Credits for Housing, Meal Plans and Parking due to COVID-19

Dear Students,

We have appreciated your continuing patience while we have undertaken the complex process of calculating student relief needed for the Spring 2020 semester’s housing, meal plans and parking services disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The information below outlines the process by which institutional credits and refunds are being issued as well as guidance for students who may require a Hardship Exception. Please note: These institutional credits and refunds are separate from any relief that students may receive via the federal CARES Act (when available, that information will be provided by Financial Aid). 

We hope this will help you and your families cope and recover as we find our way through this international crisis.

• Eligibility and timing for credits and refunds
• Graduating Seniors
• Credit for Continuing Students
• Credit Used to Pay Account Balances
•  A Small Group may have Reduced Credits
• Hardship Exception Applications

Eligibility and timing for credits and refunds

Students who have applied for graduation will receive refunds; continuing students received credit towards future expenses, which may be used for summer courses and/or student account charges incurred within the Fall 2020 semester.  The College has not issued credits for tuition and fees for Spring 2020 as all coursework is continuing remotely and students will receive grades for their work.

Graduating Seniors

Refunds for housing, meal plans, and/or parking charges will be issued automatically to students who have applied for graduation. Please note exclusions listed below in the section, “A small group may have reduced credits”.  These refunds were processed, and will continue throughout the summer as students continue to apply for graduation.

The most efficient means to receive your funds is through direct deposit. To enroll in direct deposit, visit Direct Deposit.  Students who do not have direct deposit will receive a check mailed to their address on file.  

Credit for Continuing Students

Continuing students with housing, meal plans and/or parking charges received a credit equivalent to the amount unused for the Spring 2020 semester (using the date of March 23, 2020). Please note exclusions listed below in the section, “A small group may have reduced credits”.

The amount issued to you was calculated as follows:

• For students in housing, a credit of 42.3% of the total charge was applied to student accounts.
• For students with traditional meal plans, a credit of 42.3% of the total meal plan-only component was applied to student accounts. The outstanding flex dollars associated with each plan were rolled forward to the Fall 2020 semester.
• For students with Flex plans and Block plans, the outstanding balances were rolled forward to the Fall 2020 semester.
• For Spring 2020 semester parking permit holders, a credit of 42.3% of the Spring parking permit cost was credited to each student’s account.

Credit Used to Pay Account Balances

Credits were first applied to any existing student account balances. Credits that remain after application of payment (or full credit for those with zero balances) are deferred to the Summer and/or Fall 2020 semester. Any unused credit will be automatically refunded to the student on or before September 25, 2020.

 A Small Group may have Reduced Credits

Students who fit the following criteria may not be entitled to a credit or refund:

• Students who received special approval by the Dean of Students and remained on campus through the end of the Spring semester.
• Students who received housing and/or meal plan scholarships, including all institutional funding, graduate coordinators, and resident assistants, may not receive a credit or refund because the College already covers these expenses. Students who receive partial funding for these items will have their accounts individually analyzed to determine the credit net of the charge and the scholarship.

Hardship Exception Applications

Students who received a credit and are experiencing a financial hardship may apply for a refund as a hardship exception. Please contact us at studentaccts@ramapo.edu for further information and please include “Hardship Application” in the subject of your email.

R&B Hardship Exception Application

Students must be signed into their RCNJ Gmail account primarily in order to access the form. If you have a problem, sign out of all gmail accounts and log back in under your RCNJ Gmail account to access the application.

NOTE: Please allow up to two weeks to receive the decision.

For more information or clarification on these refunds and credit, please contact the Office of Student Accounts studentaccts@ramapo.edu.