To All Our Students and Their Parents: As your first week of virtual learning at Taylor is wrapping up, I hope you are finding helpful ways to adjust. I’m back in Upland, and the campus feels empty — I miss you, students! We are all working at distances from one another. We know you parents are also adjusting to new realities.
I’m writing to let you know about an important decision regarding adjustments to student accounts. This morning, the Board of Trustees took action to reduce housing and meal charges by 8/15 (for the 8 weeks after Spring Break) for all students who moved out of University housing.
Universities have handled financial adjustments in a variety of ways. We believe this is the right thing to do for you, students and parents. For Taylor students, each account had to be individually adjusted, and we wanted to make sure to do this well.
Each student’s account will vary, but some will reflect a credit balance. We want you to choose how you would like us to process that credit. Here are your options:
A: Leave it on my account for next semester. (We’re glad you’re coming back!)
B: Please send me the balance. (We’re happy to process that quickly!)
C: I’d like to donate the balance to Taylor. (Thank you!)
Why option C? The Lord may be putting this option in the hearts of our families who can help students now. Some of you have expressed a desire to do just that. But we know that many of you are not in a position to make gifts, and we truly understand.
Need more answers? Here are some helpful links:
- Visit this website for FAQs about how these changes may affect your account.
- Check student emails for the link to indicate preferred option regarding a credit balance.
- Contact bursar@taylor.edu to ask questions specifically related to your account.
Please know we take seriously the stewardship of not only your education, but also your resources. Thank you for your patience, understanding and, most importantly, prayer.
Faithfully and together,
Paige Comstock Cunningham, PhD, JD
Interim President
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19 NIV)
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Reduction in Spring Semester Charges
Since you are unable to be on campus, the Taylor board and leadership team agree it is appropriate to reduce the amount of housing and meal charges, by 8/15 of the original housing and/or meal plan charges for all students who moved out of university housing. If you did not have one of these charges, your account will remain unaffected.
We know there may be questions about how the amount of the reduction was calculated. We want to be very transparent about this calculation, so please note the following methodology.
- On Friday, March 13, we announced that Spring Break would start on March 18, virtual classes would begin on March 30, with classes to resume on campus on April 14.
- Just one week later, due to developments regarding COVID-19, we regretfully announced that we would not be able to resume classes on campus this semester.
- On Friday, March 20, we also communicated to students the need to leave campus.
- The campus officially moved to virtual-only learning on March 30.
- There are 15 weeks in the semester (not counting Spring Break week), and 8 of those weeks (including finals week) occur after Spring Break week.
Therefore, we have calculated the reduction amount as 8/15 of the original housing and/or meal plan charge for the semester.
- For students who have not yet paid their Spring 2020 account in full, the reduction of charges will not result in a credit balance, but instead will result in a lower balance due to Taylor.
- If you had a scheduled payment plan, that plan will be automatically reduced to the amount needed to cover this lower balance.
- In certain circumstances, a student may have received a combination of federal, state, private, and Taylor grant aid that now exceeds the charges for tuition, fees, and reduced housing and meal plans. In those cases, the amount of Taylor grant aid will be reduced accordingly.
- Finally, in certain circumstances, a student may have received federal Title IV aid that now exceeds the federally-determined qualifying charges. In those cases, the excess federal Title IV funds will be returned to you, with no other action required of you, per government policy.
Process for a Credit Balance
The effect of the reduction in charges is not the same for every student. For some students, this adjustment will create a credit balance. In that case, students may select from the following options:
A. I would like to leave the credit balance on my account and have that balance applied to charges for the next semester. (Note: This option will not affect eligibility for future financial aid.)
B. I would like a payment to me for the amount of the credit balance on my account.
C. I would like to have the credit balance moved from my account and treated as a gift to the University. (Note: All contributions would be tax-deductible).
Options for Finding Answers
We hope that this explanation provides clarity, but we recognize that questions may still exist.
- Check the FAQs about how these changes may affect your account.
- Check student emails for the link to indicate preferred option regarding a credit balance.
- Contact bursar@taylor.edu to ask questions specifically related to your account.