Dear IUP Students,
I hope you all are well.
I am writing to provide you with additional details regarding student refunds (account credits). Please note that as your refund is applied, you will not receive a refund payment (direct deposit or check) if you have a balance due on your account. Also, please know that if you have not paid a fee or have not paid the fee in full, you will not receive a refund or a full refund for that fee.
Refunds to eligible students will be distributed during the week of April 6, 2020. Students receiving refund payments through Direct Deposit will be notified via email when the deposit is initiated. Students receiving paper checks will be notified via email when their paper check is produced. The following information describes the methodology for determining refunds (account credits):
Housing
- If you were asked to leave your residence hall, you will receive a prorated (proportional) refund of your Housing Fee and your Commons Fee for March 16, 2020, through May 9, 2020. The Commons Fee is $125 per semester and is for students in suite-style housing only. Please note that if you incurred room damage charges, that amount will be subtracted from your refund. If you are continuing to reside in campus housing, you will not receive a refund
Dining
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If you checked out of your residence hall and discontinued use of your meal plan, you will receive a refund prorated as of March 16, 2020, including any unused Flex dollars that were added beyond the meal plan. If you are continuing to live on campus, due to the change in meal services necessitated by health and safety guidelines, your meal plan was reduced to Meal Plan 14 (any 14 meals a week). You will receive a prorated refund if your previous meal plan was more expensive than Meal Plan 14.
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Off-campus students with meal plans have the choice of one of two meal plans: Meal Plan 14 (any 14 meals a week) or Meal Plan 75F (any 75 meals per semester + approximately $200 Flex). If your meal plan was more expensive than these two meal plans, you will receive a prorated refund based on the meal plan you choose.
Wellness Fee
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You will receive 25 percent of this prorated fee as of March 16, 2020, as some services, including Health Services and services from the Counseling Center, are still available to you.
Co-Op (Student Activity) Fee
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The Student Co-op is the steward of the Student Activity Fee. The Student Co-op provides funding to 110 student groups, which includes the Student Cooperative Association, intercollegiate athletics, performing and visual arts, Center for Multicultural Student Leadership and Engagement, club sports, publications, multicultural programs, departmental activities, and Student Government and advocacy. All of these groups receive a total of around $4,000,000 in activity fee allocations. Prior to spring break, more than 80 percent of the Activity Fee had been expended by the majority of the departments, clubs, and organizations. Your refund from the Student Activity Fee is calculated based on unused student activity funds, so the refund will be $3.57 per credit out of the $42 per credit paid. For example, based on an undergraduate student taking 15 credits and paying $630 per semester, your refund would be $53.55.
Parking Fee
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Your refund will be prorated as of March 16, 2020.
Again, thank you for your patience as we worked through each step of determining a fair and equitable refund process. If you need additional explanation about this process or have questions about the refund you receive, please email iup-hawks@iup.edu, and we will direct your question to the appropriate office.
I hope that this information helps you to plan for the remainder of your semester. Please note that students in financial distress caused by the coronavirus pandemic do have the opportunity to apply for financial help through the Emergency Response Fund, which is the result of donations from members of the IUP family. Please do not hesitate to take advantage of this fund.
I know that this continues to be a very challenging time. Reach out to us if you need help—we are all in this together! And please, keep focusing on your studies. Take care of yourself, and take care of one another.
Sincerely,
Dr. Segar
Vice President for Student Affairs