Students at Kansas University’s Edwards Campus were happy to receive some tuition refunds recently, in some cases of more than $700.

But then the 421 affected students got an e-mail informing them it was all just a computer glitch and they had to return the money.

“It was like a kick in the teeth when I first got the initial e-mail,” said Shaun Henry, a senior from Shawnee, while at the Overland Park campus for a class Monday.

Henry responded to the e-mail, acknowledging he may have been “pretty hot” about the situation.

On the other side of the computer was Bob Turvey, director of student information systems for KU.

KU sent the e-mail last week after a problem with the way KU’s Enroll & Pay system calculated tuition figures.

Turvey said KU made a change several weeks ago in how Edwards Campus funds were allocated in the budget. After weeks of testing on the computer system, he felt confident the problem had been worked out.

However, a program that ran checks on the weekend erroneously deducted some Edwards Campus fees from some students, he said.

The refunds were sent out during the week of Sept. 29, students at the Edwards Campus said.

Some received them through direct deposits and others received checks, and most ran in the hundreds of dollars.

Turvey said the university realized it had a problem when several honest students called the bursar’s office wondering about the extra money they had received.

He said the university regretted the error.

“When you create mistakes, you create hardships for other people, and this has done that,” Turvey said.

Henry put all of his refund -$396, he said – into savings, so he still has the ability to repay the money. And he said he was satisfied after hearing Turvey’s explanation.

“I could tell how embarrassed and regretful he was,” Henry said.

Turvey said the university is being flexible with the time frame in which the students can pay back the money. Bills for the money will be due on Dec. 15, but in some cases, the university is extending the deadline to January to allow students to receive additional financial aid before having to repay the refunds, Turvey said.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how cordial and understanding the students have been,” he said. “That’s all you can do if you’ve made a mistake: take responsibility and apologize for it.”