Edgewood Residents Not Guaranteed Refunds Should Semester Go Online

Students who reside at Edgewood Commons learned last week that the property management company that operates at FSU, Capstone On-Campus Management (COCM) and owned by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO), had refused to allow students at the University of Maryland, College Park out of their leases though that campus is moving to online instruction amid the continued Covid-19 pandemic. 

At the time, it was unclear if COCM and MEDCO’s decision at UMD would imply the same scenario for FSU students should the semester be conducted online. 

In an email, Dr. Artie Lee Travis, Vice President for Student Affairs, wrote that if FSU moved online as a result of a Covid-19 outbreak that “Frostburg State University does not have control over Edgewood’s decision on cancelling leases or issuing refunds.” 

He continued to say, “The building is owned by a private party, MEDCO. They employ COCM to operate the building and the building is public bond financed. To support Spring 2020 refunds, permission from the bond holders was required. This took time to achieve and the spring refunds were delayed.” Indeed, it took approximately 11 weeks for Edgewood residents to receive refunds last semester, with most students reporting to have been credited on June 3. 

Travis says that, “if we should have to alter direction for the fall semester to fully online, MEDCO would again have to request permission from the bond holders… and we even though we have a seamless partnership, refund decisions are out of our hands. As a privately operated entity, they make decisions independent of our voice.”

Travis says that Edgewood has released some students from their contracts if they’ve shown proof of underlying medical conditions, as well as those who have elected for 100% online instruction. However, Travis admits this is because there is a waiting list for on-campus housing.

“Our traditional residence halls are at capacity and have been so for a few weeks now. Because we try to have a seamless relationship with Edgewood, they have been so far willing to let students out of their leases if someone else takes the vacated room,” he says.

Travis reports that FSU has made “numerous changes” to operations that have been “designed to stop the spread of the virus and decrease the likelihood that we will have to go online or have to send students home.” 

However, for those students who move into Edgewood Commons, those changes may slow the spread or delay any potential closure, but it won’t mean automatic refunds of their rental fees or that they’re guaranteed to be released from their lease agreements with COCM and MEDCO. 

“These decisions are not always in our hands,” says Travis.