Thousands of students dropped their $500 housing guarantee payments to secure on-campus housing for next year by last Friday’s deadline, but they may not have locked themselves back into dormitory life just yet.
For the first time since 1992, students will have the ability to cancel their submitted Residence License Agreements and get a full refund of their $500 deposit because room and board rates have not been announced yet, Director of Housing Marc Robillard said in an email Monday.
Next year’s rates will be announced this week, President ad interim Aram Chobanian said in an email Monday. This year’s announcement comes months after the usual announcement time in December, which used to make a cancellation period unnecessary.
“The announcement was made later this year because of changes in the administration and the need to have as much budgetary information as possible before establishing the rates,” he said. “The current announcement date is in fact more in keeping with the practices of most other major universities.”
Robillard said dates students can cancel their agreements and refund procedures will be fully explained in a letter to parents and students once the tuition, room and board rates for the 2004-05 academic year have been announced. The revived cancellation policy was announced in a letter mailed to students in February and stated that there will be a week-long period during which students have the opportunity to cancel their housing agreements after new rates are announced.
“Since I required students to submit their [Residence License Agreements and housing guarantee payments] prior to the announcement of rates, I had to give students the opportunity to cancel once the rates were known,” Robillard said.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Margaret Bell blamed the turmoil surrounding the university’s $1.8 million payment to former President-elect Daniel Goldin in October for the need for a cancellation period.
“I think the late announcement and the possible cancellation period is fair,” she said. “Although it again shows how stupid the whole presidential mess was that made it necessary.”
In past years, BU’s tuition and fee increases have been among the lowest nationally by percentage for four-year independent universities, BU spokesman Colin Riley said. One Board of Trustees member told The Daily Free Press in January that tuition increases would likely be around 5 percent. An increase of 5 percent for tuition would put it at $28,500, compared to $27,042 this year.
College of Communication sophomore Greg Fazio said the likely room and board rate increases will not make him consider canceling his housing agreement.
“Living on campus is the best arrangement for me,” he said. “You just have to factor in those costs and just write it off as a part of the cost of going to college.”
Bell said she can see how the late announcement could cause problems for students debating whether to live on or off campus, but she plans to stay on campus.
“I’d rather not have to look for an off-campus apartment because I will hopefully have a good lottery number and [finding housing] would be easier,” she said.
Robillard said the cancellation policy will have no effect on housing assignments. But the policy will give some students more time to decide their living situations without financial consequences, he said.
Students who decide to cancel their housing agreements after the full refund dates will also still be able to do so with the same fees as in past years until Aug. 27, after which no refunds are given for cancellations.