UPDATED: Credit/Refunds on Spring 2020 Semester Costs

Originally published 3/16/2020 7:40 AM

Dear SUNY New Paltz Students and Parents:

In recent days we have been working closely with SUNY leadership to quickly resolve the financial impact that remote instruction, distance learning, and campus housing changes will have on students and families.

We are developing approaches to credit certain unused fees to the accounts of students who will return in the fall, and to refund fees to students who will graduate this spring. We want to be certain that we make decisions that do not jeopardize any student’s financial aid. Those underlying principles are under study and review.

We intend to credit or refund unused room and board fees for students who returned home for the remainder of the semester, effective at the time they check out as prescribed by Residence Life. We are analyzing other fees, such as course fees, some of which have been spent and some not, and to determine approaches that are fair to students who have remained on campus and those who have left. Your Student Association executive board is developing a plan for partial refunds of the Student Activity fee in collaboration with the Student Senate.

We will not be refunding tuition costs because the College will continue to deliver credit for coursework via distance learning and remote instruction. We are taking every measure to make sure you continue to receive a high-quality education. Additionally, for all students, we will not be refunding the technology fee because we will be relying heavily on our technology resources to provide distance learning.

We will provide more detail and clarity as we develop these approaches in the coming days. At the least, we wanted you to know about the general decision to credit or refund room and board fees, and that work is in progress to assure fair and prompt actions. We encourage students or parents who have questions or concerns to contact the college at COVID19Questions@newpaltz.edu.

We encourage you to continue following all guidelines to keep yourselves and friends and family safe during this pandemic. We will promptly notify you if the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation impacts our ability to welcome residents back to campus after Spring Break.

Sincerely,
Donald P. Christian, President
Michele Halstead, Vice President for Administration & Finance
L. David Eaton, Vice President for Enrollment Management


UPDATED 3/25/2020 5:38 PM

Dear Students:

We want you to know that we are working diligently to resolve the financial impact the transition to remote learning will have on unused campus housing, meals and fees for the remainder of the spring semester while also taking into consideration financial aid awards.

Students living on campus prior to the COVID-19 crisis will receive a refund or credit for housing fees and unused meal plan fees (if applicable) based on the proportionate time between when they leave campus housing — or as cleared by Residence Life — and the end of the spring term.

Students living off campus with meal plans will receive a refund or credit for the unused portion of their meal plans.

All students will receive prorated refunds or credits for certain other fees for services that have been discontinued due to the COVID-19 emergency.  The calculation of the amount of the refund or credit is being determined for each of these fees. Other fees eligible for partial refund are:

  • Athletics fee
  • Student activity fee (Student Association reserves the right to determine refund)
  • Other fees as appropriate (for example, parking registration fee and unused course fees)

To be eligible for a credit/refund you must have:

  • Paid your bill in full (students with partially paid bills will have their room, board or other charges reduced in-line with the timing calculation).
  • For resident hall students, completed checkout by Sunday, March 29, at 10 p.m.
  • For residence hall students, removed your belongings from your residence hall or apartment and returned keys by Sunday, March 29, at 10 p.m. It is imperative that we have empty rooms so that we have the flexibility to make social distancing possible for our remaining residential students. We have also been asked to provide data about our residence hall capacity for possible use for health care workers and non-COVID-19 hospital patients. In order to achieve these goals we ask that you remove your belongings from your room as soon as possible.

In extreme circumstances, including those under quarantine, we will bag and store your belongings as carefully as possible, however the College is not responsible for lost or broken items. Contact Residence Life if you are checking out but are unable to remove your belongings. As soon as additional information is available, we will update you. Credits or refunds will be finalized as soon as possible with the goal of processing them before the end of the spring semester. We recognize that this is a difficult time, if you have a critical financial needs please contact Student Financial Services at fao@newpaltz.edu.

Please continue to monitor your SUNY New Paltz email and the College’s COVID-19 web page here.

Sincerely,

Michele Halstead, 
Vice President for Administration and Finance
L. David Eaton,
Vice President for Enrollment Management 

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