Universities across the country are in the process of determining refund policies for student room and board funds. One of the latest campuses to reveal reimbursement plans is Penn State University, where procedures have been taking shape since mid-March.

Penn State University initially announced on March 16 that it would be issuing pro-rated refunds to students that have payed for room and board plans. Now, the university has outlined a timeline for the reimbursements.

An official university release states that the first of the refunds are being processed this week for students who did not return to campus from spring break for the remote-learning period.

Refunds for students who left the Penn State campus after the start of the remote-learning period will be processed starting April 13.

Penn State officials say that each student will receive prorated refunds to their spring semester room charge and their campus meal plan base cost. All unspent spring semester Dining Dollars will also be refunded.

LionCash+ balances -- Penn State's prepaid flex account that supports campus card purchases on- and off-campus -- will remain active for students and will automatically roll over from one semester to the next.

Students living off campus who had purchased the campus meal plan will also receive a prorated refund, while students who purchased a commuter meal plan --  which has no base cost -- will be refunded the unspent spring semester Dining Dollars balance.

Room and board refunds will be credited to students’ LionPATH account if the Housing and Food contract was initially payed for through the LionPATH student information system.

The university is suggesting that students opt for the eRefund option, as it's the fastest, safest and most convenient way to receive a university refund when a credit balance remains on a student's account. Refunds are also available via mail, but this method could be subject to delays.

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