Boston University Housing notified students in an email Friday they can now receive full refunds of their $600 Housing Guarantee Payment if their Residence License Agreement is canceled by July 1.
Previously, students could receive half of their housing deposit if they canceled their RLA by the end of June. Students must still pay the $600 by Sunday to secure on-campus housing next school year.
“We’ve always had some dates where it was either full or partially refunded.” BU spokesperson Colin Riley said, “and another date, where you had the commitment, and it would be lost if you changed the plans after that.”
Riley said the decision was made amid a challenging year for the University, and they had to consider how to maintain housing for the entire student body.
“When you’re trying to manage a housing system and an educational system of the size of Boston University, it’s a formidable challenge,” Riley said.
Riley added President Robert Brown has been “candid” about the University’s current financial challenges, but BU is overall doing well.
“I’m glad to hear that students are appreciative of that decision,” he said. “It again presents a different challenge for the administration. But we’ve weathered a lot for the past 11 and a half months, and my guess is that there’ll be more challenges ahead.”
College of Communication junior Patrick Donnelly said the decision to alter the housing deposit policy showed awareness from BU administration.
“I guess they’re kind of waking up and smelling the coffee,” he said.“They listened to people’s responses, and then finally decided to do the right thing.”
Donnelly noted the added financial strain that nonrefundable deposits put on students who may decide to change their housing plans.
“It’s obviously a ton of money to go here, and then to put down an extra $600 to get guaranteed housing and then potentially lose it for nothing if, after the fact, you decide you don’t want to,” he said. “That’s a significant amount of money for a lot of people.”
Madison Romo, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she thinks many students are probably relieved after the University’s decision.
“I think that it is helpful in that students don’t feel like they have to if they don’t want to,” Romo said.
She added students may be more willing to enter the housing agreement now that it isn’t fully binding.
“I think that they understand that a lot of students maybe wouldn’t proceed with housing,” Romo said, “if they thought they couldn’t get out of it.”
Romo said she was planning on living on campus next school year regardless of whether the housing could be refunded, but said she thinks many students are having a difficult time planning for their futures.
CAS sophomore Gabriella Finocchio said the administration’s choice to extend the refund deadline reflects some uncertainty for the coming school year.
“It kind of indicates that maybe they don’t know if they’re going to be doing [Learn from Anywhere] in the Fall,” Finocchio said. “Because I know it’s kind of up in the air.”
She said she would prefer the University be more forthcoming with their decision-making in that regard, but appreciated the refund policy nonetheless.
“I wish they were more transparent about what metrics they’re using to decide that,” she said. “But I do think it’s a good thing that it’s going to be refundable. It just gives folks a lot more flexibility.”
Finocchio said students may be factoring the stability of housing into their decisions as well.
“If you’re off campus you can keep it over the summer, it’s a lot more stable,” Finocchio said. “Whereas when you’re in a dorm, a lot of dorms are closed over intercession and over the summer, and it’s just a lot more unstable.”
Niharika Desai, a sophomore in CAS, said she was interested in living off campus next school year, but was uncertain about finding an apartment that met her needs.
“I was debating whether or not I should be able to deposit and end up losing $600 if I don’t go on campus,” Desai said.
She said the extended refund deadline gave her more time to plan her housing situation for the next year.
“I feel like July is a really long time away and by then I’ll definitely know what I’m doing,” Desai said. “I didn’t expect them to do that.”
