Ohio colleges and universities are facing questions from students and parents whether they will remain on the hook for tuition, room and board in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak as remote learning classes replace traditional coursework.
A survey of six of Ohio's largest universities found precise details on what will be reimbursement and how much is still being finalized.
In most cases, only room and board fees are being considered for some type of prorated refund, but not tuition.
The Ohio State University.
At Ohio State, the university says "it will provide an appropriate prorated refund of housing and dining" for those departing residence halls by Sunday, March 22, but not tuition.
Likewise, Ohio University will not be issuing refunds on tuition, but "a prorated process" is being developed for housing and dining costs, according to a university spokesperson.
Meanwhile, at Kent State University, a decision on any type of tuition reimbursement remains under review and details will be released in upcoming days.
KSU has announced housing and meals are "eligible" for refunds and details will be be forthcoming.
At Cleveland State, a spokesperson said "prorated plans are underway for costs" but did not specify what will be included. Miami of Ohio says it is reviewing all charges--tuition, room and board, but no specifics have been provided.
Bowling Green State University is finalizing housing/dining credits and refunds but has not reported any type of tuition refund.
But not all colleges and universities in Ohio are providing reimbursements.
Hiram College, for example, a spokesperson said it is "keeping its residence halls and townhouses open as long as it can, along with dining services."
"Since the services are available, we have not begun to formulate any type of room and board rebate plan," the spokesperson said, adding "that is not to say we will not consider such a plan in either or both areas down the road."
Hiram says it became the first four-year college in Ohio to implement a "one-to-one mobile learning environment," offering all students, faculty and staff "with state of the art iPad Pro technology."
It has no plans for tuition reimbursement based on its ability to "deliver curriculum to students".
Still, at least one parent of a Hiram student says "it forces students to place themselves in harm's way" adding "this is nothing more than a loophole to get around issuing much-needed refunds for these students."
