Trinity has said that students who decide to leave their college accommodation will be offered a partial refund of their licence fee following the imposition of Level 5 restrictions across Ireland for a six week period.
In an email sent to all residents, Trinity’s head of accommodation Neal Murphy said that College would refund the remainder of the student’s fee, less the amount due for the four weeks notice period.
College accommodation is remaining “open and operational” for the duration of the Level 5 restrictions.
Trinity had been reviewing the possibility of offering refunds earlier this month, and this decision follows calls for refunds from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), as well as the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris.
The email stressed the fact that, with regard to students, Level 3 and Level 5 are very similar, but acknowledged that “a small number of people have inquired about leaving accommodation early”. Students were asked not to leave if doing so meant they could not attend their in person classes.
In offering the refund, the email also acknowledged that “it may be very difficult for you to find a replacement candidate for your college room if you decide to move out”.
In cases where an urgent move out may be necessary, the email said that “refunds will be calculated accordingly”. These decisions will be made “as quickly as possible on a case-by-case basis”.
Students were told that there is no deadline to decide whether to move out, and were urged to make the decision in their own time and after “due consultation with your parents/guardians and/or your Tutor or other advisor in College”.
Refunds will be applied from the date of students’ leaving their accommodation, less the amount due for the four weeks’ notice period.
Finally, the email acknowledged that this has been “a difficult and trying time” for students, and said that any further questions should be directed to the Accommodation Office.
Earlier this week, Trinity confirmed that teaching would remain largely the same through the period of Level 5 restrictions, with all classes taking place online except in the case of labs and practical classes, clinical skills classes, creative practice or other formative experiential components that cannot be delivered online. Research will continue, and the library will remain open. The current restrictions are expected to last for the remainder of the semester.
