UHCL distributes reimbursements to students in wake of COVID-19
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, like other universities across the nation, the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) transitioned courses online starting March 23 through the end of the semester.
This left UHCL in a predicament regarding student fees paid to the school for services not currently available in person because of a campus closure for non-essential personnel. As of now, most students should have already received two different reimbursements from the university.
The first reimbursement, from the Office of Parking and Transportation, is for students who paid for spring semester parking permits. The reimbursement was a pro-rated credit for the period of March 16 through the end of the spring 2020 semester. Students have reported that the credit to their account is a total of $14 for the rest of the semester. Based on the remaining 46 days or so that UHCL will be online, this $14 comes out to roughly $0.31 per day.
“The calculation was based on the date that would have been the first day back on campus, following spring break,” said Henry Glass, director of parking and transportation services. “The refund decision was a system-wide decision.”
The campus also suspended all ticketing and late fees for past tickets issued the week before spring break to help students out.
The second reimbursement, from the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, is also a prorated credit for the period of March 19 through the end of the spring semester. Students have reported that this credit shows up in their accounts as a total of $55. This reimbursement calculates out to around $1.19 per day that UHCL students are completely online.
“Until the decision was made to close the center (March 19), the center was open and students were utilizing the center,” said Aaron Hart, vice president of Student Affairs. “Once the decision was made to close, the fee was pro-rated and refunded effective the date of closure.”
There are also two more reimbursements credited to some students’ e-services accounts. The first of these additional credits are the housing fees for residents of Hunter Hall who had a desire to move out because of COVID-19. A refund of their housing fees was calculated based on their vacate date.
“Taking the lead from UH System, Hawks living in Hunter Hall are permitted to cancel their housing contracts, and receive both pro-rated housing refunds as well as credits with their dining dollars (meal plan), provided they complete the formal check-out process,” said Matthew Perry, director of student housing and residential life. “By allowing Hawks to cancel their meal plans and housing contracts with Hunter Hall, we remain focused on student health, safety, and overall care. During this challenging time, Student Housing will do everything we can to support UHCL Hawks to stay safe and stay at home.”
Another credit some UHCL students may receive in their accounts is for Dining Dollars, which were available for purchase by Hunter Hall residents, students who commute to campus from home, and students who have housing in University Forest Apartments or other local apartment facilities.
If a student lived in Hunter Hall and remained on campus, no Dining Dollars balance was refunded to their account unless they decided to vacate from Hunter Hall, as the Patio Café remains open and serving the remaining students. All other students who previously purchased Dining Dollars received a refund for any remaining balance on their account effective March 16.
All of these credits should already be seen in students’ accounts in e-services, which can be found under the Tuition and Fees bill tab. If there was a previous balance owed to UHCL by a student, the credited reimbursement would have been applied to that balance first. Any excess credit remaining in a students’ account was refunded to their BankMobile preferences as quickly as possible. If students have experienced any problems with their e-services accounts regarding the credits, or have questions about their reimbursements, they are asked to email the Student Business Services office at SBS@uhcl.edu.
“The actual cost of migrating courses to online has in all cases added costs to the university due to either the requirement to purchase new software solutions to support our students and faculty, or the necessity to purchase new hardware,” said Mark Denney, vice president of administration and finance. “UHCL has also continued to pay all student workers, even if they are not able to continue their work remotely. This decision was made in an effort to lessen the financial impact on our students and ease some of the personal challenges related to the pandemic.”
Denney said that these refunds will impact the university financially, but that UHCL will do its best to make sure that students are not affected.
“I do believe there will be financial challenges created by the pandemic, but we will do everything to mitigate that impact and to not directly impact our students,” Denney said. “UHCL carefully monitors our financial reserves and, fortunately, we do have what I believe to be adequate reserves.”
Two UHCL students, Jordan Lucas, biology major, and Marcus Huskey, communication major, offered their opinions regarding the reimbursements.
“While I am grateful for what the university credited us, I believe we should have received a little more back than what was reimbursed, considering how much money we pay to the school,” Lucas said.
Huskey said he felt the reimbursements were fair.
“I think the reimbursements are fair, personally,” Huskey said. “People have to understand this is an unexpected event. The fact that these professors are willing to go the extra mile to make sure we’re learning is what I’m thankful for.”
Regarding any additional refunds for the near future, Denney said the situation remains fluid.
“We are reviewing the conditions our students, staff, and faculty face daily and are optimistic for the future,” Denney said. “With that said, we will use the same guidance as we did initially for any future waiving of fees, refunds or reimbursements.”
