Florida A&M University (FAMU) has announced details for handling housing and dining service refunds for students forced to return home due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The University will implement a refund plan for students who have paid or have been assessed housing and dining charges for the Spring 2020 semester and are no longer utilizing these services. March 23, 2020 is considered the last service date for housing and meal plans. A prorated credit will be applied to the student’s account.
Refunds will be processed for those who vacate, or set appointments to move, by April 6. Refunds will initially appear as credits on student iRattler accounts. If students have an outstanding balance, it will offset amounts owed to the University. Any remaining credits will generate a refund.
The University hopes to complete the refunding process by April 20, said Alan Robertson, Ed.D., vice president for Finance and Administration.
“Protecting the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is our number one priority. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis we have developed a plan to credit housing and meal plan charges back to students,” Robertson said. “The on-campus experience was unfortunately cut short, and Florida A&M University along with the other State University System universities have plans to credit housing and meal plan charges to help our students.”
One hundred students picked up takeout dinner at the dining hall on Friday night. According to housing officials, as of midday Friday, there were 314 students in the residence halls.
Students whose items remain in the residence hall after April 6 can schedule a time through the Office of University Housing to retrieve their belongings using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
All residents currently residing on-campus are required to vacate their room by noon on Monday, April 6. This applies unless students fall into one of the following categories and obtain approval from the Office of University Housing:
- International students unable to travel or concerned about not being able to return to FAMU when in person classes resume
- Residents without permanent housing or who are unable to return home
- Residents whose guardians are considered higher risk (compromised immunity, pre-existing conditions, positive COVID-19 test or self-isolating, or high-risk communities)
- Residents with other hardships (to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis)
Residents are strongly encouraged to consult with the Housing Staff to assess their respective individual circumstances. Housing will send an e-mail to all residents.
Requests for exceptions must be received by email to the Office of University Housing no later than 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 31. Students will be notified via email from University Housing if they are granted an exception.
At noon on Monday, April 6, all student card access to residential buildings and meal plans will be deactivated unless a student has been approved to stay for the remainder of the semester.
With the exception of those approved to stay, FAMU will end all residents’ current housing agreements and issue a credit to their student account for rent from Monday, March 23, through the remainder of their housing agreement.
Those residents approved to remain on-campus may need to relocate from their current room to another building or area of campus later in the semester, to be determined; however, their current housing rate will be adjusted to the new facility rate.
RESIDENTS WHO ARE PHYSICALLY OFF CAMPUS
All students not physically residing on campus, may not return to campus until they receive an approved move-out date and time.
The University intends to allow residents to return to campus and move-out beginning on Wednesday, April 8. All move-outs must be completed by 11 a.m. Saturday, May 2.
Students are being advised not come to campus to move out until their scheduled move-out date and time. Residents who are physically off campus must schedule, via the links in the email from famuhousing@famu.edu, a move-out date and time between Wednesday, April 8 and Saturday, May 2. Dates are subject to change.
To maintain social distancing practices on campus, residents are required to move-out during their selected date and time. To minimize crowds, residents are allowed to bring no more than two people to assist with their move-out and will have two hours to complete the express checkout.
