Received a communication from Bates that they will prorate room and board for the Winter Term and nothing for tuition as classes will continue, albeit remotely. However, given that Bates has a single charge for the Fall and Winter semester but no charge for the mid-April to May Short Term, how do they account for the cancellation of the Short Term. You are required to take 2 Short Terms during your 4 year degree program. Clearly, they incur both tuition and room and board costs during this period. Just wondering how they handle this due to their no additional charge structure for short term. Any thoughts?
So you are saying you will be done with this year next week? If I read you correctly they will do one of 2 things either waive the requirement of 2 short terms or make it up next year. I do not see them refunded something they do not charge you for. Call them and see what they say, I have never heard of this.
Here’s what seems fair to me:
Seniors with only one previous ST get to do one on line, with a small refund for ST room and board or some other accommodation.
Everyone else gets to take Short Terms in the future. A few juniors who might have wanted to take 3 will only be able to take two. Freshmen and Sophomores will still be able to take 3. (Bates requires students to take two, and limits them to three). Some juniors might be unhappy, but this isn’t a great situation for anyone.
Only two are required. If you get to do three, it’s a bonus I guess. You should call Bates and ask them about this. If it’s a third one that students can’t take, I can’t see why any refund would be due. My senior is in this situation. She was signed up for her third, but obviously won’t be taking it. We aren’t expecting a refund on that. And I imagine that the cost of tuition and room and board over the four years factors in the two required years of short term.
Given that many other colleges cost the same but don’t have Short Term or similar, and given that students genuinely enjoy Short Term, it definitely strikes me as a bonus that Bates offers it.
My daughter’s tuition bill shows a $2750 credit for short term. She is a senior who had only done short term once. I’m not sure if this refund is across the board or just for seniors who won’t have the opportunity to do short term next year instead…
Thanks for sharing. I got a $2300 credit for Winter Semester Refund - presumably for current semester Room and Board. My son is a freshman so maybe the difference is Room and Board for Short Term? It is hard to tell since Bates does not charge separately for the Short Term but we know there is a tuition and Room and Board cost. They just spread it over the Fall and Winter semesters.
We got the Winter Semester Refund as well, room and board. I’m guessing that the small number of seniors who were required to take short term are getting the additional credit. Bates had originally talked about having seniors who had only done one short term participate in a “remote” short-term but then decided to waive the requirement. I’m happy about that, since the whole point of short term seems to be spending time enjoying the campus with a reduced work load. Apparently there were only about 50 seniors who “needed” the second short term. Since two short term sessions are included in the overall Bates tuition/room and board, they are probably just refunding the students who don’t have the opportunity to do two…