Will Colleges Issue Coronavirus Refunds?
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What is the episode's summary of campus closures and refund requests?
Here's your Money Briefing for Monday, April 13th. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal. Millions of college students are finishing the academic year at home after their campuses were closed to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. Now, students and families are asking schools for refunds for room and board, and in some cases, tuition.
The schools that were in areas which has been more affected by the virus have made faster decisions than some maybe in other parts of the country where it's just not as prevalent at this point.
That's Wall Street Journal contributor Cheryl Winokur-Monk. Coming up, she'll discuss how schools are deciding whether to issue refunds and how the closings could affect financial aid formulas.
Last week, students filed lawsuits against Drexel University and the University of Miami.
Which universities have faced lawsuits over tuition and room-and-board refunds?
They hope to get reimbursed for their spring tuition, room and board, and fees after the school's campuses closed and classes were moved online. Universities around the country have been considering whether to refund fees, and if so, by how much? With us now to discuss the situation is Wall Street Journal contributor Cheryl Winokur-Monk. So, Cheryl, what's been the trend so far in terms of refunds given to students and families since most university campuses have been forced to close?
Well, it's kind of all over the place, and it really depends on the school. Many colleges and universities have said they plan to prorate charges for room and board based on the date students were asked to leave campus.
How are colleges deciding whether to prorate or refund room and board?
And some schools have already started giving their refunds. Some have said they will, and some haven't made any decisions at all.
Well, in most cases, we're talking about a lot of money and families are going to need to know the college's plans sooner than later.
I got the sense that the schools that were in areas which has been more affected by the virus have made faster decisions than some maybe in other parts of the country where it's just not as prevalent at this point. So they feel that maybe they have a little bit more time and they've gone to online learning. But yet they just I just feel there's not this sense of urgency as in some schools.
Do you expect colleges or universities to refund or prorate tuition costs specifically?
So generally speaking, schools aren't refunding tuition because they're going to online learning. And the idea is that pretty much while it's different, it's still the same, if that makes sense.
Will colleges generally refund or prorate tuition for online classes?
It's that they're still learning even though it's a different setting.
How are schools handling the argument from students and families that classes being held online should warrant at least a partial tuition refund?
It remains to be seen whether college is going to be accepting of that opinion. I have a feeling they're not going to. I don't know that for sure. And maybe some colleges will. There's no national standard, so every school is going to decide what to do. And it depends how much pressure they get and how much money they have in their coffers and how much money they're given if they get support from the government or other states or maybe a big endowment. It really is going to depend.
How will financial aid commitments and student accounts be affected?
I do suspect, though, that most schools will not be returning tuition or even a large portion of it.
Are financial aid commitments by the colleges likely to be adjusted given the change in venue for classes?
For the most part, financial aid is also not changing. And the reason is, again, the students are still taking classes full time for the most part. Now, it's going to be different if a student decides to drop out or goes less than full time. Then it would change. But for the most part, commitments aren't aren't changing.
Students also probably have a large amount of money that they've loaded onto a card that they can use, you know, for example, at dining halls that they're no longer using.
The schools that have made decisions about this have said they're either prorating it or from the time that the students are leaving or what they'll do is they'll put it onto a card, say, for next year that they can use or they'll get the money back if they're graduating seniors.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the episode's summary of campus closures and refund requests?
0:05–0:58
2
Which universities have faced lawsuits over tuition and room-and-board refunds?
0:58–1:39
3
How are colleges deciding whether to prorate or refund room and board?
1:39–2:31
4
Will colleges generally refund or prorate tuition for online classes?
2:31–3:07
5
How will financial aid commitments and student accounts be affected?
3:07–4:17
6
What practical steps can families take if finances are strained or refunds are unclear?
4:17–5:12
Speakers
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