(CNN) Eleven Northeastern University students who were dismissed from the university's study abroad program for violating the school's public health protocols will have $27,760 of fall semester expenses credited toward their spring semester at the university.
The university previously announced it would not give any of the money back, and while the students appealed the decision, the student conduct board upheld the original sanctions, including the loss of tuition, room and board, according to a new statement from the university Thursday . Night. The school will now keep $8,774 of prepaid fall fees from each student.
“However, the university retains the discretion to modify the sanction and, in the case of all 11 students, the tuition portion of the fall semester expenses ($27,760) will be credited to the spring semester at Northeastern,” according to the statement. “While students remain dismissed from the NUin Program, they will continue to have access to academic advising, mental health and other support services.”
An attorney representing two of the students' families told The Boston Globe that the university's response is still not acceptable.
CNN has reached out to attorney Brett Joshpe for comment.
The decision comes as colleges and universities across the country struggle to deal with the coronavirus, with many schools switching to online learning from in-person instruction after hundreds of students tested positive for Covid-19.
The NUin Program is a study abroad experience for first-year students, according to the university. The schedule has been modified due to the coronavirus pandemic, and more than 800 students are staying in double rooms at a Westin hotel less than a mile from the school's main campus in Boston, Massachusetts.
The 11 students were found together in a room at the Westin on Sept. 2, the school said. The students and their parents were told two days later that they had to leave the hotel within 24 hours and that they had to get tested for Covid-19 at Northeastern.
