The University of Maryland, Baltimore County expects to lose around $23.2 million, which makes up nearly 5 percent of the university’s budget, due to the financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Student refunds for room and board and mandatory fees totaled $18.3 million out of that $23.2 million.

The refunds were released on April 28 and were taken from different auxiliary enterprises, which are non-academic provisions including parking, The Commons and Residential Life. 

The “vast majority” of funds were pulled from the auxiliary reserves, said Lynne Schaefer, the Vice President for Finance and Administration.

“We’ve tapped those reserves and that is going to prevent us from doing those facilities renewal projects, from implementing programs …  as we attempt to build up reasonable reserves,” Schaefer said. The rest of the needed funding will be pulled from academic department resources.

Students received refunds on a pro-rated basis for room and board and athletic fees, according to guidance from the University System of Maryland Board of Regents on March 19. UMBC additionally issued pro-rated refunds for University Commons fees, auxiliary facilities fees, parking and transportation fees and 50 percent of the undergraduate student activities fee and the graduate program fee.

The additional revenue losses — $3.7 million — according to Schaefer, were caused in part by the closing of the UMBC Bookstore, summer camp cancellations and intercollegiate athletics and NCAA cancellations. Increased expenses came to $1.2 million.

UMBC is currently awaiting Maryland’s state budgetary cuts and guidance from the Board of Regents and the University System of Maryland, which will determine future steps. In the meantime, Schaefer stated that UMBC plans to “do everything [they] can” to support current employees.

UMBC received $9.3 million from the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students from the federal government via the CARES Act. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education determined that universities could only utilize half of the allotted grant for university-related expenses.

While at least half of this funding will go to support students, it will be issued only to students who are eligible for Title IV financial aid, which excludes international and undocumented students, as per recent DOE guidance. The remainder of the funds will be used to mitigate revenue losses.

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There is still time to apply for We Believe You Executive-Board Positions! 

NEW Updated Deadline to apply is Sunday, May 3rd at 11:59pm. 

The following E-board positions are open for applicants:

·         President

·         Vice President

·         Secretary

·         Treasurer

·         Project Coordinator

·         Advertising Manager

If you wish to run for an admin position, check out our current positions and complete the following Google Form by the NEW Extended Deadline: May 3^rd at 11:59PM. Descriptions for each of the executive positions are provided within the form. Once the deadline has passed, we will post each candidates' information, and everyone will have a chance to ask the candidates questions, engage with the current e-board, and cast their vote within the week of Monday, May 4th to Friday, May 8th! Final day to cast your vote will be Friday, May 8th at 11:59pm. 

Updates Regarding Elections:

1.       For the 2020-2021 election and voting process, we will be following and closely adhering to the recommendations from the Virtual Student Organization Elections Spring 2020 Guidelines. We will be addressing these guidelines specifics as they apply to We Believe You through a short Q&A: 

a.      How can I apply to be on the We Believe You Executive Board for 2020-2021? 

Answer: You may submit an application through the Google Form using your UMBC email. 

b.       How do I find the description and list of roles for each admin position? 

Answer: You can find the description of each admin position included within the Google Form. 

c.       When is the last day that I can submit an application to the E-Board? 

Answer: The deadline to submit an application to the We Believe You Executive Board is now Sunday, May 3rd at 11:59pm. 

d.       When do elections begin and how will I cast my vote? 

Answer: Elections will go live on Monday, May 4th. Members will have a week to cast their vote and the polls will close on Friday, May 8th at 11:59pm. Elections will take place virtually using Google Forms. Look for an email from We Believe You on May 4th. The email should include a Google Form link which will be the voting method we will use for this election.

e.       How can I learn about each of the candidates? 

Answer: The Google Form that will be sent out on May 4th  will include each candidate’s information and the position(s) for which they are applying. 

f.What if I have questions  I would like to ask a candidate or candidates prior to casting my final vote? 

Answer: You may submit your questions to the We Believe You email (webelieveyou.umbc@gmail.com) and indicate to whom they are for in the context of your email. We will convey those questions to the candidate/candidates and contact you once again with their responses prior to the voting deadline. 

g.       How else can I engage with the candidates prior to casting my vote? 

Answer: The We Believe You Team is currently considering hosting a live event (via Webex, Zoom, etc.) during the week of May 4th-8th which will allow for the candidates to engage with members of We Believe You, introduce themselves, and answer questions. Discussions around this option are ongoing and you will be informed as soon as the team arrives at a decision. 

h.       How and when will results from the elections be posted and sent out to members? 

Answer: Once the voting period has ended, we will collect the votes and release information on the newly elected We Believe You Executive Board 2020-2021 on Monday,  May 11th. We will be releasing this information through all social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram. We will also be posting on our MyUMBC Page and will send out an update email. 

i.How else can I engage with We Believe You and receive updates on the Elections? 

Answer: We frequently post updates to our Facebook,  Instagram, and MyUMBC Page. We also can be contacted through our email: webelieveyou.umbc@gmail.com. 

More information on how we will be hosting elections and the voting process shall be released within the next week. Please look out for upcoming updates through your UMBC emails. If you have any questions regarding election or further information, please feel free to email us at webelieveyou.umbc@gmail.com. 

2.      Amendments to Eligibility to Apply: As of now, the We Believe You Constitution states that members are eligible to apply for an executive board position if they have attended “four meetings, including general body, discussion group, and/or any We Believe You hosted/co-hosted events. The four meetings do not have to be consecutive or within one semester”. 

We understand that not everyone may have been able to connect with us last semester or were planning to become more involved during our SAAM events which would have taken place in April. Therefore, we will be slightly amending our application requirements and will implement some flexibility around eligibility to apply for a We Believe You E-Board position. If you are unsure at this time whether you have met the four meetings criteria, please consider still submitting an application and indicate so in the last sections (comments section) of the application. A member of the current WBY E-Board will contact you about setting up a time to connect. 

3.      What’s New? For this spring election will be trying something new which will include connecting with each candidate via phone/video conference and conducting a short 20-25min interview. If this is something you are not comfortable with, please indicate that on the application and we will find another way to connect with you that is accommodating to your preferences.

If you have any further questions about any of the admin positions, are interested in connecting with the current admin officer in the position/positions for which you are applying, or have any further inquiries about We Believe You, please email us at webelieveyou.umbc@gmail.com and request to set-up a meeting time with said current officer(s). Note: Email response time is typically 12-48 hours.

Take Care and Happy Elections! 

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