SIU president can reimburse students for some costs

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - Southern Illinois University's Board of Trustees voted Monday to give the school's president the authority to reimburse students for some costs as instruction has moved online due to the coronavirus outbreak.

In handing university president Daniel Mahony the authority to reimburse the students, the board did not specify how the reimbursements should be handled. However, it gave Mahony the flexibility to make that determination in consultation with chancellors of the Carbondale and Edwardsville campuses and the dean of the school of medicine.

Mahony said he anticipates reimbursements to students could total between $4 million and $5 million.

Fewer than 400 students are presently staying in the dorms on the Carbondale campus out of 1,772 prior to spring break, according to the university. The number does not include students and their families in family housing.

SIU canceled in-person classes for the rest of the semester and moved many classes to online and other formats in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.