SUNY Global

Memo to Presidents

MEMORANDUM

March 18, 2010

TO:                 Campus Presidents

FROM:           Mitch Leventhal

SUBJECT:     Haiti – Grace Period

As you know, the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti has had a direct impact on many students who are members of our SUNY community. Many family members of our students are jobless and the banking system continues to be in disarray.

SUNY students who have a permanent address in Haiti are likely to be unable to meet their financial obligations in a timely manner for some time to come. Current SUNY policy allows campus presidents to grant a deferral for up to two (2) years in cases of extreme hardship (Policy no. 7301, Billing, Refunds, Collection and Write-offs Policy for Tuition, Fees, and Other Charges, see relevant excerpt below or visit http://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=390).

We believe that the situation on the ground in Haiti warrants such action, thus we ask that all Presidents consider allowing these particular students a grace period for the payment of all study-related costs.

While we recognize that each community college is governed by its own board and policies, however we encourage community college presidents to work toward providing similar student accounts flexibility for students of Haitian origin.

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Policy Title:

Billing, Refunds, Collection and Write-offs Policy for Tuition, Fees, and Other Charges

Document Number:

7301

Effective Date:

February 11, 2009

This policy item applies to:

State-Operated Campuses

C. Deferrals

A deferral of payment is defined as a temporary postponement of all or part of a student's payment beyond the date when full payment would otherwise be required. Campus procedures shall ensure the timely receipt of payments of charges on which deferrals are based. For students who have deferred outstanding charges, the repayment period should be for the shortest time period possible. Deferrals are categorized as either obligatory or discretionary on the part of the campus. A description of each follows.

2. Discretionary Deferrals

A deferral of all of part of a student’s charges may be authorized by the campus president, or designee, on a discretionary basis under the following conditions:

a. When a student's charges are supported by state, federal, or other third-party assistance programs (e.g., scholarship, grants, loans, etc.) as documented in writing and not covered in Section I, Billing and Deferral Policy for Tuition, Fees, and Other Charges, C Deferrals, 1 Obligatory Deferrals.

b. When failure to defer a student's charges will exert an extreme hardship on the student. Discretionary hardship deferrals must be in writing, should not exceed two years, and shall include appropriate follow-up.