On Monday, March 30, CSU Bakersfield Public Affairs Director Jennifer Self sent out a second email with regards to Spring 2020 refunds to CSUB’s students. After the email sent out by Self on Friday, March 27 announcing that CSUB will be giving partial credit to its students, many had questions about what receiving credit actually meant for them. 

  Students will be receiving 50% of their Spring 2020 parking pass payment back to their account in the form of credit. Student residents will be receiving credit back for their student housing and dining services from the time they checked out of their rooms through the rest of the semester. 

  For those who will be receiving this credit, the plan is set up to first pay back any and all fees or charges that are outstanding on the student’s account. If no fees or outstanding charges are found, students will receive their refund in the form of direct deposit or a mailed check. If outstanding fees and charges are found on student accounts, students will receive the difference of their refund credit, if any is left over after the fees are paid. 

  Since the credit process is due to the coronavirus pandemic, some students like Eileen Díaz, a senior history major at CSUB, think it is unfair to use the refund credit towards fees first before sending any money to students. 

  “I don’t think it’s fair. Some students are out of work and could really use all the money they can get. If the student’s best interests is a priority to the university then they should just issue the check without wanting to get paid back first. There is a time and a place to as for their money but right now students are struggling financially and mentally,” Díaz wrote in response to a Facebook post. 

  Candice Livingston, an interdisciplinary studies major, helped explain why CSUB is using the credit system rather than just issuing a refund to the students. 

  “We sign a student financial agreement that tells us we agree to pay any fees, etc. that are necessary. A partial refund is good, and getting any of that money back is honestly the best thing ever,” Livingston wrote in a Facebook comment. 

  Livingston is unsure if the university would grant leniency in paying back fees right away in circumstances such as a pandemic. 

  Natalie Frieson, a junior criminal justice student, believes the credit should go to the students first and then the students can pay the fees later when the pandemic has passed.  

  “This is an unprecedented time where we need to be saving as much money as we can for essentials. But why does that mean the credit in this horrible time goes there first? If it goes to us first, we still have to pay the fees,” Frieson wrote in response to a Facebook post. 

  Maya Rodriguez, a senior psychology student, believes having the credit used towards fees should be optional for students.  

  “If you paid $95 for a [parking] pass that’s $47 that could’ve been used for the student to eat, get gas, buy some groceries, etc. At a time like this it’s wrong to do that,” Rodriguez wrote in a Facebook comment. 

  Students are able to update their mailing information from now until April 5 and refunds will start being processed on Monday, April 6.  

  Students who have additional questions with regards to refunds and the process may contact Jennifer Self at [email protected].