Yesterday my daughter’s school had a parent/student zoom meeting. Right now students were on spring break last week and in the midst of that were told not to come back. They could go get some things but didn’t need to empty their dorm room. The hope was and is still to return mid April but zero guarantee that can happen.
The room and board refund info won’t come out until sometime in May they said. In part because they want to figure out what is actually happening. Secondly it isn’t simply a matter of everyone getting the same amount - there are different prices for housing and different prices for meal plans. Also since students all get different financial aid that affects it too. Basically not everyone will get the same refund. I would imagine it isn’t a simple thing at most schools.
My daughter’s school has about 20 kids still on campus who are students who are probably international or homeless students - some students are staying at friends homes or in non college apartments. Between gas explosions at the start of my daughter’s freshman year right near the school and now this I am glad that she chose a school within easy driving distance.
Do you think public schools are more affected and therefore will not be able to refund. It seems most private school are organized enough and have sent out statements on their refund plan. On the other hand most public schools don’t have a plan in place.
For those expecting housing refunds, Depending on which school your talking about this is a huge financial hit for them
This could be a difference if the school has certain services, have to layoff professors, closes? Maybe they will extend a credit or freeze tuition or something creative?
@homerdog and everyone for Michigan. They will pack up and ship to you if needed. Like if your gone and can’t get back. Sign out by Wednesday and get a $1200 check. If your gone already. You get one automatically.
Most public schools (even primarily residential ones) have most students living in off-campus housing (though frosh are much more likely than others to be living on-campus).
For students required to move out of campus dorms, several public universities (e.g. Pittsburgh, South Alabama, Texas State, Ohio State) have announced pro-rated refunds of dorm charges.
Not sure, but I’m thinking for some schools, they may need to get board approval for an expense as large as r&b refunds. I’m glad D’s school said “move out” quickly, while travel was still possible, vs. waiting until the whole refund situation was sorted out.
Refunds this year will simply be collected in higher fees next year, so unless your student is a graduating senior,there is nothing to celebrate in getting a refund. It is a zero-sum event. The money to operate has to come from somewhere.
Just realize that even with the majority of the students gone, the campus still has to stay open to support the students remaining who can’t go home for whatever reason as well as the faculty trying to conduct classes online. They are still paying their staff so this will be a huge hit, especially with many schools operating on a small margin already and not having a huge endowment to fall back on. I think that is roycroftmom’s point.
That plus students becoming more FA needier next year could be bad news for private colleges in already shaky financial condition, in that it could accelerate the closure of some of these colleges.
Students will need more aid due to job losses and investments tanking. Colleges will be in tough financial shape as their endowments are invested in the stock market so most will probably not be able to give any more than they already have promised. In addition, all the full pay international students may not be showing up in the fall. This will most likely push some colleges over the edge. I would not be at all surprised by more small LACs being forced to close because of this.
Colleges have already taken an enormous hit to their endowments with the stock market crash, so they aren’t going to dig into that further to make up the shortfall in the year’s operating revenue. As others have noted, operating expenses will be projected as even higher next year as more students are impoverished. Where did you think Bowdoin, or any college for that matter, will get that money? It has to come from a combination of higher revenue thru fees and lower costs by slashing services offered.
Colleges will not get federal bailouts.
Did anyone else receive an email from Maguire Associates with a survey to “Help colleges and universities serve prospective students and families”. Just wondering if it’s legit and where they got my email.
*Maguire Associates is an education research and consulting firm that advises colleges and universities. In the past few weeks, many institutions have taken actions to reduce or prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including moving classes online and canceling or rescheduling campus events.
The brief survey at the link below is designed to collect feedback from prospective students and their parents and family members on their college search in the midst of a pandemic, how the spread of coronavirus is changing your decision-making, and how colleges and universities can best serve you in these difficult and unusual circumstances. *
I wish I could get to it but there’s an article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed that has a list of schools that will likely be on the edge because of this. For me, it seems it’s behind a paywall but some friends have been able to get to it. Bowdoin looks safe. They are still finishing some projects on campus that were due to be done in August but have put two others off. I trust them to manage their money and to do right by their students and families. Students are asking Bowdoin to use the left over entertainment budget to help the town of Brunswick. Sounds like the college is considering that
I know this will be bad for so so many. Just saying that I don’t think it’s not going to affect the top universities and LACs quite as much.
I understand that all endowments will take a hit but those with larger ones per student will, quite obviously, be in better shape.
So Michigan is still paying my son for his student job. They still have planning meetings and such. I think that’s great. They could of just wrapped up things and stopped paying. I told him to sock it away. Cash is king kind of thing. Let him learn this lesson now. Save during hard times. Look into high yield savings account or the like.
I don’t believe this is optional. An executive order is closing all non-essential businesses by Sunday night. Unless students can’t return home (such as international students) I don’t believe a waiver will be approved. Sunday night will come quickly. I’d start making travel arrangements.
@austinmshauri you said ‘Sunday night will come quickly. I’d start making travel arrangements. ‘ ( me laughing out loud) at your honesty. Seriously everything is getting closed. I don’t know what to do. It’s a mess. You are so right!!!
On what are you basing this? Anything besides personal observation or anecdotal evidence? In my state, all the publics have and are competently executing a plan to refund room and board charges. It’s not like any school had a boat load of time to figure this stuff out when community health and safety was/is at risk.