Syracuse University will reimburse room and board payments to students who have left university housing due to the coronavirus, Chancellor Kent Syverud announced Monday. 

“To do so is right and appropriate,” Syverud said. 

Students and families can begin requesting refunds for housing and meal plans Friday at noon via a form on MySlice, according to a university webpage. It will take between six and eight weeks for the university to process each refund request, according to the webpage. 

The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected more than 370,000 people and killed over 16,000 globally. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday confirmed 20,875 total cases of COVID-19 in the state, an increase of 5,707 from Sunday. 

SU announced last week that all classes would take place online for the remainder of the semester and encouraged all students living in university housing to leave before the start of the week. 

Graduating students will be refunded a credit balance for housing and meal plan payments, the webpage indicates. 

Continuing students will have their housing credit balance applied to the upcoming summer session or academic year. SUpercard credit will be issued for continuing students’ meal plans, according to the webpage. 

It is unclear how credit will be dispersed for continuing students who are not planning to live in university housing or have a meal plan next year.