Eastern’s Board of Trustees will have an emergency meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday to discuss the possibility of refunding or crediting students with Housing and Dining contracts who do not return to Eastern for the remainder of the semester.  

The meeting will not be open to a live public because of the COVID-19 outbreak however, to comply with the Open Meetings Act it will be streamed live at https://www.eiu.edu/trustees/online-meeting.php. 

According to the agenda, due to circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board authorizes Eastern President David Glassman to make decisions relative to “refunding or crediting students with Housing and Dining contracts who choose not to return to Eastern residences for the Spring 2020 semester.” 

There was no mention of refunding or crediting tuition or student fees.  

Mark Hudson, the director of Housing and Dining, said if the board approves the refund or credit, then Housing and Dining will be fine.  

He said what it comes down to is making sure the campus and Charleston communities are safe.  

“Based on decisions (the Board) makes, we’ll go accordingly,” he said.  

Hudson said he is sure an announcement will be made after the emergency meeting that outlines the new update and where the university stands and clarifies the status of everything.  

“I think the university is looking at our student situation and reviewing that, and will announce what they think is in our students’ best interest,” he said. “This is a little unprecedented and the university is working around the clock to make sure the right information is out there.” 

The meeting is expected to take place in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, according to the agenda.  

Eastern Public Relations Coordinator Joshua Reinhart said all Board members will be at the meeting remotely and all media and others should join via livestream only.

The Board will also hear the president’s report. 

The agenda is currently available on the university’s website at https://www.eiu.edu/trustees/documents.php. 

Analicia Haynes can be reached at 581-2812 or achaynes@eiu.edu.