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Fee Rebate Process and Financial Aid Update
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September 15, 2009
To: UMass Amherst Students
During the summer, the University of Massachusetts followed through on plans to provide its in-state undergraduate students with a fee rebate, something made possible by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the decision of Gov. Deval Patrick and the Legislature to provide the university with increased federal stimulus funding. This action, which we enthusiastically advocated for, allows us to offset the planned $1,500 fee increase made necessary by cuts in state funding to the institution.
President Wilson recently announced that all campuses of the University of Massachusetts will be rebating $1,100 of the $1,500 fee increase approved by the Trustees last spring, and today I want to share details about how this process will work, and also to share details about the increases in financial aid for students implemented this year.
All in-state undergraduate students will see a $550 credit on their fall and spring semester bills, while part-time, in-state undergraduate students will see a prorated credit amount. In addition to this, to ensure that we mitigated the out-of-pocket costs to middle income students and those with the greatest need, the campus this year committed $3.9 million in direct financial aid funding to these students. In all, UMass Amherst has dedicated $28 million to financial aid support to students which roughly doubles the funding for financial aid over just 6 years ago and demonstrates our commitment to you, our students.
Taken together, this means of the more than 15,000 in-state undergraduate students on this campus, nearly all will receive a rebate credit or check from the campus. Because over a third of these students receive some financial aid from the campus, the amount of the rebate they receive will be balanced against the additional grant money they already received from the increase in university financial aid to students. The small number of students that will receive no rebate credit or check will see no increase in their total out-of-pocket costs based on the increased grant aid they have already received from the university.
The rebates will be issued in the next four to six weeks. Students can monitor their accounts through SPIRE and set up parents and others as authorized payers to view and receive billing information. Any refunds due to the student can be electronically deposited to the bank account of your choice through SPIRE. More information about the rebate is available on a frequently asked questions webpage established at www.umass.edu/umhome/rebate. Please feel free to view the FAQ webpage for more information.
Sincerely,
Chancellor Robert C. Holub
