After a major shift to online classes for the remainder of the spring semester, many students have been left with unanswered questions on top of sudden financial and health hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Michael K. Young announced in an email to the student body that students can request refunds for dining plans and on-campus housing contracts, and Transportation Services is offering refunds for parking permits returned before July 12, 2020. However, Delisa Falks, vice president of Scholarships & Financial Aid, said university leadership does not have a specific date for when these refunds will reach students’ accounts.
Many students and Aggie parents are suffering temporary or permanent job loss across the country as companies are forced to either downsize due to revenue losses or close their doors entirely because of social distancing requirements. This sudden loss of income has left many Aggies without the resources to pay tuition, rent or food.
Falks said if students are facing financial hardships from the impacts of coronavirus, whether that be personal or family job loss, they can re-file for emergency financial aid to help fund charges such as rent, utilities, food, tuition and materials for online classes. Non-emergent financial aid will not change due to courses being taught online as long as the student retains their enrollment status, according to the Scholarships & Financial Aid website.
“That’s ultimately why we’re here: to help students find resources to pay for college,” Falks said. “We know that during this time families have really been impacted, so anything we can do and any resources we can give, we’d like to do so.”
Scholarships & Financial Aid’s Emergency Aid website includes a number of resources for those unable to meet immediate, essential expenses, those experiencing extenuating family circumstances and those in need of food resources. Falks said the office is still available to assist students remotely over the phone, email, and chat sessions.
The following are other resources A&M has available to help students succeed as the university continue to face the impacts of the coronavirus:
Virtual Open Access Labs: The VOAL can be accessed at connect.voal.tamu.edu and gives students access to their on-campus computer profile, including access to all of the software that is offered on campus computers.
Keep Learning: The Office for Academic Innovation has created the keeplearning.tamu.edu website to offer instructions on how to use Zoom and Google Classroom, as well as tips and resources to succeed in online classes.
The 12th Can: The on-campus food pantry is hosting a drive-thru system in Lot 76 for students to pick up prepackaged bags of food supplies. Visit www.the12thcan.org for more information about their pantry opening times.
Student Health Services: Student Health Services is still open, but they are taking certain precautions to ensure the safety of all students and staff. For more information about Beutel services and hours, visit shs.tamu.edu/coronavirus.
Academic Success Center: The Academic Success Center has offered tips for succeeding in online classes this semester on their website.
Student Assistance Services: SAS helps connect students to resources across campus in relation to academic and personal matters. They can be reached remotely at [email protected].
The Money Resources Center: The Money Resource Center is still open for remote advising appointments on Zoom to offer help with managing money and loan payments. They can be reached remotely at [email protected].
211 Texas Program: 2-1-1 is a statewide program that helps connect citizens to resources including food banks, homeless shelters, healthcare providers and more. Visit www.211texas.org or dial 211.