Students who were registered for classes in the 2020 spring quarter may be eligible for a small refund
By SYDNEY AMESTOY — campus@theaggie.org
Eligible students may have received a refund based on the modifications made to campus services in the 2020 spring quarter, when many facilities closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Undergraduate students who were eligible for the refund received up to $7.76, while UC Davis law students could have received up to $2.04.
To be eligible for this refund, students had to have been enrolled in classes during the 2020 spring quarter. Students enrolled in most graduate level professional degree programs were not included.
Eligible students should have received their refund through the MyBill portal by March 15, according to a press release from the university. If students did not receive a digital refund, a physical check will be mailed to them.
In June 2020, then UC President Janet Napolitano decided to issue these refunds to compensate students for the impact COVID-19 had on campus services in the 2020 spring quarter.
The UC Office of the President (UCOP) released a letter answering frequently asked questions about this refund and discussing how the amount being refunded was decided upon. Napolitano had ordered all UC campuses to analyze which campus fees they would need to refund based on the service’s unavailability or change in service.
Ultimately, UC Davis decided upon the roughly $7 refund based on a calculated $236,381 total of unexpended and unencumbered fees. The refund was spread evenly among those eligible.
Some students, however, feel that this refund was not sufficient.
“I don’t think $7 was enough to cover the cost of all the services lost in the spring quarter of 2020,” said Paulina Frost, a third-year public health major. “Maybe a few hundred.”
Third-year managerial economics major Jericho Delong echoed Frost’s sentiments.
“Tuition is a lot, especially out of state, and all that was lost in that quarter; $7 doesn’t seem like enough,” Delong said.
Other students, such as second-year engineering major Vi Bui, felt the refund was an appropriate sum.
“With as many students here, I think that is a reasonable amount to make up for campus resources,” Bui said.
The total amount refunded differs per campus and in some groups of students, such as law students and undergraduates, according to the UCOP’s frequently asked questions. Expended fees were excluded, as were fees regarding financial aid and long-term projects extending past the 2020 spring quarter.
A written disclaimer is now posted on the official Tuition and Fees website informing students of the refund and that only the spring quarter of 2020 will be refunded, not any of the other quarters disrupted by COVID-19.
Written by: Sydney Amestoy — campus@theaggie.org
