University releases details on housing, dining refunds and new Duke Student Assistance Fund

Duke announced its credit and refund policies in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shuttered the campus to most students.

First-years, sophomores and juniors who lived on-campus will receive a prorated credit covering the March 13-May 10 period to use toward their Fall 2020 housing, and seniors and students living off-campus next fall will be given a refund for the same period. A similar policy will apply to Duke Dining credits and refunds, with seniors receiving refunds for the unused food points and underclassmen getting credit for the Fall semester. 

"We cannot possibly imagine all the different circumstances you are confronting," Provost Sally Kornbluth and Executive Vice Provost Jennifer Francis wrote in the Thursday morning email to students and parents. "Please know these decisions were made with the best of intentions and the desire to direct financial resources to our students with the greatest immediate need."

Students on need-based financial aid will be reimbursed with their unused dining funds, Kornbluth and Francis explained. Work-study students should ask their employers if they can work remotely, and those who are unable to continue their jobs remotely will still be paid based on pre-spring break schedules. 

Refunds will be processed via direct deposit, which can be updated in the Forms and Requests tab on the DukeHub website, or mailed directly to students' home addresses if no bank account is listed.

President Vincent Price recently created an aid fund called Duke Student Assistance Fund, and Kornbluth and Francis added that more information about this fund will be provided to undergraduate and graduate and professional students "very soon."

In March, Duke students established a Facebook group for an aid group called Duke Mutual Aid to provide support to the Duke community.