:
Room Charges. All non-graduating students notifying us by Thursday, March 19 that they are moving out of the residence halls will receive a credit
toward next year’s room charge equal to 50% of the spring semester
charge. If you have not already checked out and are planning to do so,
you must complete the “Check Out Indication Form” that can be accessed
through YOUR CONNECTION (YourConnection–Students–MyHousing–ApplyNow). Questions should be directed to the Office of Residence Life, 716-673-3341.
Meal Plans/Points. All non-graduating students
notifying FSA by Thursday, March 19 that they are cancelling their
spring meal plans will receive a credit toward next
year’s meal plan of up to 50% of the spring semester charge. The refund
of points will be based on the lesser of the actual remaining balance
as of March 19 or 50% of the spring semester point total, excluding any
fall carryovers. Questions should be directed to fsa.office@fredonia.edu or 716-680-6229.
Broad-based Fees. All non-graduating Fredonia students will receive a credit
equal to 50% of the spring semester fees, excluding the Tech Fee and
the Health Fee. This credit, which varies according to the student’s
academic load, will be automatically applied toward next year’s
broad-based fees.
Graduating Students. Students receiving their undergraduate and graduate degrees this Spring and Summer are eligible to apply for a refund,
in lieu of a credit, using the criteria listed above for rooms, meal
plans, and broad-based fees. December 2020 graduates will definitely be
eligible for credit and, depending upon the remaining number of fall
credits and other circumstances, may be eligible to apply for a refund.
More information on the application process, including criteria, will
be made available once it has been finalized. Refunds will be made
after the application has been fully processed.
Why 50%? A proportional reimbursement approach would
have resulted in a slightly lower credit amount (47.9%). However, our
normal procedure is to reimburse 50% if received on or before a specific
date—that date occurred last week. Given the unusual circumstances
everyone is facing, we decided to extend the date for receiving a 50%
credit to March 19, and applied it to rooms, meal plans, and fees.
Credits. Credits are good for the 2020-21 academic
year at SUNY Fredonia and will be automatically applied to the first
semester the student is enrolled. One exception: students applying by
September 15, 2020 for a formal one-year “Academic Leave” from SUNY
Fredonia, using the process detailed in the University Catalog, will
have their credits rolled to academic year 2021-22.
Debit Accounts. Although not addressed by SUNY,
Fredonia students may request a refund of the remaining balance in their
debit accounts by contacting FSA at fsa.office@fredonia.edu or 716-680-6229. Debit accounts roll forward so you also can leave the funds where they are and use them next year.
Notification of Credits. Students will be receiving a
notification of the credits that have been placed in their accounts.
Given the volume of work associated with this process, please allow at
least three weeks for us to get this information to you.
One final reminder: It is the responsibility of students to
notify Residence Life that they are leaving the residence halls and to
notify FSA they are stopping their meal plans. All notifications must
be made by Thursday, March 19, 2020.
I hope this message answers your questions about financial
reimbursements. SUNY has been working hard to ensure fairness to
students and continuity of campus services. Your patience in waiting
for definitive answers is greatly appreciated.
Please stay safe!
Sincerely,
Dennis L Hefner, Ph.D.
Interim President