Office of the Assemblies

Dear Logan,

 

Thank you for submitting University Assembly resolution #23 for my consideration and for bringing forward your constituents’ concerns.

 

The resolution’s proposals are inconsistent with federal policy that governs the use of Title IV federal student aid funds and must therefore be rejected. I have asked Vice President DeStefano to provide the details below. 

 

As you step down from your role as University Assembly chair at the end of this month, thank you for your service and longstanding commitment to the university’s shared governance system. Congratulations as well on your recent graduation from the law school. 

 

Best regards,

 

Martha E. Pollack

 

 

Martha E. Pollack

President, Cornell University

300 Day Hall

Ithaca, NY 14853

Tel: 607-255-5201

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Thank you for the opportunity to provide additional details on the subject of U.A. resolution #23. At the end of 2020, the Bursar Office notified the Sorority & Fraternity Life team that to be compliant with regulations which govern the use of Title IV federal student aid funds, the university would need to end the practice of assessing non-institutional charges to Cornell student Bursar accounts. The Bursar Office agreed to delay the change in billing until the fall 2021 semester to give affected organizations enough time to set up new billing processes. Organizations affected included Greek and non-Greek student organizations. The Sorority & Fraternity Life team confirmed the organizations affected by this change have two local accounting firm options for accounting and billing services. There are also three major companies in the fraternal market that work with many organizations to provide online billing and collection services.

 

The UA proposal recommends that the university continue to pay 100% of the non-institutional amount billed regardless of the payment patterns of the individual students. Title IV rules expressly prohibit the university from compelling or even instructing students to use their Title IV refunds to pay balances on their Bursar Account Statement.

 

The UA proposal also recommends that the Bursar Office use the CornellCard to process non-institutional charges related to fraternity, sorority and other small living units. CornellCard transactions appear in a separate section of the Bursar Account Statement, although they are not separated from credits that post to the Bursar account from an operational standpoint. While students are permitted to utilize refunded Title IV monies to personally pay for their outside/off campus housing, meals, and other expenses (Title IV non-allowable charges), Title IV regulations prohibit the university from directly using these funds to satisfy non-institutional charges. 

 

The Bursar Office remains committed to providing billing and collection services related to university and university-contracted charges in compliance with Title IV regulations.

 

Thank you for sharing the concerns of your constituencies.

 

Sincerely,

 

Joanne DeStefano

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer