Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

UMass to Adjust Student Room, Board and Parking Costs

  • 03/30/20

BOSTON, MA – University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan and the chancellors of the UMass campuses in Amherst, Boston Dartmouth, and Lowell announced this week that the university will adjust student room, board and parking fees following the closure of residence halls in response to the coronavirus threat.

In a press release statement, President Meehan, UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, UMass Boston Chancellor Katherine Newman, UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Robert Johnson and UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney said:

“The financial impact of this crisis is causing real hardship for many of our students and their families. We hope that this adjustment of housing, dining and parking fees will help alleviate some of the stress they are enduring. The challenges that lie ahead for the university, its students, faculty and staff will be complex and difficult. We are confident that by staying focused on our mission our students will emerge as strong, innovative, highly skilled contributors to society.”

The Amherst, Dartmouth and Lowell campuses had more than 20,000 students living in university-owned residence halls. UMass Boston is adjusting dining and parking costs and is working with the private owner of its 1,070-bed on-campus residence halls concerning housing cost adjustments for its students.

The planned adjustments will decrease university revenues by approximately $70 million in the current fiscal year.

Under the plan, the adjustments will be applied to student university accounts. Students will then receive their net balance by direct deposit or check. Campuses are planning to notify students of their individual cost adjustments by April 17.

Featured

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.