University of La Verne students will receive reimbursements this month for services and activities that were canceled following campus closures for the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who had been living on campus dorms should receive roughly $4,000 for unused meal plans plus the remaining balance for dorm room rentals.
All students will also be reimbursed $100 for the ASULV fee.
A recent email from University President Devorah Lieberman spelled out these and other reimbursements students can expect.
Juan Regalado, dean of students, said the president consulted with the Associated Students of University of La Verne and budget advisers regarding this reimbursement process.
Regalado said student refunds would vary depending on the type of room and meal plan they’d signed up for and any grants they might have been awarded, such as student engagement grants for those who live on campus.
For a Vista single, they should get $2,656.35, for a Vista double: $2,408.20; for a Citrus double, the refund should be $2,321.48, for room reimbursements. The meal plan reimbursements should be $1,594.44 for 10-meal plans, and $1,738.03 for 14-meal plans.
The University will reimburse about $3.35 million in all.
Soon after the University announced on March 13 the campus was closing, students began raising concerns about reimbursements.
Some students asked whether a portion of their tuition for academic courses would also be refunded with the migration to all online.
Cynthia Gutierrez, junior educational studies major, and Jennifer Ascencion, sophomore psychology major, started an online petition via Instagram last month for tuition reimbursement, which they thought should be considered in addition to reimbursement of room and board fees.
Gutierrez said the idea for the petition came from her friends at another university who started a similar petition.
“We made the Instagram account and followed everyone who had ULV in their bios and then posted topics on what should be on the list of demands,” Gutierrez said.
The Instagram petition, however, was suspended after being reported by a user.
All students without a balance on their accounts should receive some fees reimbursements this semester.
—Rashonda Taylor
