Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020
Dear Springfield College Students:
Thank you for your adaptability as the College moved to remote learning a few weeks earlier than the expected Nov. 20th date. Since then, a number of questions and concerns have been shared about the College’s approach to refunds for room and board as a result of student decisions to stay on campus or to return home. This communication will address those questions, as well as lay out the manner in which those refunds will be distributed.
As you may recall, students were given three options: 1) to remain on campus; 2) to return home with their belongings; or 3) to return home, but leave their belongings at the College.
-
For students who remain on campus, there is no refund for room and meal plan charges.
-
For students who returned home with their belongings, a refund has been processed for a three-week reduction of room and meal plan costs. In addition, need-based aid, if any, has been reduced by 5%, as the refund represents approximately 5% of the total cost of attendance at the College. Students who receive a housing and/or meal plan grant are excluded from the refund. Credits have been posted and refunds will be processed before Thanksgiving.
-
For students who chose to go home and were on a meal plan but left their belongings at the College, a refund of three weeks of estimated food expenses for their particular meal plan will be credited to their spring bill, as long as their meal plan was not utilized after November 4th.
Even with all learning conducted remotely and about two-thirds of the resident student population making the decision to return home, the College’s response to COVID-19 continues. This includes consolidating residence hall spaces, deep cleaning residence halls, and classrooms, and planning for the spring semester to ensure that adequate quarantine/isolation spaces are available. Many of you have heard from the Office of Residence Life staff that resident students may not be able to stay in their current room, even if belongings were left there. If students who left their belongings need to be consolidated and, therefore, moved, they will receive the same refund as those who took their belongings home. Any moves will be communicated to the affected students and we will do our best to keep students as close as possible to their current room.
Let me conclude with an acknowledgment that this year has been difficult for all of us and that it has created unexpected stress. I am grateful for your diligence and patience. I hope you find the opportunity to rest and recharge over the Thanksgiving break, that you are able to connect with family and friends, and reflect on all that we all have to be grateful for this year.
Sincerely,
Mary-Beth Cooper, PhD, DM
Springfield College President
