Can college students get a refund for housing and meal plans? At UA, yes. At ASU and NAU, no

The move to online-only classes for the rest of the semester because of COVID-19 has left many dorm rooms empty and meal plans unused.

Students and their families wonder if they can get some money back as the economy suffers and many face layoffs and shortened work hours.

At Arizona State University, students who have left the dorms to return home will not be getting housing refunds, nor will students at Northern Arizona University. But at University of Arizona, they will be getting some money back in their accounts. At Grand Canyon University, students can get some money back for meals, but not housing.

Students at ASU and at Grand Canyon University have created separate online petitions to demand refunds for housing and meal plans now that most are not living in the dorms. Some students pay thousands of dollars for housing and meal plans each semester.

ASU's policy detailed on its coronavirus webpage says the university is focused on the health and safety of the university as well as continuing operations to provide education to keep students on track during the COVID-19 disruption.

"In order to meet that commitment, ASU remains focused on running the university at full capacity delivered in a different mode," the online statement says. "ASU continues to provide all of the services we do in normal conditions such as health services and counseling, food service and housing, libraries, research and discovery — the full range of educational resources at a world class university. Our expenses are not decreasing as we deliver all of our university assets technologically."

ASU's Crow: 'Are you kidding me?'

ASU President Michael Crow said in an interview with The Arizona Republic on Wednesday that talk of refunds was inappropriate at this time.

"The funny thing is that somebody declares a national emergency and they're talking about bringing out martial law in California. And then people ask us, are we going to give them a refund? Are you kidding me? I mean, that's what you want to talk to us about is a refund?" Crow said.

"So, like I said, we're offering full, full service. We'll sort all of this out at some point, but we're not going to sort it out now. That's like 48th on a list of 48 things."

Some of the students who have asked for refunds have their housing or meal plans paid for by the university, he said. He called the issue of refunds a "noise-level issue" compared to the bigger concerns the university is dealing with to continue the university's operations.

"We'll look at it, you know, depending on the circumstances as we move forward, but I mean, it's a very inappropriate question, I gotta tell you that," he said.

UA students get partial refund

Meanwhile, at the UA, students who lived on campus but will not return this semester are being offered a credit to their accounts because of the "unique and unprecedented circumstances," an email to residents said.

Students can get a check or credit to their checking account for this year's housing, or a larger credit added to their university account to be applied toward 2020-21 housing costs. The options range from about $640 up to more than $2,500, depending on the type of housing and which option is chosen, charts on the university's website show.

For meal plans, students can either get 10% of their costs refunded as a rebate, or 20% of their costs applied as a credit toward next year's meal plans (about 20% of the semester remains).

UA also has an option in place for students who can't return to campus to get their belongings but want them either shipped or stored until next semester.

No refunds at NAU, either

At Northern Arizona University, refund policies haven't been changed for COVID-19, the school's coronavirus webpage says.

Along the same lines as ASU, NAU noted that it is still operating and incurring costs to keep the semester going.

"Our priorities are the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff and continuing to provide a high-quality education," NAU said online. "Given that, our present tuition and refund policies remain unchanged."

At GCU, dining dollars that are unused will roll over to the next year, the school's website says. For those who are graduating, they will receive a refund of unused dollars at the end of the semester.

As for housing costs, GCU previously said since the end of the semester is near (GCU ends in April) and because housing is still open, there will not be refund.

But, as of March 23, GCU told students it will provide a housing credit for those who moved off campus due to coronavirus concerns, an email from the university shows. The credit is between $260 and $450, depending on the type of room and dorm.

For students who received GCU scholarships for being an on-campus resident, the school is allowing them to keep their full scholarship amount even if they left campus.

Reach reporter Rachel Leingang by email at rachel.leingang@gannett.com or by phone at 602-444-8157, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.