Dear Marist faculty and staff,

I wanted to share with you the letters the College is sending out to Marist students regarding refunds/credits for the spring 2020 semester (see below for the letters to seniors and returning students, respectively).  It’s unfortunate that we had to do this, as it represents a loss of more than $11 million to the College.  However, I think it’s the fair thing to do for our students, and that’s how Marist has always operated.  Thank you for your continued good work during this very challenging time and best wishes for continued good health.

Dennis

Dennis J. Murray
President
Marist College
Phone: (845) 575-3600
Email: President@marist.edu

Letter to Seniors

Dear Joe,

I hope this letter finds you and your family well during this unprecedented national crisis. We understand this is not the final semester you originally envisioned, and we thank you for your patience as we finalized our policy regarding prorating unused room, meal, student activities and health service fee charges for the spring 2020 semester. This has been approved by the Marist Board of Trustees.  Our adjustment policy for each of these charges is described in more detail below.

Housing. Spring semester housing began on January 20 and would have ended on May 15, representing a total of 117 days.  The prorated period begins on March 23, the first day after our originally scheduled spring break, and goes until May 15, totaling 54 days of unused housing (or 46.2%). Thus, your expected adjustment (credit or refund) will be equal to 46.2% of your housing charge for the spring 2020 semester.

Meal Plans. For students on the “Anytime Dining” plan, the prorated period is the same as for housing (March 23 to May 15), but will be based on eligible meal days. There are 50 unused meal days out of 103 total meal days in the spring semester. Therefore, students will receive a 48.5% prorated adjustment of $1,437. Students on block meal plans will receive an adjustment equal to the remaining balance of unused meals and Thrifty Cash in their account as of March 23.  

Student Activities and Health Service Fees. Using the same prorated period as housing (March 23 to May 15, 54 days), your adjustments for student activities and health service fees will equal 46.2% of your spring 2020 charges. This adjustment equals $65 for the student activities fee, and $74 for the health service fee.

Process for Applying Adjustments

For students who did not reside in College housing or have meal plans, the adjustments on the activities and health service fees will automatically be applied to any outstanding balance, and if there is no balance on your account, automatically refunded to you by direct deposit or check. 

For students who resided in College housing and/or have meal plans, any adjustments will be applied in the following manner:

• All adjustments will first be applied to any outstanding balance on your student account.
• If your student account reflects a credit after the adjustment, you may:
  • Request to have this credit applied toward summer and/or fall 2020 graduate tuition charges. 
  • Request a refund.
  • Request to reduce a spring student loan.
• If you choose to pursue graduate studies at Marist, please remember that as a Marist alumnus/a, your first graduate class is free.  Please contact Graduate Admission for additional information.
• Refunds will be processed and issued within 7 business days. 
• Refunds will be directly deposited into your bank account if you are currently enrolled in e-Refund. 
• If you are not enrolled in e-Refund, a check will be mailed to your home address.

To assist you in this process, starting Wednesday, April 22nd seniors can access your adjustment balances by logging in to https://my.marist.edu/adjustment.  If no changes are made to your account by Friday May 8th, your credit will automatically be refunded to you by direct deposit or check.

The process described above applies to students studying at the main campus in Poughkeepsie, NY.  A separate refund and credit policy will address students who studied abroad during the spring 2020 semester.  That policy will be communicated directly to those students to whom it applies.

We appreciate your patience as we work diligently and carefully to address the impact of COVID-19 on our campus.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to Student Financial Services at 845-575-3230 or studentfinancialservices@marist.edu if you have any questions. If you need assistance with myMarist, you may also reach out to the Help Desk at 845-575-4357 or helpdesk@marist.edu.

Best wishes for continued good health.

John Pecchia
Vice President for Business Affairs/CFO  

Joe Weglarz
Executive Director, Student Financial Services

Letter to Freshmen, Sophomore, and Juniors

Dear Joe,

I hope this letter finds you and your family well during this unprecedented national crisis. We understand this is not the semester you originally envisioned, and we thank you for your patience as we finalized our policy regarding prorating unused room, meal, student activities and health service fee charges for the spring 2020 semester. This has been approved by the Marist Board of Trustees.  Our adjustment policy for each of these charges is described in more detail below.

Housing. Spring semester housing began on January 20 and would have ended on May 15, representing a total of 117 days.  The prorated period begins on March 23, the first day after our originally scheduled spring break, and goes until May 15, totaling 54 days of unused housing (or 46.2%). Thus, your expected adjustment (refund or credit) will be equal to 46.2% of your housing charge for the spring 2020 semester.

Meal Plans. For students on the “Anytime Dining” plan, the prorated period is the same as for housing (March 23 to May 15), but will be based on eligible meal days. There are 50 unused meal days out of 103 total meal days in the spring semester. Therefore, students will receive a 48.5% prorated adjustment of $1,437. Students on block meal plans will receive an adjustment equal to the remaining balance of unused meals and Thrifty Cash in their account as of March 23. Marist Money account balances will be handled separately.

Student Activities and Health Service Fees. Using the same prorated period as housing (March 23 to May 15, 54 days), your adjustments for student activities and health service fees will equal 46.2% of your spring 2020 charges. This adjustment equals $65 for the student activities fee, and $74 for the health service fee.

Process for Applying Adjustments

For students who did not reside in College housing or have meal plans, the adjustments on the activities and health service fees will automatically be applied to any outstanding balance, and if there is no balance on your account, automatically refunded to you by direct deposit or check. 

• For students who resided in College housing and/or have meal plans, any adjustments will be applied in the following manner:
• All adjustments will first be applied to any outstanding balance on your student account.
• If your student account reflects a credit after the adjustment, you may:
  • Request a refund.
  • Request to reduce a spring student loan.
  • Request to have this credit applied toward summer and/or fall 2020 charges. 
• Refunds will be directly deposited into your bank account if you are currently enrolled in e-Refund.
• If you are not enrolled in e-Refund, a check will be mailed to your home address.

Refunds will be processed and issued within 7 business days.

To assist you in this process, Marist has set aside the following dates:

• Juniors have access starting Friday, April 24th
• Sophomores have access starting Saturday, April 25th
• Freshmen have access starting Sunday, April 26th

On those dates, each class may view updated student accounts and select your options at: https://my.marist.edu/adjustment. If no changes are made to your account by Friday May 8th, your credit will automatically be applied toward summer and/or fall 2020 charges.

The process described above applies to students studying at the main campus in Poughkeepsie, NY.  A separate refund and credit policy will address students who studied abroad during the spring 2020 semester.  That policy will be communicated directly to those students to whom it applies.

We appreciate your patience as we work diligently and carefully to address the impact of COVID-19 on our campus.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to Student Financial Services at 845-575-3230 or studentfinancialservices@marist.edu if you have any questions. If you need assistance with myMarist, you may also reach out to the Help Desk at 845-575-4357 or helpdesk@marist.edu.

Best wishes for continued good health.

John Pecchia
Vice President for Business Affairs/CFO  

Joe Weglarz
Executive Director, Student Financial Services